Art and Design Senior Served as Chief of Discipline for Fencing in USA Pentathlon National Qualifying Event
Allison McClain, Fencing Club President
Top athletes from across the country competed for a spot on the USA Pentathlon 2020 Olympic team at Cal Poly the weekend of Jan. 17. Art and design senior Allison McClain was the Chief of Discipline for fencing and helped organize the fencing event.
Cal Poly hosted the final national qualifying event for athletes in the USA Pentathlon on campus. Pentathlon is a five-sport event, including swimming, fencing, equestrian, shooting, and running. Each athlete competes in mini-competitions of each of the five sports.
The university and the USA Pentathlon worked together to organize the event at the Recreation Center, and they asked for students’ help. As the Chief of Discipline for the fencing portion, McClain, who is also president of the Cal Poly Fencing Club, provided expertise in fencing to ensure the event ran smoothly.
“I was in charge of asking the right questions — like do they need scoreboards or strips? I helped with the technical aspects that Cal Poly might not know about each sport,” McClain said.
From ensuring all technology was running smoothly, to reaching out to athletes, to getting the Recreation Center in shape for the event, McClain practiced event management skills for an Olympic event.
“Fencing is a very technical sport, so there’s a lot of electronic things that can go wrong,” McClain said. Thankfully, my coach and other Fencing Club members were there helping me.”
McClain said the fencing strategy in a Pentathlon can be different from a typical fencing match. Since there are five different sports, the matches are shorter. She said it was interesting to compare different techniques the athletes used as they moved from one event to the other.
McClain had the opportunity to work and talk with USA Pentathlon coordinators and Olympic fencers including former Olympic gold medalist and Pentathlon managing director Rob Stole. She said they discussed potential plans to expand the fencing club on campus.
“It was really neat to see the main gym, with tiles on the ground, nice fencing strips, scoring boxes and the Olympic banners everywhere,” McClain said. “It was great seeing that.”