Missoula Youth Fencing Association was established by our current director, Laura Lee, in the fall of 2007.  Laura’s two sons had shown an interest in fencing a couple of years earlier and pursuing this interest quickly brought about the realization that fencing in Montana usually means posts, poles, and barbed wire.  Using the University of Montana Fencing Club as a resource, Laura was able to find an instructor for her two sons and one of their friends.  This small group of three fenced together for 6 months until the teacher moved on. By that time, the kids were hooked on the sport, so the search was on for another quality instructor. This time Laura lucked out and found two UM Fencers interested in teaching kids this wonderful sport. 

 

 It was not long before word got around that some young people in Missoula were playing with swords, with their parents’ permission.  So, with teachers wanting more students, and many young people looking for a way to learn fencing in Montana, the Missoula Youth Fencing Association was born.  Since our inception in 2007, we have had 250+ children participate in our lessons and summer camps.  The story we hear from first-time callers is often the same: they have a child who has wanted, for years, to learn the sport of fencing, but they never thought they would have the opportunity in Western Montana.  Many of our students say they have found the sport they were looking for.  The combination of athleticism and strategy involved in fencing is appealing to many children who are not necessarily interested in other team sports.  This challenging sport is the perfect fit for so many, and we are happy to bring it to our area. 

 

Now some of our youth participants have entered adulthood and our program has grown up with them. To reflect our expanded club membership, and to encourage more adults and families to participate in this great sport, we changed our name to the Missoula Fencing Association in the fall of 2010. In addition, we changed our mission statement to show that our mission now is not just to bring the sport of Olympic fencing to youth in Western Montana, but to anyone interested, regardless of age.