As South students walk past the East Cafeteria Tuesdays after school they see some of their peers participate in a new club called Fencing Club.

The first Fencing Club meeting was scheduled for Oct. 18, but due to some confusion among the members, their first official meeting was Nov. 22.

According to Jim Shellard, assistant principal of student activities, clubs serve as “another avenue [for students]… to stay connected with the building”.

With 83 clubs this year, Shellard believes that the more students are interested in new things, the more clubs there will be.

“There had been some students coming to me saying that they were interested in a [Fencing Club],” Shellard said.

 John Skorupa, Fencing Club sponsor, states that there had been a growing interest every year.

“When I was in high school I was a fencer,” Skorupa said. “I went to Junior Olympics three times, National Championships twice and almost qualified to Team USA.”

Skorupa said that now is the perfect time to start Fencing Club. Students from both South and North have expressed their interest in a Fencing Club and are both willing to form a co-school club.

According to member sophomore Jeffrey Matthews, without any equipment, the members are still learning about fencing.

“We […] practice many other aspects that do not require equipment such as footwork, technique, form and strategy,” Matthews said. “Our long-term goals are to build a lot more interest this year, and hopefully get some fundraising going.”

According to Matthews, the money they raise will not go only towards buying equipment but to also pay the expenses to travel to other fencing tournaments to observe.

“There is a possibility of forming a fencing team as a winter sport, but this would be for years to come,” Matthews said.

However, he said that they cannot begin without more student interest and he hopes that many more people will join.

“Most kids see fencing on their Wii, but fencing is an event, and it looks very cool,” Skorupa said.

Fencing is, according to Skorupa, like a game of chess that is played with swords instead of chess pieces. Fencing requires a lot of strategy and mindset, Skorupa explained.

 “I would recommend this sport to people who are looking for something a little different,” Skorupa said.

South students interested in joining Fencing Club should visit the East Cafeteria from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesdays.