Hi. I'm Eric. I've been fencing, recreationally and competitively for over 40 years. This year, I am currently the number-one ranked fencer in the United States in the 60-69 age group for Men's Foil. I am also the only fencer to qualify to the 2025 Veteran Fencing World Championships in the 60-69 Men's Foil category. The Veteran Fencing World Championships are held this year in October in Bahrain.

Now, as a fencer in this upcoming Veterans World Championships, we get the honor of representing our country, but we have to pay our own way to the Championships, as well as provide our own lodging and our own equipment that meets all the stringent requirements of international competition. I qualified and competed in the World Championships last year in Dubai and saw the expenses I incurred. Holy moly!

Yeah, I need to get proper equipment, round-trip airfare to Bahrain, and lodging while there. USA Fencing does provide us with team warmups. Whoopee!

What are the equipment? Well, the blades, for sure. And mask, lamé, and related equipment. Each year, I need to refresh my equipment because of wear-and-tear. I don't want to go to a world championships and have my equipment rejected because they don't meet safety or competition standards. That's why I bring a set of current and new equipment just to be sure.

Also, we have this wonderful thing called a tariff, which just bumped the price of equipment by some exorbitant amount. That sucks because we don't manufacture any such equipment in the US. And so...

It is, indeed, quite a sticker shock to compete at the World Championships, which is why I'm reaching out to you for a donation to help offset the cost of attending the Championships.

Your support will be greatly appreciated!