SchermaOnline.com - Rebecca Ward’s three “S”: School, Saber and Sincerity

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Rebecca Ward is the 2006 Turin World Championship women’s saber gold medalist. She is the first fencer and likely she will remain the only one to win a triple crown by earning the Cadet, Junior, and Senior World Championship titles in one year (2006) at the incredibly young age of 16. She is home schooled and is ready to start her college education at Duke University this fall after the Olympic Games in Beijing. (Courtesy Acclaim Images)

We are grateful to Rebecca for finding the time in her über-busy schedule to answer candidly all our questions.

Ella Loescher and g-man for Schermaonline

The Beginning

SCHERMAONLINE:
Rebecca, could you tell us when and how you started fencing and what lead you to saber?

WARD:
I stumbled onto fencing when I was in a recreation center looking for a swimming pool. My father and brother signed up for a foil class first. Since the foil class was for 13 years old and up, we found a club nearby that offered saber classes for kids. I went the next week, and almost nine years later, here we are.

How She Does It?

SCHERMAONLINE:
As one extremely young athlete who was/remains consistently in the top 2 senior women’s saber FIE world ranking since October 2006 (then 16 years old) and in the top 5 junior women’s saber FIE ranking since October 2004 (then age 14) how did you and how do you cope with the demands these incredible results require in terms of time, physical and mental stress, while leading a hopefully “normal” life as a young teenager?

WARD:
It’s been a little tough for me. I started fencing internationally when I was 13, and I've always been fencing opponents who are older and more experienced. In some ways, it made my fencing get better much faster, but in others, it was always nerve-wracking, because I rarely had an easy match. I always had to fight for every bout. Once I started having some success, there was always the expectation of more success, both from myself and my coaches. I enjoyed every bout I fenced, and knew I had made fixable mistakes in the bouts I lost. Still, when you're 14, halfway around the world and lose 15-14 to someone who’s been fencing longer than you've been alive, it gets a little emotional.

As far as a normal teenager life…what’s normal? I mean, every teenager in athletics knows that teetering balance of friends and practice. Mine is just a little worse because I'm gone for competitions every other weekend. When I'm home, though, I'm about as normal as I'll ever be.

SCHERMAONLINE:
What is your training program and when can you relax or recover? Do you ever have the time to rest with a senior fencing season that goes from January to September and a junior season that runs from September to April?

WARD:
Relax and recover? Not so much. I normally have about 2 weeks off in July. Any more and I get in trouble with the coaches. My training program: I fence 5 days a week in the evenings, about 2.5-3 hours. I used to come in 3-4 days a week in the morning for a lesson but for the past three months this has dropped to less than one a week. On average in a year I put 2-3 lessons a week. I do cross-training 3-4 days a week at a facility called Velocity Sports where we work on conditioning, speed and quickness. We normally have the weekends off if we're not competing. We also have a number of training camps throughout the year, 5-7 days or more each, where we drill and bout all day long.

It’s a constant battle to maintain an appropriate balance between training and rest. I like to go to competitions a little early to acclimate, and take a day or two off after competing to let my body recover. Our club tends to want us to leave for the meet at the last minute, and return the next morning. We've come back from long overseas trips and been back practicing the very next day. It’s very strenuous on us physically. It was the worst when I was doing a fairly full slate of Cadet, Junior, and Senior events. That’s a lot of travel. I've aged out of Cadet now, and don't go to as many Junior, but with the Olympics looming, there are plenty of Senior events we'll be attending.

SCHERMAONLINE:
What is your typical day of training to fence at this level? How many hours, how often, with whom, and how does your routine change during the season? How many technical experts, aside from your fencing coach, follow you in your preparation and who are they? Where does the training take place?

WARD:
A typical day: in the morning, I drive 20 minutes (without traffic, 45 with traffic) to the club, warm up for about 15 minutes, then take a 30-40 minute lesson from my coach, Ed Korfanty, or sometimes the assistant coach, Jacek Huchwajda. From there, I'll go to my Spanish language tutor for an hour or two, go to my physics tutor for another hour, try to stop long enough for lunch somewhere with a friend, then head off to Matt James, my cross-training instructor at Velocity Sports for an hour an a half or more of physical conditioning. This is done at their facility about 30 minutes drive from the fencing club. By now, it’s mid-afternoon. I make a snack, and get in some study time on my online classes. By 5:30, I'm back on the road for regular fencing practice, and get home about 8 p.m. I eat dinner, and spend the next few hours studying. Then I get up and do it all over again.

