We offer an active program of recreational fencing and competitive training for people age 9 through adult. Our activities include foil and epee classes at all levels, occasional sabre clinics, open fencing, a regional league for friendly competition, and travel to meets throughout New England and beyond. Whether you want to go for the gold, or just try a little swashbuckling for fun and exercise, the VFA warmly welcomes beginners.
Our unique Junior Team program is open by invitation to experienced fencers ages 12-18. In return for their effort and dedication, Junior Team members receive free instruction, extra training and coaching at meets. The success of the program is attested to by the medals the young athletes bring home, and more importantly, by the fun they have and the lessons they learn about sportsmanship and teamwork.
Head coach Viveka Fox, a former all-Ivy fencer and North Atlantic womens foil champion, has over 30 years of fencing experience. She is the founder and current president of the USFA Green Mountain Division, and a nationally certified referee. She believes that fencing is not just another sport, but is a creative way of thinking and moving that links us to the past and allows us to express ourselves as individuals.
Assistant coaches:
Don Selby (Charlotte): Don is an epee fencer who returned to the sport with great enthusiasm some years after trying it in college. His son, now in college, fenced on the VFA Junior Team. When not fencing, he is out on the water dragonboating or sailing, or at work as a product testing engineer for Country Home Products.
Ray Schuppe (Charlotte): Ray fences all three weapons and has embraced the sport fully after taking it up as an adult to get in shape. His daughter will be a member of this year's Junior Team. Ray works as an engineer at IBM and has served as Green Mt Division treasurer.
Deb Hogan (Middlebury): Deb fences epee and sometimes foil, and is well respected regionally as a referee. She took up fencing a year or two after her sons started because it was more fun than waiting around for their class to finish. Deb and her husband operate a dairy farm in Leicester.
Ben Hogan (Middlebury): Having come through the VFA Junior Team program earning several North Atlantic championship medals and an A rating in foil, 20-year-old Ben returns this season as an assistant coach. When not fencing, he is in trade school for industrial design and metal fabrication..
Fencing for young children: Fencing has complex rules (not intuitive) and requires a high degree of hand-eye and body coordination. Our classes are fast paced, and geared for older children, teens and adults. We would rather have a child wait until he or she is old enough to have a successful experience in our classes than to have the child give up in frustration. Our minimum age for students is 9; however a mature and focussed 8-year-old may join if a parent takes the class along with the child. There is no upper age limit for fencing-we have club members who are over 60 years old, and really enjoy our adult beginner students! If you have a child who is interested in fencing but too young to join the VFA, you can cultivate the child's interest by bringing him or her to observe a class and/or watch a tournament. Spectators are welcome at all of our activities free of charge.
See Schedule for details on classes and practices in Middlebury and Charlotte.
For more information on other Green Mountain Division member clubs, go to www.vtfencing.org
To purchase fencing equipment at discount prices:
