Author: Larissa Saco
Brady Gillerlain (junior) founded the fencing club in the fall of 2008. Gillerlain fenced in high school and wanted to continue fencing in college, but there was no team on campus at the time.
“They had a fencing club on the official material. But when I tried to figure out who was running it and what the times were, the team basically didn’t exist,” Gillerlain said.
There had been a team previously, but due to its small number of members and the bulk of them graduating, the fencing club disappeared. When he found out there was no team, Gillerlain took the initiative to start up the club again himself.
“I went to the ASOC, got all the information I could, went through training, put in requests and reached out to the kids who ran the club previously. It all came together quite nicely,” Gillerlain said.
The club was embraced by many when Gillerlain started it because it provides the real-life experience of sword fighting that many dream of in their childhood. “[It] reminds me of dueling with plastic swords as a little kid,” club member Evan Choate (sophomore) said.
Fellow member Jai Levin (sophomore) also joined the club because of childhood nostalgia. “I was definitely one of those kids fascinated by fantasy, knights and swordplay. I jumped at the opportunity when I heard there was a club on campus,” Levin said.
The club received a great amount of initial support from the community, but numbers dropped as the semester progressed. “We get 50 to 60 sign-ups per Club Day. Out of that we get about 20 to show up for the first meeting, and then about 10 to 15 stick around for the whole semester,” Gillerlain said.
Despite the small numbers, the team appreciates the resulting intimacy. “I like that it’s really small. I enjoy hanging out with cool people and getting to know them,” Hillary Holmes (sophomore) said.
The club practices in Lower Herrick. The location serves the fencers its purpose, but its linoleum floors do not compare to hard wooden floors, which are better for the fencers’ feet. “The best place to practice is the dance studio, but it’s constantly booked,” Gillerlain said.
Even though Lower Herrick is less than ideal, the fencers still have a good attitude about it. “The best part might just be the ability to challenge one of your friends to a sword duel…in a church,” Levin said.
The club is currently trying to become an official club sport so that they can compete against other colleges like University of California, Los Angeles and Univeristy of Southern California. “Our ultimate goal is to become a NCAA team but becoming a club sport is a step in the right direction,” Gillerlain said.
There are only two teams that compete at the NCAA level in the west coast circuit, which are Stanford and University of California, San Diego. “It would be an interesting opportunity to break in with these fresh fencers and shake up the whole thing,” Gillerlain said.
The past two years have proven to be solid for building up the team in terms of skill improvement and recruitment. Current team member Cameron Westbury (sophomore) won the U.S. Fencing Association’s National Championships in 2009 and is now a member of the club.
New player additions to the team have been constantly improving the team’s skill level. “I had never fenced before I came to college, and I feel that now I know what I’m doing,” Campbell said.
In addition to the experienced players in the club, players of any level can join. In fact, most of the players in the club begin fencing during their first year at Occidental. “There are no qualifications necessary, anyone and everyone is welcome to come!” Levin said.
One of the greatest obstacles for the club has been lack of attendance at practice. “These past two semesters have been somewhat of a lull. Due to me applying to all these odd abroad programs and trying to figure out who would take over the coaching position, it’s been kind of floating for a while,” Gillerlain said.
In addition, many of the players have rigorous agendas involving classes and other commitments, and so the members are not always able to attend set practices. “It’s hard because the scheduling of the practices conflict with my schedule,” Choate said.
Despite the lack of attendance, many players find the time to attend practices and plans are underway for improving attendance. The club currently practices on Saturdays and will start up Monday and Tuesday practices soon.
Fencers used to meet about six times a week on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday and would like to bring those practices back. “The hope was to get back up to that point here, but this semester many people have already booked this space,” Gillerlain said.
The fencing club hopes to receive more support from the Occidental community in upcoming years. The passion that the players exhibit displays their willingness to keep the club going and making beneficial changes every year.
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