Exam Schools. The site of many a hard-fought, nerve-wracking battle. Here, in North Schools, with the sun blazing through the windows, candidates face off against formidable opposition, locking in for several hours at a time, while people meander around the hall, watching their every move. Oh, and Varsity Fencing happens here too.
Saturday 8 March saw the 117th Varsity Fencing Match—a showcase of some extremely dramatic fencing. People being stabbed in the back (quite literally), leaping into the air, fencers being chased right to the end of the piste and, in one instance, painfully toppling over on it—to say that the matches were tense would be an understatement. North Schools was transformed into two pistes (14 metres long and 1.5 metres wide strips on which fencers compete). The morning saw Women’s Blues and Men’s Seconds (also known as “Assassins”) competing.
Each team participated in three separate matches – one per weapon: Épée, Foil, and Sabre. Fencers from each team faced off against their opposition in a three-a-side relay, with each team member taking turns to fence against someone from Cambridge. The match for each individual weapon ended when either 45 points had been scored or the overall time limit ran out. The team with the highest number of points across all three weapons won the match. This meant that each overall team bout lasted just under three hours, but the tension in the room remained high throughout all matches; if anything, it became even greater in the afternoon, where loud cheers could be heard, even in the entrance hall.
The first two matches (Épée and Foil) were won comfortably by the Women’s Blues (45-21 and 45-30, respectively), but the Sabre match was significantly more nail-biting. Having begun with a lead, this dynamic began to shift midway through the match, with Oxford and Cambridge fighting neck and neck, before ultimately losing 43-45. Their decisive victories in the earlier two matches, however, meant that Women’s Blues continued their Varsity winning streak for yet another year!
In contrast to Women’s Blues, the matches for Men’s Assassins were all extremely closely fought. The match point for Foil (with a score of 44-44) saw a large crowd gathering nervously, with the final point of the Foil bout going to Oxford. The Épée match point was ushered in by a deathly silence across North Schools, broken only by the épéeists squeaking across the piste. The silence was broken with a roar as the final score ticked up to 45-44 to Oxford, yet a previous loss (41-45) in Sabre brought the overall victory to Cambridge.
Returning from lunch saw Men’s Blues and Women’s Seconds (“Assassins”) competing, and—with at least some Tabs having been successfully shoed in the morning matches—the sudden appearance of two Oxford blue shoe costumes bobbing through the crowd. Bolstered by the earlier Women’s Blues victory, the afternoon session also saw the loudest cheering I have ever heard in Exam Schools. The Men’s Blues match saw another decisive victory for Oxford (Foil: 45-38, Épée: 28-45, and Sabre: 45-27). This was particularly significant, as it marked the first Men’s Blues victory since 2019!
Unfortunately, as was the case with Men’s Assassins earlier in the day, Women’s Assassins suffered an extremely narrow loss to Cambridge, losing by a single point (Épée: 45-41, Sabre: 45-21, Foil: 16-45).
During this time, I also made a nuisance of myself to (I mean, interviewed) both Women’s Blues’ captains: Bella Bonev from Cambridge and Martha Carus Bird from Oxford.
Bella (who primarily fences Sabre) has been fencing since 2019, with a short break for COVID-19. According to her, the best thing about Varsity Fencing is “the atmosphere […] and the team. Everyone is just so supportive of each other, and it’s such a good occasion to bring everyone together at the end of the year. We’ve all competed together—up to this point—and this just tops it off: it’s so intense, so dramatic, and there’s a lot of shouting. It’s just such good fun.”
When asked about the difference between Varsity Fencing at Oxford versus Cambridge, she revealed that, similarly to when Varsity happens in Oxford, it takes place in the Guildhall or in Corn Exchange. Bella noted that “the thing is—I guess it’s similar for you here—is that I’ve sat exams there, so this is nice to have more of a fresh place and no bad memories.”
In response to my best/worst question—depending on your fondness for awful puns—“Defence, offence or ‘on the fence’?” Bella revealed that she favours a defensive position. “I’m quite a defensive player. I think—I like to see what people do and then respond, which is not necessarily a great thing to do in sabre, but yeah, I do play a little bit defensively.”
Asked about the Cambridge preparation, she (wisely) began by revealing that “it’s very secret,” before elaborating. “It’s our standard training. For the Blues team, we have three fencing sessions and a strength training session per week. So, I think there’s just more of a push towards being at training, focusing on what you need to work on. That’s probably the only difference, but it’s pretty consistent with the rest of the year.”
Finally, the advice she would give to beginner fencers was: “honestly, just have fun with it. It’s such a fun sport, and I mean, you get to wave swords around! What could be better, you know? Obviously it’s great to build up your technique, but you’ll get there through practice, so honestly, just enjoy it.”
Martha, the Oxford Women’s captain, is a foilist and has been fencing for somewhat longer than Bella: “since the start of London 2012, so coming up to 13 years.” Similarly to Bella, she touched on the location as being a particular highlight of Varsity Fencing, not to mention the post-match Varsity dinner!
Yet, the location of Varsity Fencing in Oxford can also be a drawback, with the worst thing being “the pressure. Which is something that you definitely put on yourself, but having friends and family there—obviously your friends aren’t going to come out to Cambridge, and it’s kind of the one chance a year that they get to see you fence. So having people can be quite stressful, but that’s a very self-created problem—also just the admin and organising!”
Similarly to Bella, Martha also tends towards a defensive position on the piste. “On the back line, actually, not even on the fence for me!” Oxford and Cambridge training schedules are also fairly comparable: “two or three times a week with one or two footwork sessions, most of the First Women’s team have private fencing lessons once a week and we generally do one or two S&C [strength and conditioning] sessions per week.”
Indeed, interviewing both captains really served to highlight the similarities between the fencing clubs at Oxford and Cambridge. From both sides of the piste, fencers are united by a deep passion for and dedication to their sport, encouraging more people to give it a try: “everyone should have a go, it’s so exciting,” and a love of Varsity.
Varsity is a reminder of just how much Oxford and Cambridge have in common (even if during Varsity fencing matches themselves, you may well be greeted on return with a half-joking “What were you doing, talking to a Tab?”)
All in all, watching Varsity Fencing was a fantastic experience, and I would highly recommend paying a visit to Exam Schools when the 119th match rolls around in 2027. The sight of people duelling under the noses of stern-looking portraits is an iconic one, as well as being thoroughly gripping and absolutely worth a watch!