Our club believes in making fencing an affordable sport for all. We are fundraising to make vital purchases that will allow us to continue to share our love for the sport with anyone who wants to join, regardless of background!

Our Story

At UoY fencing we offer training for all ability levels - both to students and to the local community of York. We even offer parafencing for those with limited mobility! We are proud to be one of the cheapest fencing clubs in the country, which allows people of all financial backgrounds to enter a sport with a high financial barrier.

We are fundraising to continue to offer fencing at a price affordable to all. The cost of living crisis has affected every part of life, including sports. This has meant that the prices of an already expensive fencing kit have climbed even higher.

With your support, we can make the purchases our club desperately needs to be able to continue offering fencing that is affordable to all. We would appreciate any donation you can make to support us!

Where will the money go?

With your generosity, we would be able to replace old and unsafe pieces of kit and invest in coaching that would improve the club’s overall athletic performance and heighten the experience. This type of professional coaching is of limited access to us and its absence requires our sessions to be often student-led.

The first £1000 raised will be invested in funding said coaching sessions while additional funding will be directed toward purchasing new kit, aiming to raise £2000 in total. This will allow for as many people as possible to fence at once in a formative and supportive environment.

Why is this so important?

The steep costs of memberships, equipment, and competing adjacent charges have traditionally positioned fencing as an expensive sport only accessible to those from higher-income backgrounds. Furthermore, access to fencing is often very location-dependent, with many of the strongest clubs being located in the London area. We have a proud history as one of the cheapest fencing clubs in the country, offering the chance to experience the sport to members of the university and local communities, despite financial background or disability. With your generous donations, we will invest back into the club to continue offering a chance to experience and improve in the sport at an affordable price.

The Challenges

Below are some of the challenges we will complete as part of the week:

• Fencing marathon: continuous fencing for 12 hours
• Hilltop fencing: We will be climbing the hills of the Yorkshire Dales carrying full fencing kit, and fence at the top.
• Fencing Kit 5k: Club members will run a full 5k wearing fencing kit (very hot and sweaty!)

Find us here

We would love to keep you updated on our progress throughout the week! You can find us on:

Instagram: uoyfencing

Facebook: University of York Fencing Club

Help us succeed!

We would love you to donate as much or as little as you are able and any donations are hugely appreciated. Your donation could also help us unlock fundraising challenges which will help us reach our goal even faster (you can see these on the challenges page).

If you are looking to support an individual athlete or challenge please put a message with your donation saying who!

Alternatively, if you are unable to donate then please do spread the word by signing up as a Challenge Week Ambassador for our club, and sharing our social media posts to your own socials so as many people as possible can read about our efforts!