The College of William and Mary is one of the oldest universities in the nation, so it seems only fitting that the College’s clubs have histories almost as long and complex as that of the school itself. The College’s Fencing Club was first established in 1924, making it one of the oldest club sports on campus. Since the club’s founding, members have participated in several competitions across the four collegiate leagues they take part in.
The club practices every day in Unity Hall from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and invites all students, regardless of their experience with fencing, to participate in practices and competitions. Fencing Club President Debbie Ho ’26 first joined the club as a freshman, and now that she is a member of the club’s executive board, she hopes to see growth not only in the club, but in the sport of fencing as a whole.
“We are the most consistently active fencing club in Virginia, and one of our goals is to keep this momentum going and keep the fencing community in Virginia thriving,” Ho said.
As mentioned, the team’s fencers compete in four different collegiate leagues: the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Fencing Association , the Southern Intercollegiate Fencing Association, the National Intercollegiate Women’s Fencing Association and the United States Association of Collegiate Fencing Clubs. This year, the women’s team is looking to defend its SIFA title, and the team as a whole is going out to defend its titles in NIWFA and USACFC.
The club also attends different tournaments throughout the year, including the Virginia Cup Tournament, where the club has been the reigning champion for the last 10 years. The tournament is held every spring and allows different Virginia colleges, including University of Virginia, James Madison University, George Mason University, Virginia Tech, Liberty University and more to fence against one another in a large-scale competition.
It is involvement like this that initially gained the club a reputation among fencers nationwide, and it is one of the things that drew new member Ash Kelley ’28 to the College in the first place. Kelley had 12 years of fencing experience before coming to the College, and she decided to continue her commitment to the sport with the Fencing Club.
“The fencing club that I went to before I came to William and Mary had a lot of people who came here and then joined the fencing club here,” Kelley said. “I heard about the club through them, and that was actually part of the reason that I came here, because I knew that there was a fencing program here large enough that people hundreds of miles away had heard of it.”
The team’s reputation is an important aspect of the club, and it is something its members work to maintain. Ultimately, however, the executive board’s main goal this year is to create a welcoming environment where members can continue to learn and practice the sport while also meeting new people and making friends.
“As a member of exec, I hope to give members of the fencing club as many opportunities to fence and improve their skills as possible, and create a safe and welcoming environment where everyone from beginners to experienced fencers can enjoy the sport together,” Ho said.
Practices are directed by co-captains Connor Cassidy ’25 and Nolan Coughlin ’25, who lead members through warm ups, conditioning and footwork drills. Following this, fencers break into groups according to their fencing weapon — either foil, épée or sabre — and are then led by different specific weapon coaches.
“Since I’ve joined the club here, I switched weapons from épée to sabre and basically changed the whole way I invested myself in the sport,” club social chair Elizabeth Lawless ’27 said. “Changing weapons was like starting from scratch, but due to the support of my teammates, I’ve learned so much, and I’m always ready to improve myself more.”
Spending three hours a day, five days a week practicing together allows members of the club to get to know each other well, but on top of this, the club also hosts events outside of practice. As the social chair for the organization, Lawless helps plan such events throughout the season.
“Being on the fencing team has really shaped my experience at William and Mary; I’ve made my closest friends here, and I’ve truly found my community with this club,” Lawless said. “It’s made my time here a really happy one, and I’m excited to continue that as I continue my education here.”
Members’ favorite events throughout the year include the beginning-of-year picnic, which welcomes new members to the team and allows all members to share stories and get to know each other. There is also the club’s formal, secret Santa during Christmas time and the team’s own version of Friendsgiving: Flicksgiving.
As well as hosting fun events, the team also has several long-standing traditions to honor different past-members of the team. After every practice, the team has dinner together, a custom which was started after the passing of coach Pete Conomikes and member Benjamin Gutenbergin in 2007. Another club tradition is, prior to the team’s annual Troy Cullen Memorial Halloween Open Tournament, watching Cullen’s favorite movie, “Who Killed Captain Alex,” in remembrance of member Troy Cullen, who passed away in 2022.
“There are so many amazing people, and I don’t know how many of them I ever would have found without this, because there’s such a wide range of people in the club, but it brings everyone together by giving us one thing we can all relate to,” Kelley said. “We’re all together, and we all get to know each other, and there are so many wonderful traditions.”
When Ho first came to the College, she found a community within the Fencing Club, and she, along with the other members of the executive board, hopes to continue leading a space that promotes healthy competition, kindness, friendship and good sportsmanship.
“The fencing community was a welcoming space for me in freshman year, and I am constantly impressed and inspired by the passionate fencers around me,” Ho said.