En garde!

East Kildonan

When Jasper Fosty was asked how it felt to bring the gold medal in cadet men’s sabre at the Canadian national fencing championship in Quebec City earlier this month, he didn’t miss a beat.

“It was an unreal feeling,” said the Grade 10 Kildonan-East Collegiate student. “It took a little while to sink in. I took off my mask, walked over to my coach. I was smiling a little, and he said, ‘You’re the national champion!’ Then it felt real.”

Fosty started fencing in 2021. An only child whose parents work throughout the summer, he first picked up the sabre at summer camp and quickly found an affinity for the sport.

“I felt like a natural at it,” Fosty, 15, said. “Within the first year I was on the provincial team.”

A member of the Manitoba Golden Blades provincial team, Fosty is no stranger to national and international competition.

“In Manitoba, we only have four a year, but I’ve been to 10 this year across North America,” said Fosty, who trains five to six days a week.

A hamstring injury late last season kept him on the sidelines for months leading up to the national championship, which kicked off the 2026-27 fencing season. Once he recovered, Fosty spent upwards of 20 hours a week training with provincial team coach Ayach Bounachada.

“I went into competition with a strong mindset, to make up for coming short of Team Canada because of my injury,” he said. “This is the first one of the new season, so I had to focus on just doing well and starting off strong.”

Bringing that focused mindset to Quebec City paid off for Fosty, as did a willingness to adapt his strategy depending on how his opponents opened each match.

“You kind of have a strategy that you start off with. You apply that to everybody, but you add twists to it or adjust. You can think of it like a game of chess, you have to predict an opponent’s move,” Fosty said. “The reason why I think I did so well is I was experimenting with my tempo change. Starting fast and going slow, or starting slow then going fast, and that really messed their game up.”

Up next is the Ontario provincial tournament, a competition Fosty has yet to take part in.

“I’m going for gold,” Fosty said. “The whole podium (at nationals) besides me was from Ontario, so I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

And while an appearance at the Canada Winter Games in February 2027 is Fosty’s immediate goal, along with making the Canadian national team next year, he also hopes to compete in the 2032 Olympic Games.

“This has been a huge step forward,” he said of his national championship. “I want to acknowledge the support from my parents and my peers and teammates and coach. It doesn’t go unrecognized. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my dad cheering me on or my coach.”