Thanks to Emily Marotta proposal, a new initiative called 'Women in Fencing' will be commencing on the 14th September, 10am-12pm at the State Fencing Centre. The aim is for female fencers to train together, support and encourage each other and get to know one another better, and provide a group/support network. At present it will be for Female Foilists, but it is hoped that the group will eventually cover all weapon types.
Emily has put a lot of thought into her proposal and Fencing Victoria is lending it's support to ensure that this iniative can achieve her goals.
Emily will be running these sessions every 6-8 weeks and hopes that all female fencers will take the oppurtunity to join in and meet each other.
Below is Emily's letter -
Dear Fencing Victoria Community,
Over the last few weeks I have been considering various ways to keep young women in fencing. Last Wednesday the 30 of July, it was put forward to the Fencing Victoria Executive and they have agreed to support my proposal as an activity provided by myself, Emily Marotta, and Fencing Victoria to encourage young female fencers to continue fencing.
For the last four years or so being a female foilist in Victoria has been a struggle. While fencing seems to be growing in numbers at a state level, there seem to be a lack of female fencers in our state. We tend to lose young female fencers in their mid to later stages of their teenage years and I do not want that to keep happening. To encourage younger female fencers to continue fencing I am looking to propose a group/support network, which will ultimately help increase the base of female foilists in Victoria, and give them some great training.
I would like to propose that we meet once every 6-8weeks on a Sunday morning from 10-12pm. I will organises these dates around state and national competitions, with the first session being on the 14th of September from 10am-12pm at the State Fencing Centre, Arden St North Melbourne. I want the group to include all age groups, which is why I am sending this invitation out to the entire Fencing Victoria community. This will be at no cost to anyone, and whilst I will be the overseeing coach, this is just as much about my training as it is about everyone else’s.
Fencing Victoria has seen this as an important state wide intuitive and is allowing us to train at North Melbourne. Personally, this is also something I want to do to try and help make sure no girl is put in the place I have been in of being the only female in a training session. Despite the fact that I pride myself on being just as strong and competitive as any male, sometimes it can get lonely and you can feel very much out of place.
I have chosen Sundays as it is very quiet when there are no State competitions on, and we would usually have the centre to ourselves. It means that the group can focus more on being in a supportive group environment than meeting in a competitive environment. I want this group to be just as much about producing friendships and mentors, as about producing strong, capable, and confident women.
I would love to get some feedback on this intuitive and the availability of people for the date I have chosen. So please let me know as soon as you can.
Thanks
Emily Marotta
Last Modified on 16/09/2014 13:37