Get off the fence | Abby Daily

There are no chickens in this KFC.

The Kamloops Fencing Club has been around since 1999 and is looking for new members this year.

?The people who are attracted to fencing are usually not typical sports-minded people,? said Damon Hebner, club member and former head coach.

?They?re not normally on soccer teams. We get a much higher percentage of people who just fence, as opposed to people who do many sports.?

The KFC provides the necessary equipment ? including masks, jackets and blades.

New blood will likely start with a foil, a light-weight training weapon, before graduating to an ?p?e, the real deal, used in Olympic combat.

Fencers duel on a 2X14 piste ? combat area ? and gain points by striking their opponent.

Kamloops? fencing headquarters is at the McArthur Island Youth Centre.

With three 10- to 12-week seasons, the KFC runs year-round.

It costs about $ 70 per season to register.

Registration is done through the city?s parks and recreation department.

Hebner has given way to new co-head coaches Alexandra Golt and Sean Bigham, both longtime members.

Golt would like to see more members compete provincially and nationally.

?If the individual is tournament-minded, there are a whole whack of them they can go to,? Hebner said.

Vernon, Williams Lake, 100 Mile House, Prince George, Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary are home to fencing tournaments.

There are at least three beginner tournaments held in the Tournament Capital each year.

The KFC hosts Fencing for Food nights, during which free lessons are offered in exchange for food donated to the Kamloops Food Bank.

As far as Hebner is concerned, en garde is a position more Kamloopsians need to experience.

?We really try and make it family-friendly and keep the cost down,? he said.

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Source: http://abbydaily.com/sports/get-off-the-fence/

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