When I took up fencing as a freshman at MIT in 1965; women got the short end of the stick. Of the three weapons, we were only allowed to fence foil, and our rules protected our ladylike weakness — or some such. We fence 4 touch bouts, not 5, and we were forbidden to fléche. This seems trivial, but it emphasized our “protected” status.
There were other inequities that eventually were addressed under Title IX of the Civil Rights Act. Others took longer.
When I returned to fencing in 1983, women had made headway in épée and sabre, at least to the extent of participating in mixed events locally. Committees at the national level were encouraging the USFA to establish qualifying paths and higher level competition nationally.
I took action the only ways I could: speaking up as a local official and throwing my body on the line in women’s and mixed competitions.
Working with the Women’s Sabre Committee, I had a hand and voice in securing our first national championships in 1988. I came in last.
We pushed forward on all fronts, including helping run the men’s competitions to keep our faces in the field. Around 1991, Mark and I met a young ex-Soviet sabre fencer and teacher who was looking for a way into the US scene; we were helping put on a World Cup Sabre even locally. From that meeting, I acquired a sabre coach and Coach acquired the ears of US national officials.
In 1993, we had a team entered in the first Women’s Team Sabre competition at USFA Nationals, and we had Coach to come with us. We took the silver medal, and Coach did a lot of talking with other East European coaches looking to get ahead.
My athletic performance started showing the effects of age, even as I entered every national competition I could. in 1998, at Nationals in Austin, Texas, I had my best finish ever — 9th in Division 2 Women’s Sabre — and tore the meniscus in my right knee. I could only watch and cheer as the younger crew took flight without me.
In 2004, standing beside Dad’s hospital bed, I watched the finals of the first Women’s Sabre of the Olympics.
