Revived Fencing Program Makes Its Mark

By Leo Im '28

Fencing at Northfield Mount Hermon took a great leap forward this year as it officially returned as an interscholastic sport, announcing the revival of a tradition that dates back over a century. 

While the clash of swords with rapid footwork might feel like a new addition to the athletics lineup at NMH, student publications reveal a deep-rooted history. The earliest records of fencing at NMH date back to Feb. 20, 1892, when The Hermonite briefly mentioned that “fencing classes” were going to be added to campus life. The program reached its peak in 1938, where the Mount Hermon team secured a great victory of 14-13 over the Yale freshmen, according to the March 10, 1938, edition of The Hermanite. Despite this early prestige, archivist Peter Weis said that the sport has historically been niche, often disappearing when its passionate leaders left, creating a lack of institutional memory

The current recovery is led by coach Steven Bathory-Peeler, who brings a personal lineage to the program. “I learned fencing from my dad. … He was an all-American fencer when he was in college,” Bathory-Peeler shared. Drawing on his own memories of being a teenage fencer himself, Bathory-Peeler aims to create a positive, supportive atmosphere that “balances intensity with enjoyment.” Practices mix traditional and modern training, starting with 10 minutes of stretching followed by footwork drills. “A lot of fencing is about how you move,” Bathory-Peeler elaborated, noting that students then move on to specific technical lessons, like parry-riposte or lunge-recover. 

This rigorous training is already yielding positive results in the Massachusetts Fencing League. The team’s competitive momentum reached a new peak on Jan. 17, when the NMH boys’ varsity team secured a great win of 17-10 over Boston Latin School, while the girls’ foil and epee squads demonstrated remarkable resilience by fighting to a 9-9 tie.

Before this, the team also celebrated its first wins of the season against the International School of Boston. The boys’ varsity team won 15-9, and the girls’ varsity team won 18-9, showing that the NMH fencers are ready for any opponent. 

Just a day prior to her interview, Christina Kapadnis ’29, the squad captain for girls’ foil, watched her teammates win a very difficult match. “It was a good moment for me to be able to watch them put everything they learned into fencing,” Kapadnis said. “I was proud.” Having fenced at the Rhode Island Fencing Academy, Kapadnis observed that the NMH environment is uniquely “laid-back and kinder” compared to other fencing clubs with high pressure, which fosters a community that is “less focused on winning” and more on growing together as a team. 

For the students, fencing as a sport offers more than just physical exercise. Rather, it provides a platform for personal development. Aurora Song ’26, who returned to the sport after a break since middle school, admitted that the repetitive legwork during the practice can be “tedious and tiring,” but she finds the mental challenge rewarding. “Fencing helps me get over that fear of conflict,” she said, explaining that the sport requires one to be vigilant and react as fast as one can to an opponent. Song also emphasized the strong social bonds within the team, looking to Captain Allen Chen for technical inspiration and her roommate Ivy Bu ’26 for encouragement when the drills are difficult.

The return of NMH fencing fills a gap which was left empty when the intramural program ended in 2007. According to Weis, that year marked the end of intramural fencing at NMH after it had been offered for years. “Now there seems to be some interest and there’s also institutional support for it, which makes a big difference,” he said.

The newly established NMH fencing program, while, in the eyes of some, might seem like a return to a 19th-century tradition, is actually a modern collaboration of discipline and community as well. Through the combination of the school’s history and contemporary competitive drive, the program yields a unique athletic opportunity of challenging both the body and the mind. Even today, as the NMH fencers face their competitors with sword in hand, they stand at the very center of a revival that honors the past while confidently looking towards the future.

Leo Im is a sophomore and workjob student reporter in the NMH communications office.
Photos by Ben Barnhart