New Fencing Squad Quickly Ramping Up

Support for a fencing team at Chatham High School was building throughout last school year. But there wasn't enough money to start one, even though the high school's principals were supportive of the idea.

So Lydia Chambers, whose son, Hunter Spesnik, started fencing in seventh grade and will be a CHS freshman next year, banded together with several other mothers to generate interest for such a squad within the school. They committed to raising money for the cause, and agreed to fund the team with some of their own money.

The result? The Board of Education approved a fencing team at Chatham High School at a May meeting. Its first competition will be at Governor Livingston High School in Berkeley Heights Dec. 17.

"We just decided that it would never happen unless we stepped up and paid for it, and the parents involved for next year were willing," Chambers said last week. "They understand the budget situaion, so they were willing to pool resources to pay for a coach and pay for bussing."

The parents started working together in January to generate interest. They put together a budget with the help of other coaches around the state and proposed it to the high school administration, which expressed its approval. They later took it to the Board of Education, which also liked it.

It is the first ever parent-funded sport at Chatham High School, although there are other large sources of funding as well. The Chatham High School Athletic Booster Club has agreed to donate $5,000. The fencing group has also asked for money from the high school Parent Teacher Organization and is planning to ask for a donation from the Chatham Athletic Foundation.

The group hopes to raise $7,800 for the beginning of the season, which will help pay for start-up costs and equipment. The rest of the money will be paid by parents as students commit to the program.

All in all, Chambers said, about 35 parents have committed to the effort. Students will have to pay between $300 and $450 to participate, depending on how many people sign up.

"We've run that number by all the people interested and they said, 'Yeah, I can swallow that,'" Chambers said.

The group hopes to hire a coach by the end of the month. Now, she said, the goal is to generate interest among students.

It will host a lunchtime demonstration at the school once classes begin again. For now, it wants to "let kids know that the possibility exists." Maybe, she said, they will join a fencing camp during the summer if they know about the team. 

There are several local fencing clubs, such as the Medeo Fencing Club in Bedminster. The Chatham Club also offers fencing for younger children.

"We're just trying to get the word out to everybody that this new opportunity exists," Chambers said. "It really appeals to a different kind of kid—a kid who may not be already involved (in sports)."

She continued: "This is a kid who may have tried other sports and decided their brain doesn't work that way. It tends to appeal to these kids who, to this point in eighth grade, have not found a home in athletics."

Chambers said people can email chathamfencing@gmail.com to learn more about fencing opportunities. Several clubs in the area, she said, are offering discounts to students interested in joining the Chatham team.

The amount of kids already interested has excited the parents who have been involved in the effort from the very beginning.

"We'll have probably a pretty good team," Chambers said. "Even in our first year."