About Fencing
Fencing is a little-known sport in Canada but it’s a sport with an amazing history and it is growing in popularity as families have noticed the way that it balances athletic training, technical proficiency, and strategic thinking. It also provides kids a chance to play and compete as individuals but practice and train as a team.
Here are a few cool facts about fencing you may not have known:
The sport of fencing is one of the one of only a few sports to have been in every modern Olympics!
The sport of fencing has three events: Epee, Foil, and Saber. All three events are in the Olympics.
Fencing is an individual sport but there are also team events!
Fencers can start at almost any age. There are fencers from age 5 to 70!
Fencing is also in the Paralympics as Wheelchair Fencing!
Fencing doesn’t have a league like soccer or baseball. Fencers train 2-5 times per week and compete in tournaments on the weekend on a bi-weekly or monthly basis.
There are lots of opportunities to compete in fencing past high school: Many fencers will compete throughout university and beyond: in the national circuit, at Ontario University Athletics, and NCAAs and Ivies in the USA. There also veteran competitions for 40-70+
Canadian Fencing is on the rise on the international scene!
- Canada has 2 fencers in the top 15 in the world rankings!
- Alberta raised and trained a Canadian fencer who was once ranked #1 in the world: Sherraine Schalm!
- 4 of the 6 fencers on Team Alberta at the 2023 Canada Winter Games were Calgarians!
- Epic Fencing is currently home to the two Canadians who represented Canada at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Alanna Goldie and Kelleigh Ryan.
- Alanna and Kelleigh finished 5th in team.
- Kelleigh is only one of two Canadians in Olympic history to finish top 8 in an individual Olympic event!
- Eleanor Harvey recently won Canada’s first Olympic medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics. She prepared for these Olympics at Epic Fencing Club from 2021-2024!
About Fencing
Fencing is a little-known sport in Canada but it’s a sport with an amazing history and it is growing in popularity as families have noticed the way that it balances athletic training, technical proficiency, and strategic thinking. It also provides kids a chance to play and compete as individuals but practice and train as a team.
Here are a few cool facts about fencing you may not have known:
The sport of fencing is one of the one of only a few sports to have been in every modern Olympics!
The sport of fencing has three events: Epee, Foil, and Saber. All three events are in the Olympics.
Fencing is an individual sport but there are also team events!
Fencers can start at almost any age. There are fencers from age 5 to 70!
Fencing is also in the Paralympics as Wheelchair Fencing!
Fencing doesn’t have a league like soccer or baseball. Fencers train 2-5 times per week and compete in tournaments on the weekend on a bi-weekly or monthly basis.
There are lots of opportunities to compete in fencing past high school: Many fencers will compete throughout university and beyond: in the national circuit, at Ontario University Athletics, and NCAAs and Ivies in the USA. There also veteran competitions for 40-70+
Canadian Fencing is on the rise on the international scene!
- Canada has 2 fencers in the top 15 in the world rankings!
- Alberta raised and trained a Canadian fencer who was once ranked #1 in the world: Sherraine Schalm!
- 4 of the 6 fencers on Team Alberta at the 2023 Canada Winter Games were Calgarians!
- Epic Fencing is currently home to the two Canadians who represented Canada at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Alanna Goldie and Kelleigh Ryan.
- Alanna and Kelleigh finished 5th in team.
- Kelleigh is only one of two Canadians in Olympic history to finish top 8 in an individual Olympic event!
- Eleanor Harvey recently won Canada’s first Olympic medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics. She prepared for these Olympics at Epic Fencing Club from 2021-2024!
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s not unusual to get some bruises on the arms and legs.
Epic fencing has community gear which may be used for beginner programs etc. at no charge. Epic does not sell shoes, but we do recommend to purchase any “court” shoes – it does not have to be a fencing specific shoe.
We recommend fencers begin purchasing their own gear after the first 2 months. Epic fencing stocks a diverse line of gear suitable for most athletes which may be purchased from the club. Club Members receive a 20% discount.
Any age is a good age to start fencing – it can truly be a lifelong sport. The earliest age to start fencing lessons and programs at Epic is 5 years old.
We offer three options to get started with fencing:
- 6 week Beginner Program.
- Free Trial Lesson
- Beginner Camps
Click on the links above to learn more
We recommend enrolling your child in a beginner program if they have not fenced before to see what it’s like. First and foremost, an athlete must find the love for fencing in a non competitive environment. Competitive fencers partake in the regular classes, and usually take 2-4 additional private lessons per week.
All classes and lessons are booked through our internal booking software and CRM called Amilia. We recommend parents bookmark this website if their child is a regular fencer. You may navigate to Amilia by clicking the “Register” navigation link at the top of this website, or clicking on the various links found on the age specific lessons/classes pages.
There is no annual membership fee. Regular class are billed monthly and pricing depends on how many classes are attended each week.
Fencers who attend occasionally may instead opt to pay a drop in fee per class or event when applicable. Private lessons, camps, equipment and tournaments have additional costs.
There are three fencing disciplines (Sabre, Epee, and Foil). Depending on the discipline, there are different rules and equipment. We recommend youth start in Foil fencing, and teens and adults start in Epee fencing. There are no formal Sabre programs at Epic at this time.
In both foil and epee, fencers hit with the tip instead of the side of the blade. When you fence epee, the target is the whole body, you can even get a point for hitting the toe! The fencers must be cautious to not get hit so it looks like a strategic game of cat and mouse. In foil, the targets are restricted to the upper body and, because of foil has rules that benefit the attacker, the fencers are much more likely to attack than in epee.
Epic has an in-house Armoury which offers Weapon re-wires, weapon assembly, weapon tune-up and sizing, diagnostic fees, body wire repairs, and equipment readiness checks for competition. Club Members receive a 20% discount. Rush orders are available. For more information, click the “Equipment” navigation link at the top of this website.
We do! Click the “Birthday and Corporate Parties” tab under ‘more’ to learn more