Livingston Fencing School Figures Out Instruction During Pandemic

Livingston, NJ — Patrick Durkan coached fencing for several years in New York before deciding that he wanted to expand his program, making it more available to kids. In pursuit of that mission, he and his wife, Amy, opened Durkan Fencing Academy in the Fall of 2014.

“We wanted to expand the program, offer it to more students, especially to kids,” Amy Durkan, part-owner and administrator of Durkan Fencing Academy said. “We opened this club in New Jersey because we were able to get a larger facility. We found a location that was 15,000 square feet so we could accommodate larger programs.”

In mid-March of 2020, when the first pandemic-incited lockdowns were initiated, Durkan Fencing Academy pivoted to online classes, offering both a video library and tele-coaching through Zoom.

“We had our coaches create video instruction that we had available online, so they could take the classes on-demand to work on their fencing,” Durkan said. “We did that for three months. Then, when we were able to open in a limited capacity in June, we did a tiered reopening in phases with different cohorts of students in small groups.”

The Zoom and remote instruction, though better than nothing, was a difficult format to facilitate education and progress in this specific sport.

“Initially, they liked the online classes because they could keep up with it on their own schedule and it kind of helped keep the normalcy,” Durkan said. “We did notice as it got into the third month, the nature of fencing is very difficult to do online. The coaches found the online lessons very difficult because you don’t have that tactile experience between the fencer and the coach. They found it very difficult to do on Zoom, which was interesting because we thought it would be pretty easy.”

In July of 2020, after an inspection with the Department Of Health, the Academy was able to hold its summer camps.

“One thing that’s great about fencing is that we could have the students distance very well in the classes,” Durkan said. “Our facility is so large, and the nature of the sport, you don’t need to be close to your opponent. We had the students wear masks under their fencing masks, which was a requirement of USA Fencing. We adapted a lot of the activities — we eliminated things where people were touching shared equipment.”

The Academy was able to open with limited capacity in the Fall of 2020.

“One of the biggest things that affected us uniquely in New Jersey was USA Fencing starting opening up local fencing competitions, and then regional fencing competitions,” Durkan said. Though the Academy was unable to host a tournament in the Fall, it was able to host two tournaments in February and march of 2021. “We were trying to be grateful that we could stay open and still operate with our classes. But we were able to host tournaments in February and March. That was a lot of fun. The kids really enjoyed it.”

At this point, with the Academy largely reopened, the energy coming from the students and families has shifted significantly, from a place of uncertainty and fear in June of 2020 to a place of normalcy in June of 2021.

“Now there’s a different energy; there’s more parents at the club, they wear masks but they don’t have that fear,” Durkan said. “Most of them are vaccinated, almost all of our staff is fully vaccinated, so there’s less uncertainty. USA Fencing is still requiring everyone to wear masks, so we’re still requiring our staff and fencers to wear masks during practice, even if they’re vaccinated — we like them to practice the way they’re going to compete.”

With its summer camps enrolling and students back in the building, Durkan is looking to the future of the Academy, as the pandemic continues to wind down, with positivity.

“I think there’s been a lot of interest in fencing as a safe and fun sport,” she said.
“We’ve had a lot of growth in the past two months of new students. And I think the students and families that stayed with us from March 2020 to today are very enthusiastic about fencing.”

“And what we really appreciate is the families that have supported us so that we can keep our business open, pay our employees, that’s been really great to see,” Durkan added. “It’s created a really good community.”