This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Strath chapter.
When did Fencing become affiliated at Strathclyde?
I don’t know the exact time frame, but there has been a fencing club at Strathclyde for a long time. My coach back home came to Strathclyde as a student and fenced and coached at Strathclyde, that would have been at least 20 odd years ago, and I know one of our current coaches has been with us for over 20 years.
How long have you been a part of Fencing?
I have been fencing since my 2nd year at secondary school, about 7 years now, 5 of which have been competitively.
Do you compete in competitions with other Universities?
Yeah, both individually and as a team. There are a couple of Scottish Student Sport Competitions every year where we compete against the other Scottish universities and a BUCS teams and individuals every year, along with a BUCS league. The Individuals is against students from university all over the country and is held in Sheffield, and is easily one of the largest competitions in the country. We also compete in a number of open competitions throughout the year (these are competitions that are open to anyone to enter, and tend to be larger than student competitions).
Any University that Fencing considers a rival?
At the moment we haven’t got any serious rivalry going on, but we do always aim to beat Glasgow University.
How did you become the Captain?
I was team’s captain last year so for me Club captain seemed the next logical step, and since I have been fencing for a number of years I have a good understanding of the sport which I can use for the benefit of the club: I felt I could best do this as club Captain.
What does a typical training session involve?
In a normal training session we have a 10 minute warm up at the beginning, followed by a footwork session. Then the club normally splits with half the people fencing on the electrics and the other half working with our coaches on bladework, tactics or individual lessons, switching round halfway through the night. Those that are new to fencing work with each other and our coaches for a few weeks before being introduced to the electrics. Its a very friendly/social atmosphere with a mix of competitive and recreational fencers.
Any advice for anyone interested in joining?
Get in touch with me for training details and additional information (mick26470@hotmail.com) and come along and give it a shot, no prior experience is required and the club provides all the necessary equipment, all you need is some light sports wear, trackies, trainers etc, something your comfortable to run about in. After training we all head down to a local pub that sponsors us and get free food and drinks promos, plus the pub quiz on Mondays.