DUELING IN THE DESERT

Fencing is a niche sport that you’ve probably heard of, but never participated in or watched outside of the Olympics. It’s most popular in the European countries of Italy and France, mainly because the sport originated there. However, as of late, the sport has gained some notoriety in Arizona as more and more young people are introduced to it. It would probably surprise most people to realize that two of the top ten fencers in the state live right here in Surprise. What’s more astonishing is that four local Dysart students recently earned a spot and competed at the USA Fencing 2023 Junior Olympics in Colorado this past February. Michael Festin, a senior at Shadow Ridge High School, Logan Laursen and Farran McManus, both seniors at Willow Canyon High School, and Cohen Welling, a 7th grader at Ashton Ranch Middle School all dueled it out with some of the best athletes from around the country. While their origin stories vary, it’s incredible to realize each student started out with little to no knowledge or background in the sport.

“So I was in second or third grade, and I saw some paper that said, hey, let’s do fencing,” said Michael Festin. “I saw people with swords on it. I thought that was cool. I took it to my parents and said, hey, I want to do this. They said ok.”

That paper was a flier advertising a Dysart Community Education class run by Ewa Medynska. Ewa has been coaching for more than two decades both here in Arizona and internationally. She set up the classes as a way to offer instruction, including footwork, blade work, tactics, and strategy for beginners, intermediate and advanced fencers.

“It took me a little bit because my family is a lot of hockey players,” said Logan Laursen. They all played hockey, and I was kind of like, oh, do I want to keep playing hockey and skating or do I want to fence? And then after a couple of classes, I was like, you know, I really like this, it’s a lot of fun.”

You could say that the four of them, at the early ages of 5th and 6th grade, were intrigued by the thought of wielding a sword at someone else. I mean what kid wouldn’t want to do that? But as they grew to learn, the sport is so much more than that. For Michael Festin, that coolness factor quickly changed into something more. “I was a kid with a sword in my hand. I was pretty happy. When it started becoming competitive, that’s like when it changed from being kind of fun to like, oh, this is really awesome.”

USA Fencing describes it as “physical chess,” or the ultimate blend of speed, skill, and mental acuity. Logan Laursen agrees, but also equates it to those old video games where players move back and forth on the same 2D plane.

Logan Laursen (right) and Michael Festin (center) pose for a picture during a competition.

“Well, the way I kind of look at it is it’s like video game characters that are 2D, and they move back and forth,” said Laursen. “But it’s like a chess game where you’re competing with the other person and what strategy you come up with as you move back and forth. It’s a lot of thinking. You have to think about what you’re doing, but then your body has to add on to it.”

For those unfamiliar with the sport, the object is to use your weapon to strike your opponent whilst avoiding being hit. Scoring is a bit different for the three types of fencing. Epée is the variant taught by Medynska, which features the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. With the epée both fencers may score simultaneously, unless it is the deciding point when neither strike counts. Only the tip of the weapon may be used and the entire body is a target in epée. At the Olympic Games matches are contested over three, three-minute rounds, with the winner being either the first to 15 points or whoever has the most hits after the three rounds. After each point is scored, fencers return to the line to begin again.

According to all four fencers, nearly anyone can come and pick up the sport, and that’s the beauty of it. But learning to perform the sport in the most effective manner can lead to using your body and muscles in entirely new ways.

Cohen Welling (right) and Michael Festin duel in a practice session at West Point Elementary School as part of the Ewa Fencing Club through the Dysart Community Education Department.

“It’s an asymmetric sport, so it uses different parts of your body in different ways,” said Festin. “So like with football and soccer, you’re running and upright using your whole body. With fencing you’re like flat, you’re applying different parts of your body in different ways, and you’re not used to that.”

For Farran McManus, he liked the idea of not needing predetermined genetics to be successful at the sport. “It’s nice to be, like skinny, but still fit, and able to perform. I don’t have to be super, super buff, you know, like football players.”

“So you got to have strong wrists,” said Cohen Welling. “That takes time to build up. You have to hold [the sword] in such a weird way that it hurts, your fingers and tendons cramp up. So it’s been a while to get used to that.”

And contrary to popular belief, it’s not just swinging a sword around, according to Festin. Strategy and technique makes up a large part of the sport as athletes attack, defend, and counterattack. “There are certain moves that we have,” he said. “We have moves for attacking, we have lunges. There’s a whole lot you build up with what you can do, and the more you’re comfortable with it, the better you can fence.”

As for the Junior Olympics, both Logan and Farran have competed there before. For Michael and Cohen, this will be their first time. Each didn’t have a goal for the event other than to gain valuable experience, have fun, and meet friends. Their competitive nature with the sport is obvious, but it’s clear they are content just participating and having a good time.

“The first year I ever went, it was crazy how many people were there, like 3,000 or 4,000 people at, like, this huge convention center,” said McManus. “I did not do very well because it was just like the nerves plus everything, right? But then the second year, I started to actually get really good at fencing. I got my A-rating, so I was like, just don’t put too much pressure on myself.”

Farran McManus (Left) and Logan Laursen battle against each other during a practice session at West Point Elementary School.

As for their futures in fencing beyond the Junior Olympics experience, unlike other sports, fencing isn’t quite as prevalent in college. Some schools have programs, but they are mostly Ivy League and only take the best of the best in the nation. However, the beauty of fencing is that athletes can continue to train and compete in events for as long as they want. There are ratings, but no real age brackets. Athletes can compete into their 80s if they want, working with different clubs to get better along the way. That seems to be what all four students want to do with their fencing future, along with making friends and just having fun.

“The biggest thing is not even the active fencing, because that alone is obviously fun,” said Festin. “Like you get to fence, it’s a fun sport, right? But the thing that really brings it together is the community and just the people that are involved. Everyone is just so welcoming. It’s just a great place to be.”