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The International Fencing Federation (FIE), together with
Brazilian and state federations, will reach 40 public schools in
March and April, visiting two each day.
The aim of the project is to whip up a following for the Olympic
sport, little known in this soccer-mad nation, as Rio gears up
for the Summer Games in August.
Students take to the sport well, hoping to emulate the
quick-footed heroes they grew up with in movies, says coach Arno
Schneider.
“Children have that dream of the sword fights that they see in
films, in Zorro, Romeo and Juliet - a duel very similar to what
we have in this sport,” he says.
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Those taking part in the project get free tickets to the Fencing
Grand Prig and to the World Championships in the Arena Carioca 3
venue in late April, an official Olympic test event.
With a newfound enthusiasm for the sport, 12-year-old Cacique da
Silva Felicia says he will be the first one rooting for Olympic
fencers when the Games come to Brazil.
“I thought it was really cool, I would like to do it again if
there were another opportunity,” he says. “When (the Games) come
to Rio, I’ll be here cheering for Brazil.”
(Reporting by Sergio Moraes; Writing by Antonia Eklund; Editing
by Tom Heneghan)
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