Year after year, Escrime ParisNord produces a new generation of young competitors who shine at Challenges, Opens, and Championships and begin the path to high-level sport. But who are they? How did they become young fencers? Why do they love competition? We asked their parents these questions.
M9
Gaspard started fencing at the age of five – and immediately loved the sport! “He was in his 'Knight' phase. Fencing was exactly the sport for him,” smiles his father, who wanted to offer him “a beautiful combat sport with great sporting values to boost his self-confidence.” Mission accomplished! Gaspard quickly gained self-confidence and soon mastered the basics of fencing and foil handling. He understood how to lure his opponent into a trap and how to use his agility. And he loved competition! At seven, he entered his first non-club tournament at the Saint-Germain-en-Laye Open and finished with a fine 3rd place already on the podium! A year later, he won his first major tournament at the Melun Challenge – and then began an impressive series of victories and podium finishes. “He likes to compete against other boys – and he likes to win,” smiles his mother. Which he does often! This season, Gaspard has won eight of his 12 tournaments and reached the podium a total of ten times. This is the best season result of any boy in the Île-de-France region in the M9 category! Gaspard trains three times a week, attends club training camps during the holidays, and occasionally takes private lessons.
M11
Mayssane discovered fencing at the age of seven during the Tokyo Olympics and wanted to give it a try. So her father came with her to find out more. Since she was there, she immediately took a trial class. At the end, she said without hesitation: "I want to do this sport!" Mayssane doesn't regret her choice! The young girl quickly developed her talent. She trains four times a week and is always consistent and very focused: "If it were up to her, she would come to class every day," smiles her mother. Fencing has become her great passion. At eight, Mayssane won her first tournament. Since then, she has racked up victories and podium finishes. "She loves competitions and their atmosphere, likes to challenge herself, and has made lots of friends from other clubs," adds her mother. At 10 years old, Mayssane had a spectacular 2024/2025 season with nine wins in ten competitions in the U11 category and four podium finishes in the U13 category - and qualified despite her young age for the French Championships. This is the best season result of any girl in the Ile-de-France region in the U11 category! The highlight of this extraordinary season was her splendid second place in the U12 category at the Paris Mini-Marathon - and her magnificent victory in the same Marathon in the U11 category.
M9
His father is a high-level fencer (he was at INSEP) and already knows Fencing Master Laurent BEL, his mother is also a fencer: nothing more logical than Oscar following in his parents' footsteps and becoming a fencer himself! At five, he started foil in the fencing room of Escrime ParisNord, immediately loved his parents' combat sport and quickly learned how to handle his weapon and the basic techniques. Oscar entered his first competition at the age of seven at the Coulommiers Challenge – and won the tournament outright! "Oscar is very comfortable with competition," says his father: "Reproducing in competition what he learns at the club and fighting for victory - that motivates him. It's in his character." At eight, Oscar is already an experienced competitor. In 2024/2025, he competed in twelve Challenges and Opens, won five great victories and reached the podium seven times in total. Oscar trains two to three times a week and always goes all out from the first to the last minute. He supplements his training on vacation with club camps. - Oscar and his friend Gaspard won 13 Challenges and Opens in Ile-de-France together in 2024/2025! It's almost a grand slam for Escrime ParisNord in the M9 category!
M13
Paris M13 Champion, Ile de France M13 Vice-Champion, Paris M15 Vice-Champion, Paris M15 Team Champion, first in the M13 ranking in Ile-de-France and first in Paris, winner of the Paris Mini-Marathon in M12… Auguste's record this season is breathtaking – like the number of competitions he has participated in. 21 tournaments in M13 and 13 tournaments in M15! "When there is no competition in Ile-de-France, he finds a tournament in Lyon, Aix, Marseille, Bordeaux or in the North of France," smiles his mother, "a weekend without competition is a wasted weekend for Auguste." Auguste started fencing at the age of eight. "He looked for a sport that requires a lot of skill. With fencing, he found it." His great talent and passion for the sport quickly catapulted him to the top of the rankings! In his first year of fencing, he was already on the podium and competing with the best in his category. Often a head shorter than his opponents, Auguste compensated with astonishing technique for his age, shooting with intelligence, speed, and precision. The 2024/2025 results: 13 victories in the U13 category and 18 podium finishes – and a brilliant victory at the Paris Marathon in the U12 category ahead of 84 boys from 17 countries! This is the best season's record of any boy in the Ile-de-France region in the U13 category!
M15
Nina started fencing at the age of eight during a training camp and joined the club at ten. She enjoys the strategic aspect of fencing as well as the direct confrontation between two fencers. "It's a sport that requires a lot of qualities like precision, speed, endurance, and strategy. It's this complexity that I like," she says. Her beginnings were marked by COVID and the suspension of tournaments for almost two years. Nina therefore only started competing in 2021: and how! Her first tournament was the Paris Mini-Marathon - and she finished this major international competition in M11 in a spectacular second place! "This result far exceeded all my expectations," she smiles. Nina quickly expanded her list of achievements. She won her first Challenge at the start of the 2022 school year and crowned her first full season with the titles of Ile-de-France M13 and Paris M13 Champion. After a lull due to injuries, Nina won the 2024/2025 titles of Paris U15 individual vice-champion, French U15 team vice-champion, and French N3 U17 team champion. Nina trains six hours a week, spread over four days, and supplements this with training camps. "This year, I was selected for the national U15 detection camp! That was my goal for this season. And I achieved it," she rejoices.
