I remember when my little girl was so ready to be done with her kindergarten just because of the boring dark blue uniforms she had to wear every single day. No one wants to be invisible in the crowd or disguised like a solider in camouflage. Did you ever have that strange moment during a big fencing competition when you couldn’t easily recognize your own child among the other fencers? Yeah, I admit, with four children it happened to me more than once because they all look the same on the strip! Like one big white army of fencing heroes! But fencing socks in colors can change the game. Do they have to be white? Good news- the answer is not necessarily!
The rules dictate that the socks must be the knee-length and cover the skin up to the fencing knickers lower line. They don’t regulate the color of socks at all. And this can be a great way to break through the all-white kingdom of fencing uniforms. I think, especially in the Bay Area, you will meet fencers with the funkiest, coolest, most colorful socks with bananas, monkeys, and even ice-cream patterns! Moreover, your socks don’t even have to match! You can call this pure self-expression, escape from sameness, or crazy Silicon Valley fencing tradition – whatever you like! Fencing socks can be fun!
Now, I personally support my kids’ desire to feel different (with the added value of being able to recognize them quickly). But not the whole fencing community, including my husband, share this opinion. Many people believe that the classical fencing uniform should respect the old tradition where mustache patterns were not created yet for socks. And that’s OK too.
It’s absolutely up to you to decide whether you will be wild parents that buy your fencers yellow socks with pink stripes, or more conservative parents that teach your child the value of tradition and go for classical white. Both ways are great, and you can discuss this topic with your fencer to see how they feel.
I almost forgot to mention: once you are on the National Team, the color of your socks will not be your dilemma anymore. The head coach will tell you exactly which socks you need to wear. So until then, feel free to have fun with it!
Photo credit: www.geekalerts.com
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