Jade Rowland discovered the sport of fencing at age nine while watching the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She immediately wanted to try it out for herself, so she asked her mother to help her find a place to learn.
Her mother, May Rowland, had never heard of fencing, but she looked around and found out that the Princeton YMCA offered classes. Unfortunately, she was told that, because of insurance reasons, the YMCA didn’t accept fencers under 10. May relayed the information to Jade and thought that would be the end of the matter.
“The day she turned 10 she came to me and said, ‘Mom, I’m 10 now. I can do fencing.’”
She started taking lessons and began to excel at the sport. Now 16, Jade is the captain of the West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South fencing team and, even more impressively, competes on the international circuit.
Jade’s younger sister Pearl is also a fencer. Pearl, 12, became interested in fencing while tagging along to Jade’s lessons. She began fencing at the Princeton YMCA at age seven, getting permission to start under 10 because the coach already knew her.
Even before they began fencing, both Jade and Pearl were very athletic and participated in a variety of sports. Pearl continues to play soccer.
While Jade continues to fence foil, the weapon that many fencers begin with, Pearl switched to another weapon, saber, two years ago. In foil, points are scored by touching one’s opponent with the tip of the blade, while saber is a slashing weapon and competitors can touch their opponents with any part of the blade.
“I found it more interesting and faster,” said Pearl on her decision to switch to saber.
The Rowlands are British, but they have been living in West Windsor for the past 10 years. The girls’ father, Mark, owns a management and technology consulting firm. Their mother is a homemaker who previously worked as a business systems analyst.
The family came to United States for Mark’s job with a previous employer. Prior to living in the United States the family lived in Hong Kong, where Pearl was born (Jade was born in the United Kingdom).
For the past three years, Jade has been coached by Tamer Tahoun at Premier Fencing Club in Monmouth Junction. One of her most impressive fencing accomplishments was winning the bronze medal at the 2014 Junior Olympics in Portland, Oregon. In September, 2014, she began competing internationally, representing her native Great Britain.
May believes that fencing for Great Britain has strengthened Jade’s British identity.
“She hasn’t lived in the United Kingdom, but this has brought her back. It’s a connection to the place where she was born,” she said.
“I’m incredibly proud to see my daughter with a Union Jack on her,” added Mark.
In the past year, Jade has competed in the United Kingdom, Hungary, Germany, France, Poland, and Croatia. She has done quite well, placing 10th at her first international tournament in Manchester, United Kingdom, 20th in Tauberbischofsheim, Germany (which is considered one of the hardest tournaments of the season—she was the only British person to make it to the second day of the tournament), and fifth at a tournament in Poznan, Poland, her best international result so far.
She is currently representing Great Britain at the Cadet and Junior World Championships, being held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from April 1 to April 9.
International competition means international travel, which has been a challenge for Jade who is a high school junior. In order to attend these tournaments she misses school to fly to Europe on Friday and takes the red-eye back in order to get home in time for school on Monday. In order to accommodate her busy schedule, Jade has to consult with her teachers to make sure she is able to keep up with her schoolwork.
“It helps with time management and the student-teacher relationship. It makes me more prepared in terms of assignments,” she said.
Additionally, she sees the travel itself as an opportunity for growth.
“Traveling by myself gives me a sense of self-reliance. It opens my eyes up to different countries and ways different people live,” she said.
“It’s absolutely amazing,” said Mark. “It takes a lot of discipline in terms of training and time commitment, school work, and other demands of being a teenager. I say to friends and colleagues that there’s no way I could do it.”
In addition to competing internationally, Jade also competes for High School South. The team at South is a mix of seasoned fencers like Jade and complete novices.
Jade explained that even though the level of competition is less intense than what she’s used to, she gains a lot from competing at the high school level. While fencing is an individual sport, she enjoys the camaraderie of competing as part of a team.
“The biggest thing about high school is that upperclassmen mentor underclassmen,” she said. “When I was a freshman there was a great group of seniors that taught me a lot. Fencing was not the main lesson I took away from them. I learned how to handle high school and what to take out of it.”
She said that now that she is an upperclassman she tries to pass the same lessons onto her younger teammates.
Pearl is following in Jade’s footsteps and becoming a rather accomplished fencer in her own right. She has competed at nationals for the past three years and at local tournaments, she tends to place in the top eight.
For the past year she has studied with John Friedberg at the Mercer County Fencing Club in Robbinsville. Friedberg said that even though Pearl still qualifies for the 12 and under division, she often fences in the 14 and under division as a way to improve.
Pearl is currently ranked second for girls 12 and under in saber for the entirety of her region which includes New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and all of New England. She is ranked 16th for girls 14 and under.
Friedberg said that Pearl is a very good athlete and doesn’t allow her slight build to impede her success on the fencing strip.
“In fencing length and height is an advantage, but she doesn’t let that dissuade her and be a detriment to her ability. She’s a fighter—very feisty and strong willed,” he said.
He believes that she still has plenty of success ahead of her.
“She will do well in high school when she gets there. I really feel poised to make the breakthrough. I’m optimistic about her future in the sport,” he said.
Neither of the Rowland parents have a background in fencing, but they love watching their daughters succeed.
“I have no clue what’s going on,” said Mark. “My passion has always been soccer. But I enjoy watching my daughters fence. It’s an acquired taste.”
May agreed that fencing is hard to get a handle on.
“For a long time I didn’t understand. The girls would probably say I still don’t understand,” she said.
However, seeing the pair fence has made both parents interested in trying it out for themselves. May fenced foil for awhile at the YMCA, but she stopped due to injury. Mark has recently become interested in joining Pearl’s club and learning to fence saber.
“I think it’s absolutely incredibly, watching the achievements of these two girls,” said Mark.
“I enjoy watching them have a passion about something,” said May. “They chose the sport. Kids nowadays don’t have that kind of passion — it’s usually parent-driven. In their case, it’s themselves. They enjoy it.”