M11
Pierre began fencing at the age of six in the fencing hall of Escrime ParisNord, the closest gym to his home. "There was immediately a great affinity between him and Fencing Master Laurent BEL," says his mother, "and fencing very quickly became his great passion and an important part of his life." Pierre loves competition because he loves the challenge: "And he always wants to win," smiles his mother. At seven, Pierre won his first victory at the Meaux Challenge. At eight, in his second year at M9, he racked up an impressive series of victories and podium finishes at Challenges and Opens in Ile-de-France: nine victories, four silver medals, and two bronze medals in 2022/2023! But the change of category caused him difficulties: in M11, he no longer dominated and lost confidence in his fencing. He did not let himself be discouraged. Pierre increased his training to 4-5 classes per week, worked on his attack, applied what he learned to competitions, listened to his coaches - and returned to winning and podium finishes. In 2024/2025, Pierre won the Reims Challenge and the Savigny and Athis Mons Opens, and reached the podium seven times in total. He also qualified as an upgraded athlete for the French U13 Championships. But his greatest result was his splendid 6th place at the Paris Mini-Marathon, as an upgraded athlete in the U12 category.
M11
Marceau began fencing at the age of six after attending the Tokyo Olympics. "One trial lesson was all it took for foil and ParisNord to become an important part of his life," smiles his mother. In his second year at the club, Marceau went from one lesson a week to four. And he progressed quickly. He entered his first competition at the age of seven at the Savigny-sur-Orge Open. A year later, he won his first victory at the same tournament, which was followed by other fine podium finishes in Melun, Meaux, Coulommiers, and more. Marceau competes because, above all, "he likes to win." But he also goes to have fun with his friends and to compete against fencers from other clubs he doesn't know. This season, in his first year as an M11, Marceau has competed eight times. His best result was a fine 6th place in the mini marathon, where he was able to compete against fencers from all over the world. It's still quite an experience for a nine-year-old boy! Marceau still has one more year of U11 ahead of him – and plenty of podiums!
M13
Joséphine began fencing at the age of nine in the fencing hall of Escrime ParisNord: "She was attracted by the beauty of the fencing outfit and the weapons like in Star Wars," smiles her father. Joséphine quickly developed a taste for the "touch game," trained more and more, and started competing in her second year. "She likes to measure herself, be with her friends, and work to improve." Constantly progressing, Joséphine had her best season in 2024/2025. She participated in every possible tournament in the U13 and U15 categories and made 10 podium finishes - including a very fine bronze medal at the Paris U13 Championships and gold in N2 at the French U13 Team Championships. However, her best memory of the season is the U15 semi-finals in Valencia – her first major national competition, which she finished in the top quarter of the 213 participants. Joséphine trains three times a week, regularly takes individual lessons and improves her skills with the club's courses.
M15
Nil started fencing at the age of nine. “He was a fan of anything that resembled a sword - from the katana to the Star Wars lightsaber,” says his father: “But there was no fencing gym near our house.” One morning, Dad stumbled upon a flyer announcing the opening of Escrime ParisNord, 200m from their home. “And so the adventure began!” Nil took the plunge, training four to five times a week and entering his first competition at the age of 11. He was soon regularly on the podium: 3rd at the M13 French Challenge, 2nd in Savigny, St-Germain-en-Laye, and Le Cid de Paris… 5th at the M13 Mini Marathon, then 7th in the M15! But his first individual victory was (still) a long time coming. In the team competition, however, Nil reached the top step of the podium! He was the M15 Paris Team Champion this year at the age of 14. 3rd at the France with the IDF2 team. Two victories at the CEFC Open. Nil remains optimistic: next season will be the right one! He fully deserves his first individual victory!
M9
With four victories at the Bourg-la-Reine, Reims, Lagny and Senlis Opens, a second place at the CEFC tournament and bronze medals at the Montigny, Chilly-Mazarin and Mennecy Challenges, Salomé is having an excellent 2024/2025 season in the M9 girls' category. Our young eight-year-old competitor is never afraid of anything and is making her way through competitions with impressive determination. Always on the offensive, our young competitor often destabilizes her opponents with her pressure before launching her decisive attacks. Salomé discovered fencing very early since her older brother Augustin has been shooting at the club for several years and competes. Salomé, who often accompanied him to competitions with her father, therefore started fencing very young.
M11
Dad is giving a trial class for adult beginners—and suggests his daughter try fencing too. “That's how Amélia discovered a sport she'd never known,” smiles her father. Amélia was instantly hooked. Foil fascinated her, and the family atmosphere at the club suited her. After a year of lessons, she started competing at the age of seven and finished her first tournament in Melun in a fine 3rd place. A few Challenges later, she won her first victory at the Chilly Mazarin Challenge. “Amélia loves the challenge of competition, the pressure before the bouts, the tournament atmosphere,” says her father. And she enjoys competing against unknown fencers from other clubs. Last season, Amélia competed in eleven tournaments, including six in the U11 category and five in the U13 category. Four times, she reached the podium in the U11 category and won the bronze medal—before an injury ended her season prematurely. Amélia is looking forward to fencing in the U13 category this year. She enjoys it more because the bouts are more intense. She trains three times a week and is perfecting her fencing skills with the club's courses.
M15
Escrime ParisNord opened its doors in 2019 – and Lorenzo was one of the first boys to take out a license at the new, young fencing club in the 18th arrondissement. Six years later, Lorenzo is a passionate fencer and practices this combat sport with heart and soul. Held back by COVID-19 restrictions, Lorenzo had to wait almost two years for them to be lifted before he could compete. He reached the podium for the first time at one of the first post-Covid tournaments and won the bronze medal at the Mille Fleurets in Melun. His first victory didn't take long to come: the following season, Lorenzo won the Parisian CID in the M13 category. Lorenzo competes because he loves individual combat and because he loves winning – like all competitors. Last season, he competed in eight competitions and won the Paris Champion title as a team. Lorenzo trains three times a week and perfects his fencing with the club's courses.
