Fencing at Smith College began in the early 1900s, when Senda Berenson, Smith College’s Head of the Athletic Department, introduced fencing to Smith. Now, the legacy continues with Hell’s Belles, Smith’s current fencing club.
From beginners to experienced fencers, Hell’s Belles is open to all skill levels and annually hosts the New England Intercollegiate Fencing Conference. This event gathers fencers for the largest intercollegiate fencing conference in New England. The club also competes annually in the United States Association of Collegiate Fencing Clubs Nationals (USACFC) and secured the USACFC Spirit Award in 2019.
Under the 27-year leadership of Hampshire College fencing team alumnus and Coach Scott Tunderman, the team has grown from a few fencers to over twenty members. However, while Hell’s Belles formally began in 1997, fencing at Smith dates back to the early 20th century.
The sport was dropped from the curriculum in the 1920s before being reintroduced as an elective in 1927. Soon after, in 1928, Marjorie Morse came to teach fencing and had 129 applicants for her class. At the time, the Athletics Association at Smith allocated $50 for the expenses associated with the course.
In Feb. 1929, 60 Smith College students received instruction in fencing for an experimental biweekly course with instructor Eleanor Cass. The class was offered through the physical education department, and its future was contingent on that year’s success. The course concluded with a fencing exhibition in Scott Gymnasium, where students could demonstrate their fencing skills to the student body.
The class was successful, and fencing was then opened to students for academic credit in the 1930–1931 academic year. Soon after, in the fall of 1932, Smith students formed an extracurricular club led by Smith student Elizabeth Clymer. It had 15 members and met once per week for informal practices. The club soon expanded, and in the spring of 1933, it found itself with nine new members.
On May 16, 1933, the Smith College Fencing Club hosted four members of the Hartford Fencing Club in the Alumnae Gymnasium for Smith’s very first fencing tournament.
The sport’s popularity at Smith only continued to grow. In a 1934 article, The New York Herald Tribune discussed the increasing popularity of Smith fencing. Similarly, on Feb. 20, 1934, The Springfield Union reported that “fencing is rapidly becoming one of the foremost sports at Smith College.”
That same Springfield Union article detailed the impending visit of five Olympic fencers for a demonstration at Smith regarding the use of foils, epee and saber. The fencers included Dorothy Locke, national fencing champion; Marion Lloyd, national and metropolitan fencing titleist; and Muriel Guggolz, metropolitan fencing champion. All three women were from the Salle d’Armes Fencing Center and were joined by Joseph Vinz, director of Salle d’Armes.
Another 16 members joined the Smith Fencing Club in Feb. of 1934, and The Boston Globe noted in an article from Feb. 22, 1935, that 131 students were enrolled in the for-credit class at Smith. The Smith College fencing scene was so popular that local newspapers frequently took note of the admittance of new students to the Smith Fencing Club.
Unlike the Hell’s Belles of today, however, the Smith Fencing Club was rather exclusive. An Apr. 1936 article from the New Haven Register described the admittance of Smith student Mary Harmon and stated that membership is only available to those “whose interest and skill in fencing is great enough to warrant admission to the club.”
Throughout the mid-1900s, fencing at Smith continued to thrive. By 1936, there was an annual Smith fencing tournament, the Fencing Club had 24 members and 64 students were taking the fencing course. In 1953, 157 Smith students were taking fencing. The Daily Hampshire Gazette attributed this rise in fencing popularity to the fact that “this highly specialized and individual sport helps them [Smith students] attain grace and poise, fast movement, physical coordination, concentration, keenness of mind, and accuracy of aim.” That same year, the Fencing Club was prominently displayed in the New York Times sports section, with a photograph of five members in a lunge position.
Following this early spike in popularity, fencing at Smith remained active throughout the late 20th century, and the club eventually became Hell’s Belles in 1997. For over 100 years, fencing has been a popular pastime for Smith students. While the Smith Fencing of the past focused on competition and perfect form, today’s Hell’s Belles is open to anyone with a passion for fencing.
