Team Donation - UP Fencing Team (5000)

Hi, this is Xavier Reyes. As most of you probably know, I moved to Manila, Philippines  to attend the University of the Philippines campus in Diliman, Quezon City.   At UP, I am studying Computer Science and fence on the varsity team.  

Fencing has been a passion of mine and I’ve had the privilege of learning under great coaches and at neat clubs.  Even when I vacationed in the Philippines, I was able to work with local coaches and meet the local fencers.  So now to be able to compete in the Philippines has been really exciting and fulfilling. But one thing I’ve come to observe is how expensive fencing is for most Filipinos and how the lack of fencing infrastructure holds back development of talent once the basic skills are mastered.

I am asking for your help in making the sport of fencing more accessible and also help improve the competitiveness of Filipino fencers when they compete.  Specifically, I’m asking for help with getting some fencing infrastructure, of scoring machines and strips, so that our fencers are able to train more effectively.

About UP

The University of the Philippines (https://up.edu.ph/) was established in 1908, and is widely regarded as THE preeminent university system in the country. Its alumni include national politicians (7 past presidents, numerous Supreme Court chief justices, senators), national artists, and a Nobel Laureate.. And it boasts the highest passing rate in board exams for Accountancy, Engineering, Medicine and other fields. Being a public university, UP has played an important role in the development of the Philippines.  

Students at UP are called "Iskolars ng Bayan" or Scholars of the People. Graduates are expected to be a catalyst for change and to serve the Filipino people through honor and excellence.

About UP Fencing Team

The UP Fencing Team (https://theupfencingteam.home.blog/) has been in existence since 1998, and competes in an annual inter-university fencing competition known as the “UAAP Championships.” It is the only government / public university in this league, competing against private universities.

Success has been rather elusive in the past decade or so, due mainly to lack of budgetary support from the university. Our team’s annual budget is very limited and is used primarily to cover coaching expenses, safety equipment, and our participation in the UAAP. Varsity fencers are generally expected to cover the cost of their personal fencing gear themselves. Being a public university, our members have different financial backgrounds and even having access to the necessities is a challenge.

Our team got its first fencing pistes only in 2018 (after 20 years!), and these were donated by fencing alumni. Fencing scoring machines are mostly donated by alumni and/or their parents. At present, our team lacks a permanent training venue in the university campus, due to the long-delayed renovation of the gymnasium.

The current temporary training venue only has 2 strips, to be shared amongst the 3 disciplines totaling 50+ varsity fencers. Thus, the foil & epee squad and the sabre squad have to alternate training days, due to the lack of space.

Goal

Our immediate goal is to help prepare our fencing varsity athletes for the upcoming UAAP Season 86 competition as well as improve our readiness as we represent UP and the Philippines in other local and regional tournaments.

We would like to purchase 2 additional fencing pistes  and 2 scoring machine sets.  Each scoring machine set is estimated at US$1,400.00, and each aluminum fencing piste at US$2,800.00.  This would allow us to have more effective training sessions and allow us to train 8 fencers at a time vs the current 4.

 Any additional funds will be used for underwriting tournaments that will allow more fencers to participate in competitions. This will help grow their skills, increase visibility of the sport, and help us recruit talented scholar-athletes in the future.

We are asking for your support to help us with improving our training facilities, and level up the competitiveness of the UP Diliman fencing varsity program.  You can course your monetary donations through the Nowhere to Go But UP Foundation, a group of UP alumni who are helping all varsity sports programs.

Thank you for your generous support. Every dollar donated will make a long lasting and meaningful impact to our program.

 #nowheretogobutUP #UPFight