When I took up Fencing at Melbourne in 2022, I did not see much visibility in terms of LGBT+ events in fencing, but this was based on my knowledge of other sports that some of my friends are involved in – Waterpolo, Long and Short distance marathon, Wrestling (of course), Bodybuilding and Tennis so I expected the same for fencing.

It was not until the end of 2022 when I registered to participate in the “Gay Games HK 2023” for fencing that conversations within the community started to surface.  It was a new idea, since the “Gay Games Paris 2018′ no Aussie Fencers participated.  I was nervous and cautious as to whom I disclosed this to and the first person I told was Elli from my fencing club CrossXswords – an inclusive club with no judgement then I also started to fence at Rogue on Monday nights for leisure.  Sam Auty (formerly CXS Sabre coach) approached me in September 2022 about the Pride Cup, I had no idea what the Pride Cup was, but she asked me to look into it because she wanted to start one in fencing and wanted me to get involve.  No one in the Victorian fencing community knew about the Pride Cup but this initiative started in 2014 by a Footy Player named Jason Ball.

The revolution started.. Had I not registered for Gay Games, we are probably still sitting around twitching thumbs, but it does not matter who started it or who said it first.  There needs to be continuous vibration to cultivate the energy throughout the wider fencing community, not just holding events but also engaging with fencers or people outside the community.  As small as this sport is in Australia, if the wider community do not know fencing can be learned in Australia, the minority such as the LGBTQ community would have even fewer exposure. 

In April 2025, I was approached by Avery, Participation Officer from Australian Fencing Federation (AFF) in regard to an opportunity being offered by GAMEON, a weekly programme on JOY49.9 radio based in Melbourne that focuses on LGBTQI inclusion in sports.  The producer of GAMEON Jacqueline Shield was curating a photographic exhibition to celebrate inclusion in sports across Australia. 

It is such an honour to be included in the Sports with Pride and Joy, and this is a first for fencing in Australia being included in a group show of this calibre.  I attended the opening night on Thursday 14th August at Vic Pride Centre, met several people who are intrigued about fencing and to have my photograph among other great photographers in the community is absolutely tremendous.

Most people had no idea that you can learn fencing in Australia but this dialogue seems to quite common in the wider community.  Therefore, it was a great opportunity for me to talk about the sport while engaging with the people at the opening.  I spoke to several people who have watched fencing at the Olympics over the years and ar very curious about the sport.  I think I have given the sport justice by keeping people engaged when I talked about the supportive community and how my fencing photography has also found a fan base within the fencing community over the last 3 yrs. 

I reached out to one of the fencers in the photo to talk about her experience at 2024 Pride Cup.

Ed: In your opinion, how far has Pride and visibility come since you started fencing?

Liz:

Hi Ed, so in terms of my own background, it’s totally pride related in a way, because I met my wife at a fencing club in NYC. We celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary last weekend actually. In NYC, it’s of course more liberal and the types of people we ran into at various clubs thought it was cool that she and I were both fencing and life partners (well at the time just dating). However, there was certainly no pride related events, flags, patches or any discussion of it in fencing at all. That was 2007-2010. Generally speaking I’d say it was only recently and really in Melbourne that we experienced anything like a Pride Cup or an overt display of things like the pride flag being permanently on display. To me, that is a real statement that hey, no matter who walks through these doors, we will not support homophobia.

I remember being sceptical of who would show up to it in 2024 but it was a good turn out. For me, some things I will couch in neutral language are that the demographics of fencing has changed very dramatically in the last 5ish years, and the people fencing now tend to come from backgrounds where pride is not at the forefront. That worries me, and so I think it’s damn important that the symbols remain at State.

I also elaborated on the idea that while I fence very primitively, some win and even more lost, but my focus with participation in the sport put me in the right position to photograph events across the country as well as build content for the Fencing Sport Photography website and associated platforms.  There is no other way to build content than getting involved 100%.

Sport with Pride and Joy
6th August – 22nd September 2025
Vic Pride Centre 79-81 Fitzroy St, St Kilda VIC 3182

Photo shot by Jacqueline Shields (Curator and Producer of GameOn)