Special Note! At the upcoming Junior and Cadet Fencing World Championships in Torun, Poland, from April 6-14, 2019, there will be a “Donate Your Fencing Gear!” stand where athletes and manufacturers may make donations. Please bring any good-quality gear you would like to contribute!
The Donate Your Fencing Gear! program, entering its third year of successfully reaching developing and underprivileged organizations and fencers in multiple countries with good-quality used fencing gear contributed by fencers, federations and manufacturers, is continuing its philanthropic efforts in 2019. Once closed the application process, Yemen, Brazil, Serbia, Colombia, Nigeria and Kyrgyzstan were the selected recipients of donations for this year, and each has provided compelling programs and projects to use the gear effectively and efficaciously.
The used equipment is collected annually and then distributed to the selected national federations.
The Program is continuing with its global vision and principles: “In order for the fencing world to progress as a whole, solidarity between the strong and the weak is an undeniable requisite, whether it be between continents, federations or athletes. This vision must become real. Our common, singular motto is “Fencing Together, Universal Fencing”.
To close the proverbial circle of the Donate Your Fencing Gear! program, each year the FIE follows closely the development of fencers in the recipient countries and the overall increased presence of these countries as they participate in FIE events and activities.
| Yemen | To develop fencing in Yemen, the country’s fencing federation organizes five U-18 epee competitions annually in several cities: Sanaa, Abu, Marib, Taiz and Thmar. The objective of the project is to increase fencer participation and competition development, with the support of the Donate Your Fencing Gear program. A pool of coaches—one per each host city—takes responsibility for project implementation and supervision. |
| Brazil | The “More Fencing Project” targets public-school children in the outskirts of Teresina, in the Stae of Piauí. Acting as a social inclusion tool, it is directed at low-income children in vulnerable situations in the city’s peripheral zone. Fencing classes are held weekly for two hours throughout the public school network. The project, which began in 2018, has come to fruition as a result of material and financial donations supported by volunteer work. |
| Serbia | The Serbian Fencing Federation is engaged in an international cooperative project in partnership with neighboring countries, where fencing is well-established. The project, almost entirely self-financed by donations from individual and organizations (including equipment from the Donate Your Fencing Gear program), focuses on U12 to U17 aged fencers. Workshops and training take places every two to three months, led by expert Federation staff. |
| Colombia | The Colombian Fencing Federation is undertaking diverse action to increase fencing’s popularity and awareness throughout the country. For example, in Cundinamarca, supported by the fencing league and municipality, a “Festival of Fencing Skills” is held with a playful and competitive format. This allows children unfamiliar with fencing to try it out, learn the sport and prepare for regional and national competition. Fencing was introduced for the first time in Tolima, targeting youth and teen athletes as well as Category A and B disabled fencers. Within a year, five youth fencers qualified for regional competition, one for a national event, and two for national Paralympic championships. |
| Nigeria | Following the success of the Junior and Cadet African Fencing Championships in Lagos, the Nigeria Fencing Federation launched a long-term grassroots plan to develop fencing in the Lagos state with school cooperation: To develop 10,000 fencers. The aim is twofold, one making fencing a social mobility tool for low-income people to help them use sport and education to improve and enrich their lives as athletes or coaches; the second, to create a large pool of talent, from which national and international competitors may be identified and developed. |
| Kyrgyzstan | Kyrgyz fencer Khasan Baudunov, who took medals at the Cadet Asian Championships and then at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in 2018—making Kyrgyzstan fencing history—significantly raised the image of fencing in the central Asian country, giving impetus to its development. Using this opportunity of attention and interest, the Kyrgyzstan Fencing Federation has undertaken development of fencing training halls and facilities. The Donate Your Fencing Gear program is helping considerably to equip these locations where new and existing fencers can train and develop competitive skills. |