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HISTORY OF FENCING IN FORT WAYNE, IN
Fencing activities in Fort
Wayne trail back into the mists of time.
Fort Wayne
has a very strong German heritage, and the German school of fencing
has been taught in this area for a long time.
In 1972, the Fort Wayne Fencer's Club was
housed at
the Jefferson
Adult Recreation
Center in Fort
Wayne. Henry Wahl taught classes there in
conjunction with the Fort Wayne
Parks and Recreation Department. They
taught classes and did demonstrations until the building was torn
down. Additionally, Henry taught Theatre III at
Indiana
University–Purdue
University at Fort Wayne (IPFW)
during this period, which was essentially a sport/theatrical fencing
class.
Around 1980, Gregory Wible started a fencing
program at St.
Francis College
and Chapel. There, they did the usual classes, demos, and
tournaments. Some of the people involved in the program at this
stage were Dr. Russ Gilliom, and his wife Lois, Wayne Braden, Tim
Roethele, Ernie Guevara, Theron Lansford, Jim Reeder, Larry Howell,
and Jaison Laker. As this program faded in the late-1980’s, IPFW
classes started. There, led by Heinz Wahl (son of Henry), fencers
began meeting in the basement of Kettler Hall. An IPFW Fencing Club
formed in 1995 and fenced in the gymnasium through 1999, when IPFW
required all fencers to actually be students and faculty of the
university.
The organization, soon renamed the Summit City
Fencing Club and led by Jaison Laker, looked for alternative “hosts”
for the club during Summer 1999, finally settling back in with the
Fort Wayne
Parks and Recreation Dept through March of 2008. The SCFC grew in numbers and equipment, in order to teach the Parks Dept
classes and promote competitive fencing.
Members since 1999 have included a diverse group from both
within and outside Fort Wayne, with interests ranging between
recreational and competitive fencing in all three weapons. Steve
Koehneke was the creator and first webmaster of
http://www.summitcityfencing.org/, and Michael MacLeod designed
the
current logo. In 2006, the club formally ratified a
constitution in February and held the first round of interim
elections in March. The first round of club officers included Jaison Laker (president, treasurer), Steve Koehneke (vice-president),
Michael MacLeod (secretary), and Tim Hegemier (armorer). These four
also served on the first Board of Directors, along with Claire Nersessian for a total of five Board members, with Tim Hegemier
acting as chairman. See the current list of officers
here.
In late 2006, the SCFC opened the doors of its
first salle, a storefront at 4123 Clubview Drive. Since then,
the club has steadily increased the number of its practices and the
opportunities for more advanced classes or private lessons.
The club remains community-based to this day offering classes for
adults and youth at the Summit City Fencing Club salle. We also promote competitive fencing by holding both local
events and USFA-sanctioned
tournaments each year. We currently host tournaments at
Zion Lutheran
Academy and also travel to attend events hosted by
other clubs in the
Great
Lakes Section!
Please join us
soon!
Comments, corrections, or
amplifications can be submitted to:
scfcinfw@yahoo.com
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