New York, NY (February 13, 2023) — You’ve made it! You have won a medal and are headed for the medal stand.
This special moment feels like a time for primping — washing your face, combing your hair and putting on just the right look, fashion-wise.
However, in this sport, what you wear on the medal stand is usually prescribed by your club, by the tournament and sometimes by your country’s Olympic Committee.
While the USA Fencing athlete handbook does not have specific language for medal stand dressing, it is universally expected that fencers hit the podium in their team tracksuits or fencing gear if coming straight from the strip.
At Tim Morehouse Fencing Club, the rules are simple — wear TMFC attire. Ideally, that means wearing the club jacket zipped up or, at the very least, a TMFC T-shirt. These should be paired with warm-up pants or uniform white pants.
“You should dress aspirationally,” said Tim Morehouse, adding, “like an Olympian.”
Uniform dressing for college-level fencing is similar.
The medal stand uniform is full team sweats, said Jennifer Salmon, head coach of women’s fencing at Temple University. Colleges actually take it a step further.
When they’re not competing, Temple fencers are wearing team-issued clothing, Salmon said. And when traveling? “They all dress the same in issued clothing,” she said. “In my experience, it’s black pants, team polo and team jacket. They also are expected to use team backpacks and luggage.”
For international competitions, national jackets should be worn from whatever country the fencer is representing.
That means there is no place for pajama pants, short shorts, funny hats, message or logo T-shirts anywhere near the medal stand.
It’s always important to remember that in any fencing venue — local, national or international — you are representing the club you fence for. The same respect you show on the strip should be shown throughout the venue.