A new sport may be coming to Darien High School in the future as a group of students work to bring fencing to the larger school community. 

With its rich history and longstanding status as an Olympic sport, fencing is popular all over the world, from here in the US to Italy, China, Egypt and beyond. Moreover, its set of three disciplines- épée, saber and foil- each follow different rules and ways of thinking, earning fencing the nickname of “physical chess.”  

In spite of its global popularity, fencing is a sport that has little traction overall in Darien. Some students are looking to change that. 

Kaelyn Lee ’26 is president of the current fencing club at Darien High School, which was just started last September. Lee is a saber fencer with Stamford Fencing Club who seeks to bring more attention to the sport, as she believes it comes with many benefits. “Fencing is an amazing way to strengthen your cognitive ability and improve your muscle memory,” she said. 

Although she has successfully created an after-school club attended by a steady group of interested students, Lee is looking to take things a step further and hopes to create the foundation for an eventual fencing team representing the Blue Wave. 

To do this, she has teamed up with another local club, Candlewood Fencing Center, in Norwalk. Its owner, Jeremy Goun, has overseen the creation of fencing teams elsewhere in Fairfield County, notably fostering a program at Greenwich High School, among several others. 

Preparations are underway to arrange for Goun and Lee to meet with Darien High School’s athletic director, Chris Manfredonia. 

There, they intend to come up with a plan to move forward with the idea and discuss issues regarding coaching, funding and marketing for the potential team.