In addition to traditional camp activities such as sports, archery, aerobics, culinary and arts and crafts, Camp Mesorah campers delight in being exposed to specialties that they do not normally have access to throughout the regular school year. One such program is fencing—and Mesorah is the only co-ed Modern Orthodox camp in the Northeast that offers it. Now in its second year, Dina Simon, the fencing instructor, has designed a program that teaches foil and covers all the basics of footwork and bladework, giving the campers the necessary skills to learn proper fencing techniques, attacks and ripostes.

During each class, campers suit up in full fencing gear, review past skills, perform drills to learn new strategies and participate in several round robin fencing bouts where campers can compete against multiple opponents. When they are not fencing, participants have the opportunity to judge several matches, since observing matches helps improve their skills as well. Olympic-grade rules and regulations are employed, from the starting salute to the ending handshake.

Fencing is offered weekly to all boys and girls entering seventh through tenth grades. Campers who do not have the activity on their weekly schedule or who want extra time to hone their skills can sign up for optional workshops, which are offered three times a week. For those who really excel at the sport, fencing is on the schedule of competitions for both the Mesorah Olympics and Color War.

Fencing is a sport that engages the body and mind, a physical chess, combining decision-making skills with speed, accuracy and agility. Dina believes that while fencing is a fantastic workout for the quadriceps, and strengthens the core, some of the best fencers at camp are those who aren’t necessarily interested in more traditional sports, since it also relies heavily on strategy and skill. Dina herself stumbled upon the sport while in Barnard College and enjoyed it so much that she continued fencing beyond her college years. She has been a regular at both The Fencers Club in NYC and The New Jersey Fencing Alliance in Maplewood. She brings her love and enthusiasm of fencing to Camp Mesorah’s diverse workshop roster.

By P’nina Seplowitz