About the only routine changes: if it’s a while until the next major competition, I may get only 1-2 lessons a week. If it’s closer, it can be 4-5 lessons. As we approach a major event, I sometimes will do fewer conditioning classes, often taking a break a few days out to let my legs and knees rest. We also have multi-day fencing training camps: two in the summer, one right after Christmas, and several during the year when we're staying overseas between major competitions.

SCHERMAONLINE:
What many non American fencers and fans want to know is how do you reconcile your training and the time to participate in national and international competitions with your schoolwork? You are still in high school which means your prime responsibility is attending school. Sport, any sport activity is secondary, since you must go to school first. Can you describe how you can manage the conflicts between national and international travel and competitions, and your education?

WARD:
Keeping up with schoolwork is the hardest part of my training. I'm home schooled, and I don't see how I would have been able to spend as many days away from school while competing as I have the past four years if I was a public school student. I've had to learn how to study on the airplane, study in the airports, study in the hotel rooms. Sometimes it seems like my backpack full of books weighs more than my fencing bag. The Internet is really my friend. Most of my courses have at least some components that can be accessed online, so whether I'm in Belgium or Bulgaria, I can still send in my schoolwork.

It's a real competitive disadvantage for me, especially this year, when my teammates and many of my competitors have taken time off from schooling (if they're not already graduated) to prepare for the Olympics. Because I've been trying to complete all my coursework and qualify for college in the fall of 2008, I have to keep going. So while others are free from homework, I'm at the hotel in St. Petersburg working on my Calculus 2 class, Physics, Psychology, Critical Writing for Literature, American Government and Spanish 2.

Most of my teachers are very supportive of my schedule, although I still seem to somehow get nearly all my assignments in on time. But when I'm in a hotel with unreliable Internet access...like happened for a couple of days in Russia this year...it's a panic and a huge distraction when I can't do my schoolwork.

SCHERMAONLINE:
Our audience is Italian and international. For those not familiar with the concept of home school, describe what it is and how you are evaluated as a student. Do you have year-end final exams? Do you have to pass special tests? Do you work one-on-one with your teachers (and who are they?) or do you have interactions with other students, athletes or performers in the arts (actors, etc.) with similar situations?

WARD:
The State of Oregon requires me to take some standardized tests every couple of years in order to keep home schooling. I've done a lot of classes online, and I have three tutors who meet with me each week in Physics, Calculus 2 and Spanish. Because I wanted to try for a fencing scholarship at a University in the US, I also had to have enough acceptable credits for the NCAA Clearinghouse (an independent judicial body for college sports).

The hardest part of home schooling is generating a transcript of the courses you've taken, and the scores you've received. For the last few years, I've been taking a lot of classes through Stanford University and Duke University, which give me AP credits in a lot of the "core" classes required by the NCAA, and independent grades. For the tutor-led classes, I have to submit the textbooks used, and get a grade from the tutors for the transcript.

My math tutor, Rupa, is a college professor who lives all the way across the country. We meet every weekend on-line and talk to each other on Skype with a webcam. Rupa has taken me all the way from Algebra to Calculus.
My physics tutor is a fencer and high school teacher, and my Spanish tutor is an American who just returned from many years living in Mexico.

I don't have a lot of face to face interaction with other students, but most of my on-line classes include chat sessions and bulletin boards where we interact with each other and critique each other’s work.
To get into college, I have had to take the same standardized tests as regular high school students: the SAT and ACT exams.

SCHERMAONLINE:
Are you, academically speaking, a top notch student or you just try to get by since fencing is your passion and your world? In your life what comes first, fencing or an education? Any conflicts between the two or you found the right equilibrium?

