Most of the clubs at Edina High School strive to showcase students’ pre-existing talents or passions. One club at EHS, however, aspires to get students actively learning through hands-on experience. The fencing club, run by senior Drew Dale, was formed this year with the goal of introducing the sport to students that are interested.

Fencing is a sport in which two opponents duel with one of three different swords with the goal of scoring points against the other. In order to score a point, a fencer must touch their opponent with the tip of their sword.

Although fencing is well known for being a longstanding event in the Olympic games, the sport hasn’t garnered much attention amongst American teens. In the United States, just over 2,000 high schools offer fencing as a sport—Edina is not one of them. Additionally, there is only one fencing club in the Twin Cities for teens. Understanding that there aren’t many opportunities for teens to hear about or learn how to fence, and having been a fencer himself for six years, Dale wanted to publicize the unique sport and provide a space for students to try it out themselves.

Meeting every other Friday, Dale helps to teach curious students more about fencing in a classroom setting before bringing them to the EHS cafeteria where they can put their knowledge to use. Combined with the efforts of some of his friends, Dale provides all of the equipment necessary for students to learn about the sport.

Although it doesn’t advertise like most EHS clubs, the fencing club typically attracts a fair amount of students. “Between 10 and 20 students usually attend, which is good because then everyone gets a chance to give it a try if they want to,” Dale said.

Since Dale will be graduating this spring, the club will have to be run by other students this fall. “There are some junior fencers, and I’m sure they’ll do a good job at continuing it. I’d love to see it continue and expand,” Dale said.