En garde!
STORY AND PHOTOS BY ANDY LEE WHITE FOR THE OBSERVER
Pictured left is Rylan Delap, Auburn Fencing Club executive director, president of the Alabama Division for The US Fencing Association and Official for the Federation; pictured right are Zena Park and sister Lina Park Internationale;D’Escrime.
OPELIKA — Big things are happening at the Auburn Fencing Club in 2024 as the club enters its seventh year of business at 229 S. Eighth St. in downtown Opelika. Owner Rylan Delap recently announced the addition of Ukrainian National Champion and World Cup medalist Aleksandr Volkov to his staff.
Volkov, a former member of the Ukrainian National Fencing Team, will serve as one of the coaches at Au-burn Fencing Club, along with handling most of the day-to-day operations while Delap is traveling to referee competitions.
“We’ve added a coach, so we’ve got plenty of capacity,” said Delap. “Our beginner classes are reopened up to accept new students. The community can take advantage of their access to the sport via our club.
“Almost everybody, when they were growing up, or at any point, has picked up a stick and started sword fighting with something — there’s that real satisfaction in it,” he said. “It’s almost engrained in us to enjoy it. The way that the sport has developed is very far-gone from real sword fighting, but the satisfaction, the sort of ecstasy that people get when they play the game, is very up there. Even though our origins have to do with sword fighting, we’re more close to tennis these days than regular kinds of sports.”
Delap said the blades in fencing are the fastest moving things in sports next to bullets.
“It’s like a whip, we’re just short of cracking the sound barrier,” he explained. “It’s the same physics. It’s got this sort of physical chess aspect to it. It’s not just who can hit first, it’s who has control of the offense and then who hits. I mean, it doesn’t hurt; we’re wearing equipment.
“We’re one of the safest sports in the NCAA,” he added. “We have fewer injuries than badminton, so we’re really safe, ironically. It’s probably the most video game-like sport out there. You have all of the lights going on, you have how technology is all set up and how when you make contact and all that kind of stuff.”
Delap said high school fencing athletes consistently have the highest percentage of scholarships of all sports, especially for women.
“There’s a wider swath of body types that can be very successful fencers, whereas it’s a lot harder in many sports,” he said. “We tend to get focused, intellectual type people because it really is a big mental game, and you don’t necessarily have to be the most athletic to be the best fencer. It certainly helps, but you can beat someone who is objectively faster or stronger than you by playing the game better, which, I guess, is valid in many sports, but it’s accentuated in this one. “
Delap is one of the few people in the country who can certify referees for U.S. fencing. Three of his students have refereed at collegiate club matches and other local and regional competitions. Delap said they get paid $100+ per day.
“For a 10- to 13-year-old, that’s great,” Delap said, “It also really trains them to be professional, and it gives them opportunities for their whole life to travel. Even if they’re not a scholarship fencer, they can still be able to get hired and a paid flight, paid travel, paid hotel around the country, potentially around the world. Even if they weren’t the best fencer, they can still be a successful referee.”
Auburn Fencing is the first and only club of its kind in this area and after only seven years already has students who are ranked number one against clubs that have been around for 20 years.
Among top performers for the club are sisters Lina and Zena Park. Lina is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Auburn Jr. High School who has clenched the No. 1 ranking in the southeast for her age group (Y14) as well as U16 and U19. Lina’s younger sister, Zena, is currently ranked No. 1 in the southeast in Y12 and is ranked No. 2 right behind her older sister in Y14. Delap said Lina is always extremely hard working and focused, and Zena is more of an aggressive fighter.
Jeemin Lee, who is ranked No. 2 in Y12 right behind Zena, was formerly ranked #1 in the southeast for Y10 after just her first year of fencing.
“(Jeemin) has a deep understanding of the learning process,” Delap said.
Edward Lim is ranked No. 1 in the southeast region in Y10 men’s foil and is also ranked No. 2 in Y12.
“Edward is very clever and smart and is the best with doing his own thing with the information he’s given,” said Delap, noting that Edward’s six-year-old sister has already started fencing training.
Benjamin Yoon is currently ranked No. 2 in the southeast region in U16 men’s foil at only 13 years old.
“He’s a hard worker and super passionate about the sport,” according to Delap.
This past weekend AFC won three national medals, as several of the Auburn Fencing Club’s top performers participated in the Capital Clash held in Washington D.C., a U.S. Fencing event sponsored by the National Fencing Foundation. Lina Park continued her dominance, capturing first place in Y14. Lina’s younger sister, Zena, finished eighth in Y12 and Edward Lim won second place in the Y10 foil competition, barely losing the final 10-9.
In addition to co-owning Auburn Fencing Club and serving as its executive director, Delap is president of the Alabama Division for the U.S. Fencing Association and a traveling official for the Federation Internationale d’Escrime. He was born and raised in Birmingham and was recruited to Penn State after high school. He was a member of Penn State’s NCAA Championship Fencing Team in 2014 and later had the honor of refereeing the gold medal for the NCAA fencing finals. His wife, Tatiana, is co-owner and coach for the Auburn Fencing Club. She was a champion fencer in Russia and a former instructor at the St. Petersburg Olympic Sports School.
The Auburn Fencing Club is open to all levels of talent. Call (334) 203-1989 for more information. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram or check out the website at www.auburnfencing.com.