WARD:
How do you define a top notch student? Because I've been home schooled, education is a part of everyday life, not something that’s segmented off. I try to balance the two as best I can. I've generally gotten all A's on my Internet course work, and scored at the 90% level on the standardized test. Sometimes I wonder where I'd be if I hadn't fenced, and instead spent all those hours on extra coursework. But then, I never would have traveled to 19 other countries, nor met so many incredible people from all over the world.

SCHERMAONLINE:
Do your parents support you in your choices in this dilemma of fencing vs. education, and what about your fencing coach and your teachers? Are they all fighting over your meager free time?

WARD:
My parents have been very supportive of the time I've had to devote to fencing. They've helped me every step of the way in finding classes and educational experiences everywhere we go. I started home schooling long before I'd ever heard of fencing, so the template was already in place when I started traveling. Pretty early on, I knew I'd want to try and get a fencing scholarship and go to college. My parents sometimes joke that they've already paid for my college education in the time and money it's taken to keep me competing on the international level. The sad part is, it's not really a joke.

My fencing coach is, obviously, a little more geared towards my fencing rather than my education. There was a little bit of a conflict with me choosing a better academic school rather than going to a school for its stronger fencing program, but I stand by my decision. As we approach the Olympics, I've really had to guard my time to balance between fencing practices, study time, and still having a few hours to spend with my friends and boyfriend.

The USFA Role

SCHERMAONLINE:
You must be the poster child of success for the USFA and anyone who wants to promote a sport with teenagers. I don't know of anyone winning in a single year as a 16 year old, Cadet, Junior, and Senior World titles so it is reasonable to assume that the “system” will do anything in its power to facilitate you in some way, to “pay you back” as it were. Is it so? What has done or is doing the USFA for you to make your life a bit easier?

WARD:
The USFA has been great, and has done the best they can with their limited resources. There are a couple of ways they help. First, there is a "Performance Enhancement Award" program that provides money, based on how high you finish. It can range from a few hundred dollars at the Cadet/Junior level to several thousand dollars for a senior meet. The problem is, you have to submit expenses like hotels and airfares within a limited time frame in order to get reimbursed, so you never “make” any money.

There are also a couple of grant programs, where you get money for winning the major events. After Torino, the USFA came up with an extra grant that really helped me pay for things like the extra cross-training. This year, the US Olympic Committee is providing some money to our Saber Squad, so that our airfare and hotel are already covered during competition travel, for the most part.

The problem is, when I compete on a full slate of meets here in the US and overseas, it can take between $30,000-$40,000 a year for training, travel and accommodations. Very little of that got covered by the rewards programs in the early years. It's been an enormous financial strain on my family. I've been very lucky to have had some good results at a number of international events, and at least earned some of the money back. I don't know how any US fencer could afford to keep traveling so much, if they aren't able to access the performance money. It's just so expensive.

The Youngest on the Strip

SCHERMAONLINE:
International competitions put you against athletes that are much older than you (physically more developed and mature) and many are “professional fencers” and all they do is just fencing and they are paid to fence. This is not your case, so how do you feel when your opponent is one who ONLY fences, assisted by a team of experts (coaches, trainers, therapists, doctors, psychologists, nutritionists, etc.)? Better, how do you feel after you beat them soundly, as I believe happens most of the time?

WARD:
At first, it was really intimidating. Every senior meet, I'd face someone who had a really scary title: "World Silver Medalist," "Olympian," "World Champion." But the more I fenced them, the more I realized what they had accomplished didn't make them invincible. Plus, when I was younger, no one knew who I was or how I fenced and that paid off for me.

It’s very satisfying to beat someone who has everything available at their whim. You just have to remember that when it comes down to it, you can't bring your entourage on the strip; it’s just you out there.

SCHERMAONLINE:
International fencing brings people and cultures together, it is not just fighting. Have you made friends with some of your opponents? Any favorites? How do you feel about fighting against a newly acquired friend if she faces you on the strip? Do you keep in touch with some of the elite fencers around the world?

WARD:
I really like the Canadian fencers. We get along great at the meets. I speak broken Spanish to the Mexican fencers, and they all think it's hysterical. I've had a good time with some of the Polish fencers and German fencers. Touya of France is really funny and mischievous. She talked me into doing some kind of political gesture in Orleans last year (since she doesn't really speak English, I'm not sure how). They thought it was hysterical. I'm probably lucky it didn't cause an international incident.

No matter how well you get along with a competitor off the strip, it’s the same as fencing teammates: we may be best friends, but we'll both try our hardest to win.

(Serge Timacheff/FencingPhotos.com)

SCHERMAONLINE:
There is no argument that American saber fencing (women) is a powerhouse. For a while positions 1, 2, and 3, in the FIE rankings were all USA (you being one of them). Your club in Portland, OR, and your coach, Polish born Ed Korfanty who is also the USA national women’s saber coach, has other students who compete with you both nationally and internationally. Arkady Burdan and the Jacobson sisters in Georgia are another group of friends/competitors for the top spots. How do you manage the social interactions with your teammates. How do you handle the rivalry on the strip and off the strip for the individual competitions and the necessary camaraderie, friendship, and togetherness for the team competitions? Is it easy to switch and adapt to the different circumstances from one day to the next?

WARD:
Good question. It's tough. We are very fierce competitors on the strip, and because we've had a pretty good record these past few years, we tend to fence each other frequently, both in US meets and overseas.

You're right though, it's a strange situation: we try our best to kill each other in the individual meet, and then, the very next day, we're asked to put all that aside and make sure we're there for our teammates.
The hardest time is when one or more of us has not fenced very well in the individual competition and are not feeling confident about fencing in the team meet. As a team, we have to do everything we can to get everyone ready to fence their best.

SCHERMAONLINE:
The world of fencing has a large percentage of traditionalists who may look not very generously toward the inroads made by women in this sport. It took decades to let women fence épée and even longer to let them fence saber. Some in the old continent tend to belittle the event of women’s saber comparing it to a jousting sport. One of the reasons given by someone in the French forum Escrime-Info.com, was that a weapon where a fifteen/sixteen year old can emerge and dominate the world arena cannot be considered a serious weapon. What do you think about this? Do you feel that this is a case of “sour grapes” on the part of “old” European foxes which cannot get inside the “new” chicken coop?

WARD:
Hmm...what's French for "misogynist?" Also, did they miss the whole part where Anne-Lise Touya won the World Championship in 2005? Was it "jousting" then?
For the U.S. in Men’s Foil, Gerek Meinhardt is ranked first by almost 2,000 points, he‘s my age. In Women’s Epee, Courtney Hurley is ranked first, she’s my age. In the USA there is no professional fencing, so there are very few adults that can travel around the world and support themselves. Because of that, the US produces young fencers.

The entire premise of the claim is ridiculous: we are the smallest event, but Saber is the smallest event in both Men’s and Women’s. The ratio to saber and epee is about equal for both genders. Why isn’t Men’s Saber a joke? If they spent decades forbidding women to fence Saber, how can they come back 9 years later and criticize its development?

SCHERMAONLINE:
Given your age I doubt you had time to practice other sports. Is it so? If you were to start all over again, would you go back into saber? Or would you try something else, something more “lucrative” like women’s golf or tennis? What is that you love about fencing in general and saber in particular? Would you encourage a pre-teenager to get in this sport as you did?

WARD:
I started in gymnastics, which was very good for learning kinesthetic awareness. Not really a lucrative sport either, and really hard on the body. I tried figure skating, but I found it really boring. I like playing tennis, but I don't know if I could cover that much ground fast enough.

I just love the mental aspect of fencing. Sure, you have to be able to move quickly, and good hand speed is important, so athletic ability certainly counts. But your best weapon is your brain. If you can learn to analyze and anticipate and confound your opponent in a few minutes on the strip, the match is nearly won. I like saber in particular because it's fast, and you have to think quickly and clearly. I would definitely encourage any pre-teens to get into this sport. It’s great mental and physical exercise.

The Competitors

SCHERMAONLINE:
Talk about your competitors, both national and international. Who do you “like” because every time you fence them you feel –win or lose—that you've learned something new. Who don't you “like” because you have not figured them out yet? Is there a particular school which you find produces champions who are especially fearsome?

WARD:
I like Sada Jacobson and Sophia Velikaia of Russia. Sada always fences extremely aggressively and can change her game between points. Velikaia can fence completely differently every time. I never know which Sophia is coming onto the strip. Sometimes I can solve her game really quickly, but sometimes not. It's never boring going up against her. I can usually figure out most fencers after a little while, but some of the referees are much harder to accurately diagnose.

As far as a "school"...I think it's more the fencer than the coach, or the system.

The Italians

SCHERMAONLINE:
What do you think of Italian fencing in general, and of the Italian women saber fencers? Are you friend with any of them? As you know the Italian saber program (women and men) has changed leadership a year and a half ago when the CT Christian Bauer was sent packing (and since moved to China to lead their national program) and at least according to the FIE points this has been a positive change for Italian women’s saber program. Did you notice any change in your Italian opponents ever since Bauer’s dismissal?

WARD:

They're great people and loads of fun; they're so dramatic. I love the way they protest with their hands, and their oh-so-agonized expressions. If I can get Alessandra Lucchino to throw up her hands and say, "Mamma mia!" then I know I'm doing well.

They seemed to drop down a bit when Bauer first left, but they're back now. Their new coach seems to be very vocal and really gets in the referee's face. He's also has the loudest hand clapping I've ever heard. It seems to help get them all fired up. Technique-wise, they seem to fence the same way as before.

The Chinese

SCHERMAONLINE:
Since we asked you about Italian women saber fencers tell us about the Chinese fencer Tan Xue, currently on the #1 spot in FIE rankings. She seems in fact to have benefited from the arrival of Christian Bauer in China, proving that a move of a head coach can be a blessing for those he left and also positive for the new charges. Did you notice a change in the Chinese since Bauer’s arrival?

WARD:
Asian fencing in general has been developing a lot. China has gotten better. That could be because of Bauer, or just the maturing of the fencers, though. Tan Xue was in the Olympics in Athens, and then had a couple of tough years, I think the change in timing got to her. She's really fencing better now...but I couldn't say whether it's the coaching, or whether she is just in better shape or a better frame of mind. It will be very tough fencing her in China with the home strip advantage.

The top 10 Women Sabreists

SCHERMAONLINE:
One last question about your world competitors. The top ten women saber fencers in the world are currently three Americans, three Russians, two Polish, one Chinese, and one Italian. What about the Russian trio of Netchaeva, Velikaia, and Fedorkina? And the two Polish girls Jozwiak and Socha? And the Italian Marzocca? Which one gives you more problems, or do they? Is there any other top fencer who is harder for you to beat?

WARD:
Jozwiak and Socha are sometimes streaky. If they're healthy and really on they're tough to beat. If you get up on them early, you can have some success.
The Russians are always hard. They are very, very experienced, and have great footwork and technique. The Russians also sometimes seem to lose heart if you get a big lead on them, so I try to start hard.

Marzocca is another one who can get a really hot hand one meet, and then not fence so well the next. You always know she'll definitely be passionate on the strip. Very passionate.

No Smoking

SCHERMAONLINE:
Speaking of foreign competitors and some of their habits, here is a strange question: do you smoke? Does any American elite fencer with hopes to make to the Olympics smoke?

WARD:
I don't smoke and I don't know of any of the top Americans that do.

SCHERMAONLINE:
What do you think of your foreign colleagues who apparently don't make a big deal and puff on cigarettes between bouts even at a World Championship? When you see them smoking what goes through your mind? “These, I'll ‘smoke’ THEM!” or you just don't even care or notice?

WARD:
I'm always seeing the Italian women saber fencers outside the venue, puffing away. It's funny. I cough dramatically and run through the smoke. My mother is always giving them a hard time about it, but they all laugh and keep smoking. Eh, whatever works for them. Calming nicotine, maybe?

Aldo’s Winning “Moves” Are Not For Rebecca

SCHERMAONLINE:
Continuing, if you don't mind, with comparison with European fencers. Aldo Montano, Olympic gold in Athens, in an interview on Sportsweek some time ago defined 11 points (moves in chess parlance) to reach success, namely, dream, discipline, team, luck and daring, values, ambition, good looks, manager, women/men, fiancée, and TV (exposure).

Just to be clear for both men and women athletes he advocates a stable sentimental relationship, and on the topic of the fiancée he states that if she/he is a well known celebrity it doesn't hurt.

He also stressed the importance for a top athlete to be in the hands of the right professionals capable to care for and manage your image and guide you in your choices both as an athlete and a “media” person.

What do you think about all this as a young athlete who has not yet competed at the Olympics but who has achieved what many could consider an even harder goal and a greater glory (your three world championships in one year)?

WARD:
First, I think Aldo forgot to mention proper hair care and grooming, since he seems to spend such an amazing amount of time adjusting it on the strip. Maybe he should be doing hair gel commercials. Just kidding. Sort of.

For me, you have to remember that, as a soon-to-be college fencer, I have very limited possibilities for media or sponsorship opportunities, and having an agent is absolutely forbidden for NCAA eligible fencers. I do have an equipment NCAA-approved sponsorship with Leon Paul, but it has to stop the day I start college. I'll really miss Ben, Barry and Alex Paul.

I've never been very comfortable talking about myself. I just like to fence. This is probably the most questions I've ever answered about fencing, in part, because fencing in the US is sadly very different from fencing in Europe. No one really cares all that much about fencing so it is not all that publicized. We could barely get a mention in the newspapers or sports magazines when we swept the medal stand in Torino, little less any coverage on ESPN.

2006 was a very good year for me, and since the FIE seems like it may be eliminating the Cadet World Championship, it might be tough for anyone to do the hat trick again. But as hard as it was to win the Cadet, Junior and Senior World Championships in a single year, the Olympic Medal still seems to have much more cachet. I'll go to Beijing, fence my best, and just see what happens. I think that having that many people fussing over me would drive me insane, so I'll probably stick to what I have now.

Memorable Bouts

SCHERMAONLINE:
The bout that you remember as the best, the most memorable of your career so far and why?

WARD:
Torino, 2006, the semifinal bout with Hye Lim Kim of Korea. I was down 8-6 at the break and having a hard time solving Kim's footspeed and athleticism. I started attacking a little more and began to have some success, but I made a couple of mistakes, and before I knew it, I was down 10-14. Then, I caught a lucky break when my body cord broke and I had to stop and change it. I decided since Kim was hitting me on her attack so often, I wasn't going backwards any more. I said to the back judge: "Five touches in a row? No problem..." I made a couple of hard attacks and scored, and that got her back on her heels a bit. I worked my way to 14-all, and then beat her to the attack for one of the hardest wins of my life. When the match was over, I was standing there thinking: "I wonder if I just gave my parents a heart attack?"

SCHERMAONLINE:
Which one would you rather forget?

WARD:
I don't like to forget any of them. The ones you lose badly are the ones that are the best to remember, so you can apply the lessons you learned and use them to get your revenge the next time.

The Family

SCHERMAONLINE:
Who do you credit most for your success and why?

WARD:
My parents. I know I wouldn't be able to even attend, let alone win, any world cup without them.

SCHERMAONLINE:
What is the importance of family support?

WARD:
I think the importance of family support is the way it’s utterly unconditional. You know that your fans will only be there when you're winning, sometimes the same with your coach. You know that there are people who will only want to know you because you are/were a good fencer. But you know that with your parents, you can come in first or dead last, and they'll love you just the same. When you think about it that way, you don't end up putting all your self value in fencing, and that makes it that much easier.

The Coach

SCHERMAONLINE:
What is the importance of the coach to reach this type of success?
What matters more, his personality or his technical knowledge?
When did your coach “discover” you and set you on the path to your successes?

WARD:
I think fencing knowledge is more important to producing consistently good fencers: you can be the nicest guy in the world, but if you know nothing about fencing, you're not going to be very helpful. On the other hand, if your coach is a completely horrible person, that will make you dislike him and by association, fencing.

My coach didn't discover me. My current coach wasn't my first coach, or even my second. I started fencing in a different part of the country and I won my first national championships without ever knowing Ed. About two years after I started fencing, I moved to Oregon where Ed coaches.

