1st-year club brings fencing to Seneca Valley
JACKSON TWP — Seneca Valley student Ryan Cox has been involved in the sport of fencing for two years, but he was traveling to Peters Township to do it.
The Tiger Fencing Club, run by Tim Yultchiev and Elmira Ioultchieva, is based there. Ryan, 15, “has always been fascinated by the sport,” his father, Daniel Cox, said.
“He approached me about bringing fencing to Seneca Valley, so we went to work on it.”
That’s how the Seneca Valley Fencing Club was formed. Daniel Cox is president of the first-year organization, which consists of 10 students learning and competing in the sport.
While the school district does not support the club financially, Seneca Valley has provided use of the Intermediate High School cafeteria each Thursday for after-school practices. The club recently held a home match in the Seneca Valley Senior High School gym.
“We had 26 students come out to our first meeting,” Cox said. “That number got whittled down to 10. It’s not that the others lost interest — most were very intrigued by the sport — it’s that these kids are involved in so many different activities. It’s hard for them to find the time.
“When we told Tim we had interest in starting a club team, he offered to come up here and coach the kids.”
A Peters Township resident, Yultchiev also coaches other high school teams. He has each team practice a different day of the week so he can attend all of them. He’s been a fencing coach since 2003. Ioultchieva serves as his assistant coach at SV.
“I believe in the sport, and I want to help it grow,” Yultchiev said. “Fencing is physical chess. You have to outsmart your opponent, use different strategy. If you do the same move all the time, you become predictable.
“It is definitely a sport of strategy and coordination.”
Fencing consists of two forms, foil and epee. An electronic scoring system is used to determine when a fencer scores on the opponent.
“Foil is more precise, there must be direct contact made in a certain area,” Yultchiev said. “Epee scores more general contact.”
Seneca Valley is a member of the 12-team Pittsburgh Interscholastic Fencing Association and is the only high school in Butler County with a fencing team. Other schools in the league are Peters Township, Seton LaSalle, Bethel Park, Mt. Lebanon, North Allegheny, Fox Chapel, Winchester Thurston, Shady Side Academy, Aquinas Academy, Pine-Richland and Allderdice.
SV fencers and their families foot the bill for participation. A basic startup fencing set, with all the necessary equipment, costs $744. There are monthly dues for club members as well. Cox said the fencers pay roughly $100 per month to participate.
“We’re hoping to attain some sponsors and help defray some of those costs in the future,” he said. “The scoring systems cost a few hundred dollars and the Tiger Fencing Club is lending us the use of theirs for now. Eventually, we’ll have to get our own.”
Caleb Magill is the lone senior on the team.
“It looked interesting, so I decided to check it out,” Magill said of first hearing about the club. “I wanted to try something different and I’m glad I did. This is a sport of skill and a lot of fun.
“I’ve enjoyed getting to know everyone and traveling around to different schools for matches. It’s been a very positive experience.”
Yultchiev pointed out that some programs in the PIFA have been around for a number of years.
“Peters Township, Mt. Lebanon, they’ve had fencing teams for 12 years now,” the coach said. “It’s going to take a while to gain ground. This is a very patient process.”
Magill is fine with that.
“I want to fence against people with more experience than me,” he said. “That’s how you learn. I’m not going to learn much if I’m fencing against somebody worse than I am.”
Sebastian Hill, a junior, said he told his mother a while ago that “if a fencing team ever came to this area, I would try it. This club was formed and I was in.
“You’re competing with swords, which is pretty cool, and it’s such a unique sport. I’m constantly learning new skills and different techniques.”
Magill and Hill plan to fence in college as well, eventually joining clubs at Kent State University and the University of Pittsburgh, respectively.
Cox is confident the Seneca Valley Fencing Club will continue to grow.
“Our goal is to double our membership by next year,” he said. “Our club is gaining more and more exposure. I think we can make that happen.”
