How Much Do Fencers Make?

How much do fencers make? It is a good question and lots of people want to know the answer. We can’t tell the exact number of how much they earn on a monthly or yearly basis. A fencer in Hong Kong makes 4 to 5 thousand dollars per month. A fencer also gets a travel and food allowance of $150 when they are competing or traveling. A fencer from Hong Kong Jackson Wang told this. We got this information from him during the Thailand world cup. 

Athletes in the Olympics 

Athletes who are hopeful about making their ways to the Olympics are the most talented in the world. They are talented but they are not paid according to their talent. They aren’t paid a salary at all. Some Olympians only get a small stipend. So, most of the athletes struggle to train themselves for an Olympic event. So, athletes have to do part-time jobs to make money for their training. These stars heavily rely on donations from others. 

Stories of Fencers Making History

Fencing is considered to be modest, but it is not cheap by any means. Ibtihaj Muhammad was drawn into fencing. She was only 30 years old. She was special because of her head-to-toe uniform. Her uniform was a complete reflection of the Islamic faith. She practiced hijab and was the first one to do so in a team of the USA. Fencing isn’t cheap and requires lots of money. The uniform alone costs over $1200. It includes a jacket, pants, sneakers, and a mask. Weapons used in fencing are about $300 to $400 each. Moreover, a fencer has to bear coaching fees, travel expenses, and tournament entry fees. 

According to Ibtihaj Muhammad, fencing is the most expensive Olympic sports. It can cost you over $20,000 per year. As it is mentioned earlier, lots of Olympians run their local business to meet their expenses. The same is the case was Ibtihaj Muhammad. She runs a club where she trains people. She said I get lots of training expenses from the club, so that’s kept me going. USOC also provides a small stipend to her. But most of the athletes don’t get that. She was lucky enough and gets endorsements from Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS) and Visa (V). She runs her line of clothing known as Louella and she generates income from it. 

She had everything but still, she wasn’t able to cover her expenses. She wanted to bring her four siblings and parents to RIO for an Olympic event, so she started a $35,000 crowdfunding campaign. When only 9 days were left in the event, she was able to collect $15,000. 

How much it Cost to Become an Olympic Fencer?

American fencer Maya Lawrence made entry into fencing from her school time. She continues to prosper even during her university years and after that. During her attendance at the university, she was selected as an All-American and earned Ivy League honors. But the best achievement of her career was winning bronze in Olympic 2012 when she was part of the US team. 

The biggest dream of Maya was to compete at the Olympic Games. She made it true. She worked very hard to make into the Olympics and she competed in Pan American Games and World Cups. She took a gold medal in 2012 Pan Games and also in December North American Cup that held in the same year. She missed an opportunity twice to qualify for the Olympic Games. She finally makes it in the third attempt and gets a reward for her 16 years sacrifice. She sacrificed time and money. When she made entry to the Olympics, she was 32 years old. 

Fencing is a sport that takes too much time to master it. Athletes normally take 10-15 years to get fully trained. So you can estimate the costs that they have to bear. It is one of the most expensive sports to get trained. Athletes also have to bear traveling costs when they want to compete at a national level. At the start, fencing equipment and practice times were expensive for Maya and her family. But four to five big competition trips per year costs Maya and her family thousands of dollars. She said, “I was from a middle-class family and when I decided to take part in competitions, my family fully supported me.” 

When you are new to fencing, then an initial fencing program can cost up to $75 to $120 per 6 to 8-weeks session. If you want to get equipment on a rental basis, it may cost $5 to $7 per session. If you want to get them every month, then you will have to pay $15 to $20. Some fencing training clubs offer fencing sessions in $10 to $20 per session. Membership program ranges from $50 to $250 and it depends on the type of fencing. 

These expenses go on increasing when fencers want to learn higher skills and develop quickly. For this, they have to hire individual instructors and they charge the amount on a per-minute basis. When you start to compete at international levels, you have to bear the cost of traveling, coaching fees, accommodation, and food as well. A local tournament can cost $20 per event. While on the other hand, a national event can cost $45 and more per event.

Olympians enjoy the benefits of reimbursements from the sponsored clubs. They get most of the traveling, competition, and camp expenses from their sponsors. Before competitions, the annual cost of training of Maya was $20,000. But the good thing for Maya was most of the expenses were covered by the New York Athletic Club. There is a problem that most of the adult fencers face are that they have to take part-time jobs to cover their expenses. So when you have to do jobs, you can’t concentrate on training properly. 

So, getting training for any sport at the International level takes lots of sacrifice of money. Parents can’t always bear the expenses, so athletes have to look for other options. In short, fencing is an expensive sport. A fencer can earn up to 4 to 5 thousand dollars per month.