Gillian Lionberger
Modern Language Japanese Major
Creative Writing Poetry Minor
Clemson Fencing Club
The Club
Clemson Fencing Club is an on campus club sport at Clemson University that is competitive and recreational. They accept fencers of all skill levels. When I joined the club my freshman year, I had no experience in fencing. The club teaches all three weapons, saber, foil, and epee, and I chose to focus on saber. Practice was held three times a week. During practices, we would do team bonding games, practice footwork and blade-work, and get on the electrical strips to practice pool bouts and DE bouts.
Competition
Clemson Fencing Club is known to compete both locally nationally. I've competed in many individual and team tournaments with Clemson Fencing. Some highlights of my fencing career are:
-
Placing 2nd in the Athens beginner tournament, Fall 2020
-
Placing 2nd in women's team saber at the Southern Intercollegiate Fencing Association Championship, Spring 2022
-
Placing 8th in women's team saber at the Collegiate Fencing Championship, Spring 2022
Fencing in tournaments requires physical ability as well as mental. Fencing requires fast critical thinking in order to win the touch. Fencing at competitive tournaments has helped me understand how I function in stressful environments and allowed me to showcase my support for my teammates.
Leadership
Besides fencing, I also held leadership positions in the club. For the 2022-2023 year, I was secretary and coach for saber. As a secretary, I handled various tasks such as ordering club warm-ups, organizing volunteering, and planning Tiger Open 2022, our home tournament. During my time as a secretary, I learned how to manage and organize a team of 40+ members and how to manage my schedule better to complete work for school and the club. As a coach, I led practices and assisted fencers at tournaments. Being a coach taught me how to convey my ideas for others to understand, communicate effectively, and how to lead people.
To learn more about Clemson Fencing Club follow the Instagram
@clemsonfencing