This week, I sat down with men's club fencing captain Dave Seliger '12 to discuss the sport of fencing, the team's recent national championship and what the future has in store for him and the team.
How did you first get into fencing?
DS: When I was younger, I tried a lot of other sports baseball, soccer, tennis, basketball but I wasn't very good at any of them. When I was 11, my dad and I were at a Chinese restaurant. I was playing with the sword-shaped swizzle sticks when my dad suggested I try fencing. I started going once a week at the Boston Fencing Club and ended up falling in love with the sport. It's a very physical game, but also very mental. Although I wasn't very athletic, I at least had the mental side. I stuck with it and have been fencing ever since.
The team won a national championship without a coach. How were you guys able to do that?
DS: The interesting thing about our team is that about half the team comes in with experience, having fenced either on a high school team or nationally, while the other half is completely new to the sport. This creates a dynamic where the experienced fencers teach those new to the sport. We're all peers, but we're all coaching each other as well. Everyone contributes and I think it makes our team very close and a cohesive group. I think that atmosphere was why we did so well. Everyone is passionate about the sport and dedicated to the team and wants to do well. It's cliche to say it was a team effort, but it really was.
Will the team be getting a coach any time in the near future?
DS: The team has had a coach in the past, but not recently. I think the last time we had a coach was in 1995. We don't have the funding to have a full-time coach, so we have to look for experienced coaches who live in the Upper Valley, and at this time, there isn't anyone who fits the right profile.
What's your favorite part about fencing?
DS: There are certain moments in a bout where everything just goes completely right. There are a lot of potential things that you and your opponent can do, but every now and then, there is a combination of moves that is just flawless. Those are the moments you really appreciate as a fencer.What makes a good fencer?
DS: I think the most important thing is that you have to be smart. It's very much a mental game. In the same day, you can beat the best guy and lose to the worst guy. You also have to be able to push yourself and not get down when you're losing. You need the confidence to make a comeback in a bout.
There are three types of fencing foil, sabre and epee. Which is your favorite and why?
DS: When I was younger I did foil, but I switched to epee about eight years ago and have done that ever since. I really like epee because, unlike the other two, you can hit the whole body and be a lot more creative. There are far fewer rules and you can really pull some crazy stuff, so I'd say it's my favorite.
What would people find most surprising about the sport of fencing?
DS: A lot of people think it's an old-fashioned, medieval sport that is slow and boring, but it's not. It's a hard hitting sport that happens in a blink of an eye. To be at the top level, you have to be extremely quick and athletic.
Fencing is currently a club sport. Is there any interest from the team or athletic department in making it a varsity sport?
DS: It's definitely something that has become a topic, especially in the past few years. Varsity coaches at competitions ask me about it a lot, even more after our recent success. To be a varsity sport, we need to have a sustained amount of funding from our alumni that's a few orders of magnitude larger than we currently have. Other club sports like rugby have a dedicated alumni network that spans decades, and that's something we're working on. We're trying to reconnect with some of our older alumni to increase support for the program.
Having just won the national championship, what's next for you and the team?
DS: Personally, I'm not sure what my future with fencing is. It's hard to top winning national championships. I can say that the team is reinvigorated after winning nationals, though. We have 30 people on the team now, which is the biggest the team has been in a while. Hopefully our success this year will attract even more fencers. Obviously, we'd like to keep up our success and do just as well next year.
