Donate Your Fencing Gear project in Wuxi

The Hungarian sabre team donates their equipment at the Donate Your Fencing Gear stand after winning a bronze medal during the World Fencing Championship held in Wuxi between July 19 and 27. [Photographer/Augusto Bizzi]

Winning medals was not the only meaningful factor to come out of the 2018 World Fencing Championships. During the competition, which just concluded in East China's Wuxi city on July 27, an initiative aiming to promote the development of fencing in disadvantaged areas by donating fencing gear was given a great deal of support from the global fencing family.

Donate Your Fencing Gear, a program launched by the International Fencing Federation (FIE) in March 2017, received more than 200 items from around 40 donors at this year's championships.

Since travelling with fencing equipment can be a laborious task, athletes were encouraged to donate their gear after the competition drew to a close. Many agreed with the project's cause and ended up doing just that. The donations will benefit many people for whom the high costs of fencing gear would have likely prevented them from achieving their fencing dreams.

Aron Szilagyi, the men's sabre champion at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, was one of the donors this year. Szilagyi and the Hungarian team donated their fencing clothing, masks, gloves, and shoes which they wore when they won the bronze medal on July 25.

"Many donors do not really get the chance to promote fencing or start their own fencing schools, but through this initiative they are able to give the opportunity of fencing to those less fortunate," said Szilagyi.

German fencer Anne Sauer is also a supporter of the initiative. "The electric jacket I donated was what I wore during my first championships. It holds special memories for me but I was really happy to donate it for other people to use."

The donations are checked by staff at the Donate Your Fencing Gear stand that is set up at the championships' venue, to make sure that the equipment can still be used safely. The gear is then passed on to the receivers as soon as possible.

In 2017, five countries benefited from the initiative, among which Brazil applied to receive the donated equipment through a project called Paraisopolis Musketeers.

"Most of the children involved in the initiative had never seen any official fencing equipment and were amazed to have been given the opportunity during a fencing presentation in January", said Ana Carolina Pontes, the project manager. "About 50 children have already benefited from the project."

This year the donations will go to nine beneficiaries, including Benin, Ecuador and Mexico.

"China is also one of the big donors for the initiative," said FIE Administration Director Elena Murdaca. The Chinese Fencing Association even provided a generous donation of new equipment, she added.

In 2017, more than 20 Chinese fencers, including Fu Yiting and Xue Yangdong, donated their fencing gear. And in 2018, the Chinese Fencing Association also made a generous donation during the 2018 Junior and Cadet World Championships held in Verona, with donations being devoted to Benin.