PEOPLE | CULTURE | HAPPENINGS trending
Fencing takes hold in Wilmington
Swordplay
By EMORY RAKESTRAW
Photography by ALLISON POTTER
“S’il vous plaît. Prêt. Allez!”
The traditional French words ring out, signaling the start to a fencing bout.
“Please. Ready. Fence!”
JUST LIKE THAT,the fencers begin circling their swords.
Drills spent practicing advances and retreats are revealed
in their footwork.
Ava, 11 years old and the youngest female in this
adult class, makes a lunge and attacks the lamé worn by
15-year-old Chase. He bouts back,
striking just above her knee and
drawing first blood.
Fencing, a hobby with aristocratic
European roots and one of the old-est
sports in existence, is taking hold
in coastal North Carolina. There are
three types of “rapier-style” swords in
competitive fencing: foil, épée and
sabre. A fencer scores points when
the electronic tip of the weapon
makes contact with the opponent’s
lamé.
Even the basics of fencing can
seem overwhelming at first. It is
essentially a sword fight — but there
are so many intricacies within this
sport that one or two lessons won’t
suffice.
Beginner to advanced fencers,
young and old, men and women — perhaps inspired by dreams
of Robin Hood, pirates, or “Star Wars” lightsaber duels — can find a
home at the Wilmington Fencing Club, which meets at the YMCA on
Market Street, or the Cape Fear Fencing Association (CFFA), which
meets four times a week at St. Mary Catholic School downtown. The
CFFA offers classes that range from lessons for first-timers to fine-tuned
skill acquisition for competitive fencers.
Greg Spahr, CFFA’s head coach, moved to Wilmington 10 years ago
to take over the position. While he says he’s always been into “sword-play,”
he came into the sport through a PE class at Indiana State
University. He joined the fencing team and became an assistant coach
Above: Scott Butler directs a bout between Chase Richardet and
Ava Rayle during a Wilmington Fencing Club class at the YMCA
of Southeastern North Carolina. Right: Ava Rayle, with
her weapon and mask.
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WBM february 2018
when he was in graduate school at
Bowling Green.
“Eventually, I found my way to
Baltimore and became the coach for
the women’s team at Johns Hopkins
University,” he says.
He also continued to fence, earn-ing
a place on a U.S. Veterans team
that went to Germany.
John Rea, founder and teacher for
the Wilmington Fencing Club, has
been competing since 1969. He has
won medals in foil, sabre and épée
at the national level and competed
with the U.S. Veterans team in 2009
in Russia and 2015 in France. He
finished in the top 15 in the world
both times.
“At the national level, I fenced at
age group 16-above and 17-above
and now I’m at 70-above,” he laughs. “This coming year they’re starting
a new classification — 80 and above.”
It might be hard to imagine 80-year-olds fencing, but it’s a reality.
There’s also wheelchair fencing.
Spahr, who oversees all CFFA programs, says it’s unique that
Wilmington has two fencing clubs.