Annie Wright freshman Gracie Kim, Inkwell’s October Athlete of the month, is a nationally-ranked foilist fencer. Fencing is a sport where two competitors fight using swords called the foil, épée or sabre.

As a foilist, Gracie has a wide range of equipment, including knickers (fencing pants), long socks, chest plate, body cord, mask cord, mask, gloves, foil blade, and lamé (jacket to define scoring area).

Gracie trains approximately 20 hours a week and competes in tournaments every weekend. Her greatest accomplishment so far is getting in the top eight at a national fencing tournament. Her goal is to get a cadet in junior points.

Inkwell spoke with Kim about her fencing experiences.

Inkwell: What age did you start fencing?
Kim: I started fencing when I was 10 years old.

Inkwell: How did you start getting into it?
Kim: One of my dad’s co-workers told us about fencing because his kids do fencing, so then we tried it out and I started.

Inkwell: What do you enjoy most about fencing?
Kim: The community is super supportive and all the fencers are really kind.

Inkwell: Who is your favorite fencer?
Kim: Oh, Lee Kiefer.

Inkwell: Do you have any funny moments that have happened to you?
Kim: We play games sometimes, and one time when we were running, I fell. That was kind of funny.