LEAP Sports are Scotland’s LGBTIQ+ sports charity. A number of their community projects have recently tried fencing.
Get Out Glasgow, a project which aims to provide pathways into sport and physical activity for LGBTIQ+ adults, collaborated with Bellahouston Fencing Club to run a fencing taster session, followed by a 4 week course that finished on Tuesday. Participants enjoyed learning the basic skills and techniques required for fencing, and finding out more about the sport in an inclusive and encouraging environment. Some participants gave the following feedback:
‘Well organised and really fun! The teacher Tom was great at making fencing accessible for us all’
‘It's lovely that Get Out Glasgow offer 4 week courses allowing you to get a good taste of the sport and determine if you want to pick up long term.’
The courses with Get Out Glasgow are very well-organised and worthwhile attending, benefitting both my mental and physical health. They are a good opportunity to try out different sports / activities that I wouldn't normally be able to and to meet others from the LGBTIQ+ community.’
People with fencing kit on taking part in the sport
Trans Active Edinburgh, a project for trans and non-binary adults, also ran a fencing taster session in June with Dunedin Fencing Club ahead of the club’s annual Pride Beginners Course. Three participants continued onto the beginners course:
‘This was huge fun, and I'm really keen to do more of it. I'm now signing up to the beginners' course with my partner’
‘Thank you so much for organising this, I really enjoyed learning to fence, and the games at the end’
Two people with fencing kit on preparing to fight.
Young LGBTIQ+ people in Glasgow have been giving the sport a go as well. The LLAMAS youth sports group offered 13-17-year-olds the chance to try fencing in a 5-week block in October 2024 with Braveheart Fencing Club, also known as Glasgow Epeeists. Following this, LEAP’s Family Group for gender diverse children and their families did a one-off taster of fencing this October with the same club. Young people and their families were excited by the sport and appreciated the chance to try it.
Every June LEAP Sports also runs Festival Fortnight, Scotland’s national LGBTIQ+ sports festival, which has included events run by Dunedin Fencing Club, Elgin Duelist Fencing Club, Dundee Fencing Club, as well as swordfighting with the Renaissance Martial Arts Society.
Lindsay from Elgin Duelist Fencing Club wrote a blog for LGBT History Month sharing what being part of an inclusive fencing club has meant to her:
‘When the rest of my world seemed to see me as not worth considering…at fencing I could forget it and just be me. It’s what made realising that I was bisexual so much easier. I had these feelings, they were real and valid, but even if I was worried or upset about them, fencing would help me forget for 90 minutes every Thursday night.’
If you’d like to run an event as part of Festival Fortnight 2026 please contact info@leapsports.org. Grant applications will open in April 2026.
