The club wants to introduce Meramec students to the sport of fencing
BY: RYAN WINZEN
News Editor
Starting this semester, Meramec will once again be home to a fencing club. This organization is open to any and all students who are interested in learning about and engaging in fencing.
The newest version of the club was created by student Beatrice Johnson (a Montage staff member) who wanted to introduce other students to fencing.
“I really enjoy the sport of fencing and wanted to introduce it to other people,” said Johnson. “It is not a sport people think of or watch a lot, but it’s a really interesting sport.”
Johnson explained how recently she was introduced to fencing.
“Not very long. I started this semester. I took the 8 week fencing I class, now I’m in [the] Fencing 2 [course]. I feel very familiar with the sport,” said Johnson.
Johnson went into detail about the learning curve of fencing.
“There’s a low skill floor, but there’s a lot of strategy to it,” she said. “You can just go in there and stab people like a maniac, but it takes some time to learn the technique. It is an art.”
Johnson talked about the goals of the organization.
“[To] help people understand,” she said. “There’s a lot that goes into it. There’s a lot that is difficult to learn, and it’s a lot less challenging if you have people to help you. Having peers to help explain and clarify [helps].
Students who have no knowledge of fencing but are interested in learning are encouraged to come.
“Don’t feel like you need to have any base knowledge,” she said. “It is not required by any means.”
If students are interested in joining, they will have to fill out the school’s physical education form. Students under the age of 18 will need a parent to sign off on the form for them. Students are not expected to bring their own equipment, as everything will be provided.
The club is sponsored by health and wellness professor William McDevitt, who’s known as “the instructor that gets his point across.”
McDevitt has been teaching at Meramec for 20 years, teaching classes such as fencing, archery, and weight training. He revealed that this isn’t the first fencing club on the Meramec campus.
“We’ve had fencing clubs before, but COVID put a stop to it. This is the first one since,” said McDevitt.
McDevitt described what he finds interesting about fencing.
“It’s a one on one. It’s physical chess, you don’t rely on a teammate, it’s you and a opponent. It’s an interesting sport,” said McDevitt.
Fencing Club meets biweekly on Tuesday in the athletic building from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Johnson spoke on the complexity of fencing.
“A lot of people say fencing is physical chess. There’s so much more than going in and stabbing people. Going in and stabbing people is still really fun too,” said Johnson.
