Gharvin Ramnarese: Veteran Of Foil Fencing
JUNIOR GHARVIN RAMNARESE HAS been fencing at Masters since his time at middle school. At the time, the P.E. curriculum had them rotate through various sports and athletic activities, and Ramnarese fell in love with fencing. He has now been involved with upper school fencing for several years, and looks forward to its continued growth and what he says is a bright future.
March 14, 2023
For the boys foil fencing team, it’s been a season of growth and learning. Gharvin Ramnarese, ‘24, has seen a lot change in the realm of foil fencing at Masters since he first started getting involved some years ago. That moment for him was in the early years of middle school, when students don’t pick sports to do but are given a rotation of athletics throughout the year. “Ever since I started [playing] in fifth and sixth grade PE, I loved it. I think what makes fencing so fun to me is that it’s just really stimulating to your mind and your body,” Ramnarese said. “You have to think how to outsmart your opponent plus you have to have all the techniques and athleticism.”
Fencing is much more of an individual sport than most team athletics, and in a match you can score up to 15 points against your opponent. Ramnarese has always felt like this fundamental structure of fencing makes him enjoy it more. “This year we had our first individual tournament since COVID happened. So basically what that is, instead of playing as a team, you’re playing for yourself and your ranking in the league,” Ramnarese said. “I lost 12-15 to the number two place in the league, so I think, honestly, that’s probably the moment I’m most proud of so far.”
There are three forms of fencing – saber, foil, and epee, and each fencer chooses one to practice. Ramnarese is a foil fencer, which distinguishes itself as the form where you score points by hitting your opponent’s torso with your sword’s tip. After all these years of practicing foil, Ramnarese thinks he has a few tricks up his sleeve. “I like to jump around a lot when I’m on defense. I might just look like I’m twirling my blade around but I’m looking for pairing so I can go right away and start attacking,” he said.
When looking to the future, Ramnarese says he sees even more growth for his boy’s foil team. “Last year, our team was three seniors and me. This year, the team is almost all freshmen. We’ve been doing alright, we’ve had a lot of close matches but we only won one match…I’m going to practice over the summer and once the season’s over.” In his many years of fencing at Masters, Gharvin Ramnarese has seen the team grow further, and as lots of new freshmen get involved in a team with more recent victories, he’s hopeful for even more good performances to come.
