Fencing club prepares for tournament

The average student at IU has limited knowledge about the ancient sport of fencing. While it has been a pastime for centuries in countries like France and Russia, the same level of mainstream interest in fencing has never quite materialized in the U.S.\nBut IU junior and Fencing Club President Rick Gunyon could care less about all that. This weekend, Gunyon and his club will participate in the Midwest Fencing Conference Championships. For him and others on IU’s team, fencing is what they love. \n“I started when I got here two years ago, but I feel like I’ve been doing it forever,” said Gunyon, who practices the sport up to six hours a day. “It’s my passion.”\nThose who have developed a zest for the sport and who strive to master it know it takes plenty of time and effort to develop a precise and effective fencing technique. While athleticism is a valuable asset in a fencer, physical ability can be trumped by tact and the ability to read one’s opponent. The three types of weapons used in fencing are the foil, the sabre and the epee. Each has its own shape, purpose and assigned target region for scoring points. For example, to score points with a foil, fencers must strike their opponents in their torso region with the tip of the weapon. For a sabre, the target region is anywhere above the waist (excluding the hands), and points may be scored with a strike from any part of the blade. An epee can earn points by hitting any part of the body.\nMost fencers pick one weapon in which to specialize, and during competition, fencers compete against others of the same gender who share the same specialization.\nThe club participates in several tournaments each year, and the competition is fierce. While other club sports also feature top-notch athletes and high levels of competition, few experience the level of competitive discrepancy that the fencing club does. Most of the club’s tournaments feature not only other club teams from throughout the Midwest, but several varsity teams, whose members are mostly scholarship athletes. The Hoosiers even belong to the same conference as Ohio State, a fencing powerhouse that is known to recruit not only the top fencers in the country, but in the world. \n“(OSU’s) head coach is a former Olympic fencer from the Soviet Union,” Gunyon said. “We’re a great team, one of the best clubs in the country, but that’s tough to compete with.” \nDespite the tough competition, the team can look forward to the Midwest Fencing Conference Championships on Saturday, a tournament that recognizes club teams on a separate level from the varsity teams.\n“It’s nice, because they recognize that we don’t have the funding and facilities that these (varsity) teams have,” said senior Corinne Avenius, who also serves as the club’s vice president. \nThe tournament, which takes place at Notre Dame in South Bend, also allows the team to gauge its progress this year.\n“It’s at the end of the season, and you face a lot of teams you see at the beginning of the year. So, it sort of lets you see the progress you’ve made,” said senior Samantha Kuykendall, who is in her third year with the club.\nIt’s not all hard work, though. Of the roughly 80 members in IU’s club, only 30 compete in tournaments. The remaining members range from those just picking up the sport to others who just enjoy it on a casual basis. \n“Anyone with an interest in fencing should look into the club,” Gunyon said. “It doesn’t have to be on a competitive level. It’s just a great sport and a great thing to be involved in.”