Scout Island Fencing Club

The registration form is now available for download! Please complete and bring with you to the tournament along with payment.

Tournament will take place at the usual Williams Lake club location at Mountview School.

History of the Groundhog Tournament

Twelve years ago, a few guys in Williams Lake wanted to do some fencing. Since they had no proper place to do it, they started fencing on the flat pathway at Scout Island near Williams Lake. At the time, a family of foxes inhabited the island and the caretaker took care of them. Hence the name of our club and our symbol--the fox.

In a short time, the BC Winter Games came to Quesnel. Glen had contacted the BCFA to find out how to become a certified coach. Jerzy Kajrenius told Glen that he would help him get certified and asked him to recruit some young people because Zone 8 really should be represented at the Winter Games in Quesnel. A team of four was recruited: two girls from Williams Lake and two boys from Quesnel. None of the athletes had fenced before and it wasn't until November 1999 that they began to fence with each other--the boys being driven down to Williams Lake one night a week. They learned to fence in about twelve weeks and entered the provincial level competition.

While they all had a wonderful time, the coaches (Glen and Richard) were surprised to see one of their girls capture the silver medal in the individual epee event. That really started it all. Within a year, the Epee de Groundhog was born. The club wanted to stage a competition on its own turf. That Groundhog had roughly 35 participants and 68 entries. And it was a colossal success, even if the gold medals and trophies left town.