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A unique community open to all levels of experience
UT has a wide variety of clubs and organizations for its students to join. Whether you’re a freshman looking for a place to make friends, a junior looking to try something new, or anything in between, UT most definitely has something for you.
If you are looking for a unique, fun club, look no further than the fencing club.
The fencing club has been at UT for a long time and allows students to learn something new while making friends and getting involved.
UT student and President of the fencing club Hailey Blair explained what her process was like joining the club.
“They made it super easy,” Blair said.
If you’re new to fencing, you have nothing to worry about when learning the basics. Blair explained that there are three weapons, and that they did one week of each weapon with a student coach.
UT student Eliza Noell had a similar experience.
“I didn’t know anything. They didn’t throw a whole lot of information at you at once. Everyone learned together, and it was really cool,” Noell said.
A typical practice session has a very big emphasis on being a team. Members stretch together, run, do footwork drills and fence for about an hour. Noell says Thursdays are meant for team building.
“Every Thursday we go out for Cookout night and we go back to a dorm and play games, watch TV and hangout as a team,” Noell said.
She expressed that she never felt like she was trying to fit in.
“It’s really cool, you can start with someone and see them get better and also feel yourself start to adapt,” Noel said.
Not all of the club’s activities stay in Knoxville. The fencing club competes in five tournaments a semester, and they get to travel for some of these. Noell explained that she went to the Halloween open tournament this past semester and it was a lot of fun.
“We all carpooled. It’s really fun and a lot less formal. You get to see different teams succeed. It’s a very friendly environment,” Noell said.
Knoxville hosts two competitions a year, one in the fall and one in the spring. Volunteer open is in two weeks, so the members are busy preparing for that. Blair hopes to see the club grow and expand with each semester.
“Keeping a good culture is very important to me. Making sure it’s fun for everyone,” Blair said.
She also expressed that she would love to see more female involvement.
“I really tried to recruit more women in the past two years. It’s a male dominated sport, and we really want more of a female presence,” Blair said.
So, do you want to get involved? If you have any interest in learning how to fence and being part of the community, find more information on their Instagram @vols_fencers.
New members can come to any of their practices and they would be more than happy to talk to you. The club practices Tuesday 7-9, Wednesday 6-9, and Thursday 7-9 in the upstairs of the student aquatic center.
