Fencing is the modern Olympic sport of fighting with blades. It is the only Olympic combat sport with no weight-class. It is a fast paced, highly strategic match between two opponents using one of three weapons, the foil, epee, or saber. Fence The Bay programs use the Epee.
In Epee matches, the object is to touch your opponent with the tip of your weapon. A valid touch is considered one point. The fencers wear protective equipment and use hit-recording weapons with flat tips. Teams compete against each other in a relay style match with the goals of reaching five points or possessing the highest score at the end of three minutes of play.
Fencing rewards patience, strategic thinking, discipline, and resilience. It is a sport for everyone, athletes, artists, and thinkers.
Fencing creates a culture of excellence within a community. Fencers are routinely academically successful and socially engaged. Coaches emphasize discipline, emotional control, and resilience, skills that directly translate to better classroom performance. It also appeals to students that may not otherwise participate in athletics.
Fencing is represented at every Ivy league institution, as well as closer to home at Stanford University. Starting a fencing program creates role models for students at our nation’s top universities.
Bringing fencing to your school gives students a unique, enriching, and long-term opportunity they simply won’t find anywhere else.
