- April 19, 2024
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Jennifer Seachrist has been fencing since she was 10 years old. Given that she couldn't be left alone at home, her love for the sport developed in an unexpected way — Seachrist was dragged along to her brother’s fencing classes. However, after six to seven months, her brother quit the classes. She stayed.
Fast forward to the present, and now she and her husband, Jason Seachrist, own Winter Garden Fencing Academy. Tucked away on the corner of South Main Street and East Joiner Street in downtown Winter Garden, the Seachrists’ club was one of five fencing programs honored by USA Fencing with a Club of Excellence award.
Winter Garden Fencing Academy was recognized June 29 in the category of Diversity in Woman’s Programming, a distinction which honors fencing schools that encourage diversity within the program.
Currently, 35% of the club’s 60 members are female. Jennifer Seachrist says that ratio is pretty high compared to most clubs, but adds that all they’ve done is make sure they reduce any potential barriers to entry in their program — by keeping their prices as low as possible, challenging the perception that fencing is an elitist sport and accepting any interested members starting from age 6.
“We’re not necessarily going out and finding people,” Jennifer Seachrist said. “We’re just laying it out; We’re saying this is who we are, and we want everybody to come and play. We keep our prices as low as we can, that way everybody can come and fence.”
The couple met through the Orlando Fencing Club 12 years ago after they took over a fencing class in a former karate studio that Jennifer’s coach used to teach. After noticing the high level of interest in fencing from the kids, the Seachrists started their own club, which “exploded” and became what it is today.
“We were just doing local tournaments before, and now we’ve got kids going all over the country for national tournaments,” Jennifer Seachrist said.
The Seachrists are not slowing down anytime soon in their efforts to welcome anyone interested with open arms — and dueling swords. After being contacted by some people with a successful wheelchair program, they now have an interest in adding a fencing program for people who use wheelchairs.
“I’m planning to go in the next six months to visit them, so we can figure out how they got started so we can bring something like that to Florida,” Jennifer Seachrist said. “There is no wheelchair program in Florida, but that’s kind of where we’re going with it — and that’s how we got this award. We work really hard to make sure that everybody realizes there’s no reason why you can’t fence.”
Given the club’s current size, it came as a pleasant surprise to be mentioned for an honor alongside prestigious fencing programs around the country. The Seachrists’ club is the only one in Florida that received any kind of recognition.
“It’s very surreal,” Jennifer Seachrist said. “It’s a huge honor, and we’re kind of humbled by it because there’s a lot of amazing programs out there. When we read the article that had the other Club of Excellence awards from the five different categories, we were right up there with pretty amazing programs that we’ve heard about for years.”
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Contact Gabby Baquero at [email protected].
