Beginners can use this link to register for our beginners program. More information is available on our programs page. Existing fencers can join a recreational class appropriate for their age.

Fencing is truly a sport for all ages but there are better ages to start, especially if a fencer has collegiate fencing ambitions. Those fencers should begin practicing by 12-13 years of age to have sufficient time to develop the skills and experience needed to perform at a national level by their Junior/Senior year in high school. Fencers who start later can still fence in college but it requires increased dedication to get to a highly competitive level.

At OFC we have fencers who start as early as 4 years old where we emphasize building skills through games and simple exercises to build coordination and agility.

Fencers can start at any age and enjoy the challenge of competing at local, regional, national, or even international events. There are also fencing events for lower rated fencers so there are opportunities for all skill levels.

As fencers start competing they can begin to earn ratings from U (unrated) up to the highest rating, “A”. Ratings signify a fencers strength factor and are earned by placing at “rated” tournaments at the local, regional, or national level. Fencing ratings also include the year that the rating was earned, e.g., “C22”, meaning that the fencer earned a C rating in 2022. The full USA Fencing classification chart is available here. Ratings are used to determine initial seeding at tournaments to make sure all of the strongest fencers aren’t all included in the same pool but are distributed evenly.

Please refer to our programs page to see our weekly class schedule.

Yes! Open epee fencing is available on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings from 7-9pm. Participants must have their own equipment, a valid USA Fencing membership, and pay a $20 floor fee upon arrival.

There are three types of modern fencing at the Olympics: epee, foil, and saber. Olympian Fencing Club specializes in epee fencing.

The basic rules of epee are hitting your opponent before he/she hits you, scoring a touch anywhere on your opponents body with the tip of your weapon, and fencing bouts either to 5 or 15 touches, depending on what round of the tournament you are in.

Fencers need to have a competitive USA Fencing membership and can then sign up for an age appropriate tournament. We recommend starting with local tournaments before traveling to regional or national tournaments. Many tournaments have entry deadlines which we will notify our members of via email at least a week prior to the close of registration. Tournaments are listed in our calendar but are also available on askfred.net USA Fencing’s website.

Fencing is a physical and mentally challenging, fast-paced sport that requires commitment, fast decision making, creativity, and the ability to make split second decisions under an immense amount of stress. Through fencing training participants will be given insight into strategies for how to cope with these demands and become successful in sport, business, and life.

Session fees usually depend on the number of participants. Contact us to discuss the package that works best for your organization.

There are a lot of factors that go into determining whether a fencer will fence in college.