Honorary alumni

Fencing club founders join alumni family

The sport of fencing dates back more than 500 years and it has been part of every summer Olympics in the modern era.

It also enjoys a long history at UVic, mostly because of the late Dr. Nan-Sang Ho and his wife Veronica, who established the UVic Fencing Club in 1980 and – through their volunteers efforts and coaches and equipment masters – introduced the ancient sport to hundreds of students.

The UVic Alumni Association granted the Honorary Alumni status to Nan-Sang and Veronica during the annual general meeting on June 21.

“Nan-Sang had a larger-than-life personality and he simply loved fencing,” said incoming alumni association president Peter Jong, BSc ’03. “Veronika shares her late husband’s passion for the sport. It’s a pleasure to welcome them both to the alumni family.”

Many of their students had strong competitive careers, including Monica Peterson, who fenced for Canada in the 2012 Olympics.

The UVic Fencing Club offers classes that start with learning the history of the sport, basic footwork, followed basic offensive and defensive moves.

More advanced participants face opponents using electronic equipment and receive fighting lessons from several assistant coaches. All equipment is provided to students.