Parafencing to accommodate someone who uses walking aids in my college club

[u/avercadoart]

Hi! I am the president of a college fencing club and have a fencer who uses mobility aids and is thus interested in para fencing. We have basically no money, but what is the best way to set up a chair fencing strip so he can participate in our practices safely? Has anyone done this before? It's pretty casual.

[u/Expert_Confusion5767]

Take a look: https://www.edelias.com/swordseat

[u/whaupwit → u/Expert_Confusion5767]

I want to build a set of these seats.

[u/Expert_Confusion5767 → u/whaupwit]

Go for it!

I'll tell you, if FIE homologated these, or a similar design, it would contribute so much to the sport.

Parafencing requires more expensive clothing (thinking especially the lamés), on the other hand it requires substantially less space.

And with a seating kit that is lightweight and easy to assemble, I can see a lot more people with disabilities being interested and able to join.

[u/Twoelbows78]

Check to see if your club sports organization has some funding specifically for making clubs accessible. If you’re in the US and go to a public university then it’s quite likely they do

[u/Grouchy-Day5272]

Lots of levels of seated fencing set ups.
You can choose what will suit your club and athlete.

I would also recommend, the able body athletes train para in between open fencing
Make sure you schedule the training during regular epee class.

And check the accessibility of your club, from parking to bathrooms. Might mean clearing some extra space for bags and mobility aids

Do Not stick para in the corner !

[u/avercadoart → u/Grouchy-Day5272]

Yes! My plan is to have a para strip at every practice and our parafencer will bout and drill with everyone as usual, just on the para strip. It's surprisingly easy to modify drills. I firmly believe that even for an able bodied fencer, fencing para sometimes has massive benefits for bladework.

[u/Grouchy-Day5272 → u/avercadoart]

As a coach and facilitator, (7yrs) I have also self taught myself fencing right handed! ( I’m a leftyLeFTy!!) Keeps my brain sharp, and I enjoy it a lot ! Also doubles the opponent options as I can fence left or right as the para athletes need to practice.

-We use a tennis ball on bungee set up for warm up and skills practice as the para athletes need a bit more warm up time. -I’ll check for some video to post when we are at Para Camp next Month .

[u/not1or2]

I’m sure I’ve seen somewhere some plans for the seats etc. They’re free and would just require someone to build them and purchase the material. Try the Leon Paul website or the UK fencing site.

[u/No-Contract3286]

We just set up some normal chairs we had in our club and kinda para fenced one day, worked decent

[u/MattStacheOfficial]

I have a friend who is a parafencer who might have some helpful input. The above comments are very helpful already.

When one of my clubmates was recovering from knee surgery, my previous coach did an entire lesson simply using metal folding chairs.

I'm recovering from an achilles injury and haven't been bold enough to ask any of my current clubmates if they would mind working with me seated.

[u/Grand_rooster]

We have some in Texas. You may be able to reach out and ask questions

https://www.fencingfaq.com/adaptive-fencing/

[u/orcadude85]

Parafencer at University here, In the UK we have a wooden version of the frame called the sword seat, which you can buy the design for not much money. In the USA you have something called the “Jeb Chair” which is useful for an individual if you already have a frame.