We are excited to announce the release of the Fencing Forward 2025–2026 Annual Report, a full look back at what has been the most transformative season in our organization’s history.
This year, Fencing Forward expanded beyond Chicago for the first time, launching a brand-new clinic program in Houston, Texas. That growth was significant enough that it prompted a change to our own name, from Youth Fencing Chicago to Fencing Forward, reflecting a mission that is no longer tied to any one city.
Our reach also went international this season. Through the Dining Forward Raffle and a hand-carried gear donation to Peru, we extended our support to young fencers at the DFK fencing club in Magdalena del Mar, near Lima, proof that the barriers we fight against show up in fencing communities everywhere, not just here at home.
We celebrated the second year of our En Guarde Merit Scholarship, welcomed a new Grant recipient in The Point Fencing Club & School, and honored four graduating team members, including two of our founding Co-Founders, as leadership passes to the next generation.
And this season, we did something we’ve never done before: we backed our mission with national data. Our newly completed 2026 National Fencing Cost & Access Survey is the first-ever national study focused specifically on fencing participation costs and access barriers. The findings confirm what we’ve long believed, fencing delivers real, measurable benefits to mental health, emotional regulation, and social connection, but access to those benefits is still rationed by income. Families spend an average of over $23,000 a year to keep a fencer active in the sport, and nearly half have already had to scale back participation because of cost.
None of this, the new city, the new country, the scholarships, the research, would have been possible without the dedication of our team members and the generosity of our sponsors and donors.
We invite you to read the full 2025–2026 Annual Report to see the complete story of this season, including the people behind every program and the data now guiding where we go next.
Thank you for being part of this season, and for helping us move fencing forward.
