One of the clubs major goals is to get people interested and excited about fencing. We welcome all students, staff, and faculty interested in learning the sport of fencing to come to one of our practices. The club has three volunteer coaches, who offer their time to help teach the sport to new fencers and veterans alike, and long-time fencers are happy to help anyone interested in learning the bas
ics of the sport. As a club, we work as a group for the betterment of individual members. Drills and exercises are designed to increase fencing skills, camaraderie, endurance, and overall fitness of our members. The Michigan State University Fencing Club is a competing member of the Midwest Fencing Conference, which consists of sixteen (16) schools with varsity or club programs. Fencing competitions are held mostly in the spring by conference member schools on weekends. We strive to be as competitive as possible in the conference, and have gained and seek to maintain our reputation as one of the premier club schools. In competition, schools have a squad consisting of three individual fencers for each weapon, foil, saber, and epee. Events are separated by gender. Each squad fences an opposing school's squad in nine bouts, so that each fencer faces all three of the opponent's fencers. The team that wins the most bouts is the winner. Some tournaments use a variation of these rules, but the concept remains similar. All members of the club are eligible to be on the travel squad. Traveling members are chosen based on skill, seniority, and squad captain's discretion. Teams are chosen for each tournament, and a couple travel spots are often available to freshman members that are interested. Also, all members of the club can compete in United States Fencing Association (USFA) individual tournaments. These tournaments are held around the state, and are completely separate from the collegiate fencing schedule. These events are great ways to continue to learn about fencing, and to meet other fencers outside the club.
