Join the (Fencing) Club

A peep behind the scenes at the university fencing club

Born from a human desire to stab our enemies, fencing took the idea of a duel and turned it into a competitive sport with a more complex technique and a less deadly end. To my limited knowledge, acquired in a conversation with Saints Fencing Club president Lachlan Grant and member Zac Val, the sport is divided into three categories: Epee, Foil, and Sabre. Each uses a different weapon and has different rules, but the basic footwork remains consistent. Across men’s and women’s events, both team and individual, the core of the sport stays the same.

In fencing, a match is called a bout. Bouts consist of either one or three periods, depending on whether it’s a poule fight or an elimination match. Each poule fight is three minutes long, giving competitors three minutes to win five points. In elimination matches, the first to reach fifteen touches, or whoever has more at the end, wins. Team matches feature nine separate bouts, lasting three minutes each, in which each member of the team faces an opponent on the other team. 

Fencing footwork is often compared to boxing; being balanced, in a position to move both in defence and attack, is important. But unlike boxing, the fencing strip is narrow, about a metre wide and fourteen metres long, restricting your movements to forwards and backwards rather than in all directions.

Despite being a global sport, fencing struggles with an accessibility issue. Equipment costs are high, making it a difficult sport to pick up. “It’s like a cycle: because [the community] is small, there are limited companies that make equipment, and so equipment is more expensive, which makes it more inaccessible,” says Zac.

At St Andrews, the university club — which is made up of about 50 to 60 members each year — prides itself on its growing success, even after losing its ‘performance club’ status in 2016. It remains one of the most successful non-performance clubs in terms of BUCS points, which they have maintained without the aid of external coaches for the past seven years. Lachlan attributes this to their club members' independence. “We’re self-sufficient; the whole club helps each other get better.” 

Their time without external coaching has ended this semester, after Olympian and GB team coach Keith Cook was hired to come to St Andrews for a couple of sessions. The first, held a few weeks ago, was a success, with Cook bringing his own son, Jaimie Cook, the Junior Fencing World Champion, to help out.

All of their efforts come in preparation for the three-day BUCS competition in Sheffield, the highlight of their season. The event brings together fencers from across the country who compete individually, giving everyone the experience of fencing against highly-skilled opponents. In 2024, Anderson Bull defeated a two-time Junior World Champion in the sabre competition —  a huge achievement for both Bull and the club. 

Each day of the competition is split by category and gender, meaning each fencer competes on just one day. Their work doesn’t end there, however, as the rest of the time is spent supporting teammates. Lachlan described how the club shares a dinner each night and makes sure that “when people are fencing, we will all come out and support, watch, and coach.” 

The devotion to their club and to uplifting one another is at the heart of St Andrews fencing. With more training camps planned for the future and the continuing strength of this club culture, the Fencing Club has an exciting season ahead of it. 

Image provided by UStA Fencing