Looking for a sport where contestants are not only permitted to attack the body of their opponent, but are actively encouraged to do so? Why not try your hand at a bout of fencing. 

One of only four sports to have featured in every modern Olympic Games, fencing requires tight, reflexive actions and great agility from its competitors. First taught as an ‘extra’ subject at Newington in the 1880s, fencing was later revived as a sport in 1978. It is now offered as a co-curricular to students from Years 7 to 12 at Newington College, during winter in Terms 2 and 3.  

Currently 25 students from Year 7 participate in fencing at the College, with a further 50 across Years 8 to 12 regularly playing in a bout. Participants attend twice-weekly training at the Concordia training centre near the Stanmore campus, and Saturday competition fixtures across all three fencing weapons: foil, sabre, and epee.  

A favourite in popular culture and often referenced in glamorous action films and TV shows, according to Miss Annie Cao, Director of Fencing at the College, it’s a highly technical sport, but anyone can join regardless of their experience. 

‘You don’t need to have competed before if you’d like to have a go,’ says Miss Cao, who is also one of Newington’s highly regarded Maths teachers. 

‘And it’s very safe as well, fencing gear is extremely protective and there’s no real body contact.’ 

Interestingly, the iconic suits the fencers wear are white because in earlier times, unlike today where touches are recorded by electronic scoring machines, touching was recorded with a piece of cotton at the tip of the weapon dripped in ink.  

At Newington, when students first take up fencing, they select the weapon they would like to use and generally stick with it as they progress through the program. The foil is a light weapon, shaped like a trapezoid, that was originally developed for training purposes in the 18^th century. The objective is to score points by striking only the opponent’s torso area with the tip of the blade. On the other hand, points can be scored by striking an opponent’s entire body with the epee weapon, which is the most rigid of the three blades. 

Meanwhile, the sabre (the most popular weapon of choice among Newington duelers) is the shortest of all three weapons, and the wielder can accumulate points by touching their opponent on the head, torso and upper body parts (excluding hands) with either the tip or side of the blade.  

‘Sabre bouts are extremely fast,’ explains Miss Cao. 

‘It’s over within seconds, so you really need speed. You also need to be able to read your opponent, and react quite quickly. 

‘For foil, a big part of those bouts is being able to gauge the distance between yourself and the opponent. So, it’s a little bit more back and forth, it’s more technical, and doesn’t end as quickly.’ 

Year 12 student and Captain of Fencing, Andrew W, has had experience across both foil and epee weapons. 

‘I’ve been fencing at the College since I was in Year 7 when I started with foil, then in Year 9 when I started outside of school training I switched to epee,’ he explains. 

‘One of my favourite memories was competing for the College in the 2022 NSW Fencing Association Roberta Nutt Intermediate Foil competition, where I received the bronze medal.’ 

In Week 1 of Term 3, Newington will participate in the fencing NSW Schools Championships across U13s, U15s and Seniors, alongside a mix of state and independent schools. If successful, our students will then qualify for the Australian Schools Championships. Newington also competes for the interschool AJ Rae Shield each year, named after our former Headmaster AJ (Tony) Rae OAM (1972–1993) to recognise his integral role in the development of interschool fencing. 

In addition to these external competitions, there is also the opportunity for Newington students to participate in an internal competition, which culminates in the Pioneer Cup. 

‘We typically perform very well across the competitions, particularly in the sabre category,’ says Miss Cao.  

According to Andrew, his time spent fencing at Newington has also taught him some valuable lifelong skills. 

‘What I like most about fencing, especially at a school level, is the general camaraderie that is shared between everyone, even across the different schools,’ he says.  

‘Even though it is a competition at the end of the day, everyone is very friendly and approachable. 

‘Fencing has also taught me how to work in a team environment much better, and to better understand the individual needs of each team member to ensure we all do our best and have fun while competing.’ 

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To learn more about the sports on offer at Newington, visit: https://www.newington.nsw.edu.au/co-curricular/sport/ 

If you are a member of our community, you can read more about our fencing program on New Spaces.