Grant-A-Week WINNER
Lynn Chornobrywy - Fencing Coach

To CAAWS with thanks for my grant.

I coach fencing. I coach two fencing clubs here in the lower mainland of BC. I created these clubs for modern pentathletes in my area, to give them a place to fence with out traveling into Vancouver.

I have now been coaching these clubs for five years and continually love every minute of it. I look forward to the start of every season and being able to see the people who I coached last year, again.

Fencing is a funny kind of sport. You cannot train in fencing with out a coach and a partner to fence with. Coaching this kind of sport means that as a coach, I need to have technical knowledge that is above the student I am training. In other words, I need to be ahead of the play!

This sounds rather fundamental in coaching, of course the coach has to know more than the athlete they coach! In fencing, you have to know when and at what time, to apply this knowledge. Fencing is a game of timing and balance and knowing when to make the hit. So too, is the coaching of the sport.

In knowing how to do all this, I as a coach, work with three master/mentor coaches. They help me in learning this complicated sport by teaching me the physical, mental and emotional side of fencing. They teach how to be a master. And there is so much to learn from many years of traditions.

The sport has evolved and keeps evolving every year, technically and tactically. Keeping up to date with new innovations and thought is a chore in its self, never minding mastering the fundamentals. But the fun and intrigue of learning whats new and how to apply it, is the driving force behind my education.

At present, I am working on completing level IV in all three weapons. This will, eventually make me a fencing master, which is my goal. With this, I will be able to coach the athletes I train, to reach new heights in the fencing world. I want very much to coach fencers who are technically sound and who contribute positively to Canadian fencing.

The grant I receive will go to making my goals seem a little bit closer. As a single parent things are tough enough financially, this grant helps me to pursue my love and passion in life without taking away from my family. This is extremely important to me.

The money will go to paying my master/mentor coaches for the time, effort and knowledge they have given me over the past year. These men have encouraged me to go after my goal and stay with it. They have told me they see potential in me. Just hearing and knowing that, is enough to keep me heading in the right direction until I get to where I am going. There are lots of reasons to let go of the dream and go home.

There are endless people who tell you to give up, to find a "real job", to join reality! It is hard to keep such lofty goals, but harder still, to say that I know it all and I can now stop learning. I do not ever want to stop learning. This is how my grant will be used.

Respectfully, Lynn Chornobrywy Coach, Ridge Meadows & Aldergrove Fencing Clubs

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