The Fencing Club is back at Seton Hill University (SHU) this year after a four-year hiatus. This is one club that gets your heart racing and is led by an enthusiastic advisor, Geoffrey Atkinson, a professor of mathematics.
“I didn’t expect so many people,” Atkinson said after seeing 15 people ready to fence.
Atkinson explained how the club is going to learn the basics of fencing and about why the club was formed, and why it fizzled out a few years ago.
By Megan Seigh
Contributor
The Fencing Club is back at Seton Hill University (SHU) this year after a four-year hiatus. This is one club that gets your heart racing and is led by an enthusiastic advisor, Geoffrey Atkinson, a professor of mathematics.
“I didn’t expect so many people,” Atkinson said after seeing 15 people ready to fence.
Atkinson explained how the club is going to learn the basics of fencing and about why the club was formed, and why it fizzled out a few years ago.
Michael Malecki, an alumnus of SHU, teamed up with Atkinson to help lead the club. “I believe he started the fencing club in fall of 2005 and then he graduated in spring 2006. It kept going a little while after he left, but he was really the driving force behind things and it died out within about a semester of his departure,” said Atkinson.
After a few years it was decided by both faculty and staff that Atkinson should begin the fencing club again to see if he could get a fair amount of people interested.
It turned out that he could. After a very informative demonstration of equipment and techniques, the students were asked to stand up and practice their footwork.
They were taught by Atkinson how to move backward and forward from their fencing opponent. Then few students voiced their opinions on the club.
Pamela Vucinich, a sophomore, said “I am in the club because it will be a great opportunity to learn something new and exciting. I am very inexperienced but I really hope to learn how to fence well.”
She and many other students are first time fencers but seem to be learning the techniques quickly.
Adam Blackman, a sophomore, was one of the few students who have had experience with fencing in the past. “I am in this club because I have been fencing for a while and I have always enjoyed it. I have been fencing since I was in 7th grade and I am looking forward to learning this style of fencing which is foil, because I am used to a different type of fencing,” he said.
Students will continue to enhance their fencing skills every Wednesday night at 9 p.m. for an exhilarating workout of the body and mind with Atkinson as their guide.
Photo courtesy of Fencing Club
