Apex Beginnings

Welcome to the Apex blog!

This is a place to learn about who we are, what we are up to and maybe occasionally find some inspiration or motivation.

My name is Monica Peterson and I started fencing when I was 12 years old. I grew up in Victoria, BC and was first introduced to fencing at the YMCA when I followed my older brother who had taken up the sport. The club was called the Victoria Fencing Club and run by a coach named Nan-Sang Ho who coached me my entire fencing career.

When I was 15, I started doing local competitions and was encouraged by my coach to try out for the Canada Winter Games. This is a great event that provides a chance for young athletes to experience a multi-sport games. I needed to make the top 3 in BC to qualify for the team. Lucky for me, only 3 athletes tried out so even though I finished dead last at all the qualifiers, I made the provincial team! Canada Games was the first big competition I qualified for and set me up for many more events to come.

Skipping forward many years, many training sessions, many tears, many plane rides and broken blades - I made the Olympic Games in London in 2012. But I’ll always remember that I first had to lose to learn how to win - I didn’t win every bout and results came over time, not instantly. It was a journey with highs and lows and only now that I’ve had some time post competitive fencing am I able to truly appreciate all aspects of it.

And now with Apex Fencing Academy, a new fencing journey has begun.

#Fencing #LifeIsAJourney #CanadaWinterGames #Beginnings

Lee Keifer (left) and Monica Peterson (right) at the 2012 Olympic Games in London