What equipment is typically provided?

[milstdfarm]

Question about both high school and university programs around the country:

What individual equipment is typically furnished by the school versus what must be purchased and maintained by the individual fencer?

[oiuyt]

Wildly variable across different programs. Pretty much any point from "program provides no equipment" to "program provides full FIE kit plus replacements to each athlete, including separate competition and practice gear." And, of course, almost everything between those two extremes.

You might get more useful answers if you narrow the scope of your question.

-B

[catwood1]

My highschool provided full whites, and electric gear. 1 weapon, 1 cord. All of the most basic gear you could find. Anything better than that, you had to buy yourself.

My highschool club provides jackets mask plastrons and gloves. We have weapons lames and cords, but don't give them out. We lend out knickers for competitions. We STRONGLY encourage people to buy their own gear.

[InFerrumVeritas]

My old club:
Jacket, mask, dry weapons, chest protectors for women. We had enough electric equipment to keep one electric strip running (two lames, six body cords, five foils). The extra weapons and body cords were obviously for when they would inevitably break.

My current club:
The above, but with plastrons and more electric equipment (for all three weapons).

In both cases, getting your own equipment was highly encouraged (my current club has a "pro-shop" inside of it. Fencers at my current club typically get dry gear during the first set of lessons (sometime between the third and sixth week of the six week course), then electric when they're about to go to their first competition. Most fencers at my current club have their own gear.

[thekoby]

My college club basically supplies jackets, plastrons, masks and practice weapons to new students. Experienced (or older members) have first dibs on that little electric gear the club owns which includes lames (foil and sabre both), sabre masks, body and mask cords, and electric weapons. THe club also has three pairs of knickers which competitive members are allowed to borrow.

However, we ask all members who plan on competing to purchase their own gear: jacket, glove, knickers, and at least one electric weapon with corresponding cords (mask and body). Generally those members just end up buying pre-fab kits from BG or Absolute so they get a back and a mask as well. More experienced members tend to purchase once piece at a time to build that perfect set of gear (i.e. I just recently bought a LP X-Change mask to replace the BG one I purchased from the club several years back).