<p>“Arden Youngblood–First Ever A-Rated Fencer From the Southwest Region” (Texas)</p>
<p>[Hockaday’s</a> Fencing Sisters | wfaa.com | Dallas - Fort Worth Sports](<a href=“http://www.wfaa.com/sports/Hockadays-Fencing-Sisters-98946819.html]Hockaday’s”>http://www.wfaa.com/sports/Hockadays-Fencing-Sisters-98946819.html)</p>
<p>Fencing is a lot of things – it’s unique, especially here in Texas. It’s mentally and physically draining, often called “physical chess.”</p>
<p>And it’s expensive.</p>
<p>The lame (pronounced “lah-MAY”), or the suit, goes for about $200. Add another $75 for the saber, $400 for the helmet, $125 for shoes, and $50 for a glove. Double it if you have two kids involved. Add in coaching and travel costs, and this is one expensive sport.</p>
<p>“We support our kids in anything they want to do,” said Sharon Youngblood, who has two daughters involved in fencing. “And if they enjoy it, and we think it’s character building and (teaches) discipline, and it’s fun, then we’re on board.”</p>
<p>“I love them, they love me,” 16-year-old Avery Youngblood said about her parents. “It’s hard for me to get on the strip and have them watching me because I feel it’s so much pressure, because they’ve done so much for me and they want me to do my best.”</p>
<p>Arden and Avery Youngblood both fenced at the Hockaday School and for the Dallas Fencers Club. Arden graduated and is going to Princeton in the fall. She’s the first woman from the southwest region to ever get an A-rating in fencing, which is the highest level.</p>
<p>“I realize there are not a lot of fencers in the south, so it makes sense that there are not a lot of A-rated fencers,” said Arden Youngblood, “but I didn’t expect to be the only one, or the first one.” (continued)</p>