At Lexington High School, students participate in an array of activities during the school year. Student-fencers, for example, are tasked with balancing a chaotic workload with a time-consuming sport. 

The challenge of balancing sport with schoolwork is one undertaken by many LHS student-athletes, and fencing, which requires extra time commitment because of international travel, is no exception. 

LHS Senior Katerina Lung, a junior national fencing team member, described how fencing at a high level demands significant commitment, as international travel and the multiple tournament rounds take up a substantial amount of a student’s time.

“Some competitions, especially World Cups, span multiple days due to team events. For example, I’ll soon be competing in Bangkok and Seoul, which will take me away from school for nearly two weeks. National competitions can also take several days depending on the schedule,” Lung said.

The fencers try to take advantage of travel time or downtime to catch up with schoolwork. When important school tests and tournaments clash, however, fencers have to manage their time diligently.

“All fencers study while traveling. I often see fencers in the hotel lobby working at a desk. I use any opportunity to study on the road before and after competition: in the airport, on the Uber, and even when I get back home after a day of competing and travelling,” Owen Jiang, a junior, said.

In addition to travel, daily practice takes up a large chunk of time for the fencers. This commitment means that they have to leverage all of their time and prioritize when time is limited. Student-fencers have to communicate with their teachers to reschedule tests and important projects.

“Last year, I missed 54 days of school–about a third of the year. It’s challenging to make up tests and keep up with schoolwork, but LHS teachers are understanding and offer extensions or allow exams to be rescheduled,” Lung said.

Although this sport is challenging for athletes, fencers like Lung and senior Lydia Shen said they are grateful for the invaluable lessons they have learned in the years they have dedicated to fencing.

“The biggest thing I’ve refined over my years fencing was my confidence. When I was younger, I put a lot of pressure on myself, which often led to poor performance. Over time, I’ve learned to believe in myself more,” Shen said.