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What Every Fencing Parent Should Know About …

What Every Parent Should Know About … Having a Handy, Dandy Travel Packing List

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by Greg Husisian

This post is simple: one of the most disconcerting things is arriving at a tournament and realizing you left something important behind. To help prevent that, here is a travel list that we have used for years. Happy packing!

But before I get to the list, don’t forget the (another dated Boomer reference coming) Prime Directive of Fencing Travel: Assume Something Will Go Wrong. So plan for mishaps and breakage. At one international tournament, Hadley snapped three swords; at her last Junior Worlds, she somehow had five body cords go intermittent. Airlines have lost her fencing bags four times; Heathrow, in particular, seems to be firmly within the Bermuda Triangle of Lost Luggage (with Frankfurt forming another point of the Triangle). We are probably in over-kill mode, as we basically travel with double the normal recommendation for all key items, both to minimize risks of lost luggage and to anticipate unexpected fencing item failures. So if you are wondering why some things show up twice, it is because we have learned that strange things happen at (and along the way to) fencing tournaments, leading to some items appearing in two travel bags.


Personal Carry-On (Backpack or Duffel Bag)

Official Travel Items

Passport

Any visas/official paperwork for entry

Photocopies of passport and itinerary in extra places & stored in phone

Travel itinerary/tournament/hotel info printouts

Covid vaccine proof (if needed)

    Proof of passing covid test (if necessary)

Health

Medicines (if necessary)

Benadryl

Gel hand sanitizer & wipes

Feminine hygiene products

Snacks for plane

Water bottle for flight


Extra contacts

Identification/Money

Cash (including small bills); foreign currency (if needed)

Driver’s license/permit

Credit cards

ATM card

Insurance card

Miscellaneous

Eyeglasses & case

Hair ties

Phone

Travel charger

Schoolwork

Calculator & charger; confirm charged.

Books

Homework

Pens/pencils

Electronics

Travel adapters

Computer

Headphones (preferably noise-canceling); confirm charged.



Rolling Suitcase (Carry On)

Toiletries Bag

Makeup

Hairbrush

Hair ties

Deodorant

Feminine hygiene products

Toothbrush

Toothpaste

Backup travel alarm clock

Sickness medicines

Extra hand wipes and gel

Backup Papers

Extra copies of passport

Extra copy of itinerary

Fencing Outfit

1 packing cube with fencing jacket, knickers, underarm protector, plastron

2 gloves (confirm no holes)

Body cords (at least four)

Favorite mask

Favorite fencing shoes

Fencing socks

Fencing Clothes

Fencing shorts

Fencing t-shirt

Warm-up suit



Fencing Bag

Fencing

6 swords

Back-up fencing shoes

Strip bag


Extra set of fencing socks


Extra set of fencing shoes


Backup mask

Other Fencing Items

Repair kit (including hair brush); confirm sufficient tip screws, springs, etc.

Water bottle

Backup contacts (in repair kit)

Clothes

Clothes appropriate for destination (use travel pouch to protect from swords/allow TSA to quickly inspect)

Underwear & socks (same)


Coat if cold destination

Other

Snacks for trip

Snacks for venue

Snacks for return trip


Fun Fact of Interest Only To Me: Ever wonder why it is called “foil” fencing? It is because in eighteenth century France, fencers would train by blunting the point by wrapping foil around the blade, which made training safer. The foil could then be removed for an actual duel.

Tangentially, ever wonder why aluminum foil is only shiny on one side? It is because the final processing step is to pass the aluminum through two steel rollers. To double the output and prevent tearing, two layers of aluminum are passed through at the same time, with the side facing the rollers becoming shiny while the side on the inside stays dull. It makes no difference in cooking which side is used; the difference is purely aesthetic. I imagine the same is true when wrapping a dueling sword.

Get In Touch

Think I forgot something on the list? Want to suggest a new, non-metallurgical fun fact for a future post? Roll out an email to me at usfafencingblog@gmail.com. And prior posts are now happily living on the USFA website, as sparkly and new as the shiny side of a square of aluminum foil.

For questions about your membership or tournament registrations, visit the USA Fencing Contact Us page.

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