The Referees

SCHERMAONLINE:
In saber there are endless discussions on the competence/incompetence of referees. Some feel that with video replay wrong calls will diminish, others disagree. With the Olympic games in Beijing and the sudden crop of new Asian referees swelling the ranks of the FIE, are you concerned of the home advantage of the Chinese, “helped” by what one could call “friendly” others could call “incompetent” refereeing? What would you like to see the FIE do to make you feel that the playing field is not tilted in the easterly direction?

WARD:
I think a lot of times, it’s not malevolence or bias that makes a referee bad, it’s just that they are in fact, bad referees, or maybe having an off day. It happens to us, as fencers, where we can't do anything right to save our lives, so why should it be different for them?

I know there are some under the table deals, but that happens in every sport. I think the only thing the FIE can do is have the courage to pull referees that they know aren't directing to the best of their ability. And sometimes, that’s just really difficult to discern.

Free Time

SCHERMAONLINE:
I imagine you have very little time to be idle. In those rare moments, what do you like to do for fun and relaxation? With whom? Do you spend time with your fencer friends or with people outside your sport world? Which are your interests and hobbies, apart from saber?

WARD:
I don't have quite as much free time as I'd like, but in those moments I love to be outside, go camping and whitewater rafting. I really like photography and cooking as well. I usually spend time with my boyfriend, friends and family.

After the Olympics

SCHERMAONLINE:
After the Olympics you’ll go to college. Are you looking forward to this experience? What will be your major? Will you continue to fence both in the NCAA circuit and in international competitions? How do you see your future in fencing after Beijing?

WARD:
I'm really looking forward to college. I think it’ll be an amazing experience. I'm going off to Duke University in North Carolina, but I don't know what I want to major in yet. Maybe engineering.

I will fence in the NCAA, and we'll have to see how the classes balance out with international travel.

The Price to Pay

SCHERMAONLINE:
Sport, like any activity where one reaches the pinnacle, requires immense sacrifice and the final price often is very high. What do you think was so far the highest price you had to pay for your success? And had you known this a priori, would you have started this career? Any regrets for time or lost opportunities? Or it was all worth it and you’d do it again without any hesitation? What would you change given the chance?

WARD:
That’s a very difficult question. The highest price… I think losing all the time to explore other possibilities for my life. My non-fencing friends are all looking at internships for school and learning what they want to do with life; I'm in a fencing venue in the middle of nowhere England.

My family has had to make extreme financial and personal time sacrifice, and I really regret that they’ve had to do that.
There’s also been a rather high physical price: both my knees are shot and I just turned 18.

In the end, though, I’ve had experiences already that most people don't have in a life time, fencing has gotten me into an amazing school, and I’ve met very important people in my life through fencing. I think it’s worth it. (You’ll have to ask my bank account though)

In Closing…

SCHERMAONLINE:
Here is a series of questions which you can answer in less than ten words.

In fencing counts (from 1 to 10, 10 the highest)
- Technique 7
- Creativity/imagination 10
- Style 3

In life counts (from 1 to 10)
- Intelligence 8
- Liking/attraction 6
- Style/class 6

Your favorite music/album/song Alternative/Eyes open by Snow Patrol/ Trust Me by the Fray

Your favorite movie/actor? The Usual Suspects / Johnny Depp

Your favorite author/book? David Baldacci / 1984

Your favorite fashion/style? I couldn’t really say

Your favorite food? I love Thai food

The most beautiful thing about fencing is… the game

What do you think that you have and others don't? Unnecessary amounts of sarcasm

What do others have that you don't and would like to have? 50,000 € each time they win a championship

The most important for you:
- in love, kindness or intelligence? kindness
- in sport honesty/sportsmanship or technique? honesty/sportsmanship
- Winning a world championship/Olympic gold or having a man you like very much fall in love with you? I already have a guy that‘ll let me do both

Something worth fighting for... the ones you love
Something worth living for... a challenge.

Who is/are your hero/es and people you look up to in life and why?
Honestly, I really look up to Sada Jacobson. Simply because no matter what circumstances you find her in, she is always such a good, caring person, even when she doesn't need to be. I think that’s more admirable than anything else you can do.

SCHERMAONLINE:
Ciao Becca, thank you for your time and best wishes for your studies, your fencing, and your future!

WARD:
Prego, and ciao to you, too.

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