the story of hpfg
High Plains Fencing Guild was founded by by Coach Moskalski in 2017 while he was serving as president of the University of Northern Colorado Club Fencing. HPFG was formed as a labor of love for the art of fencing. Through passion and dedication Coach Moskalski built up a community of athletes to make a positive impact in Northern Colorado. Our first class was held on September 12, 2017 at the Greeley Recreation Center. 2019 brought about a great deal of change. The sport of fencing, along with most of the world, had to take a brief pause. Although the effects of COVID 19 were a blow to the sport we never bowed out and instead used the time to regroup and rethink how to best serve the community. Fast forward to today and we are stronger than ever in our new Windsor home. We've grown tremendously and Windsor has been an incredible and welcoming town where we now offer Youth, Beginner, Intermediate/Adult, and Competition level classes. With such a warm welcome in Northern Colorado we've started to give back by offering educational programming at the LINC library center in Greeley (if you haven't visited the LINC yet it's a must do! Hands down the best library in the US!)
How does HPFG differ from other clubs? USFA offers a discounted club rate for High Plains Fencing Guild, which allows us to keep fencing affordable and accessible for our students at a price about 5x less than others. Typical club fees throughout Colorado are at least $200 a month with no drop in rate and often an initiation fee in the thousands of dollars range.
Not only do we offer affordable training to the community we also utilize state of the art equipment in our classes that is currently not available anywhere else in the world! (thanks to Allons-y Fencing and their innovations) Every coach is an active or former competitive fencer who is USFA and SafeSport certified. We are active volunteers, teachers, professionals, and participants in the community and strive to bring the joy of fencing to all people of all sizes, body types, backgrounds, abilities and skill levels in a safe and belonging environment.
How does HPFG differ from other clubs? USFA offers a discounted club rate for High Plains Fencing Guild, which allows us to keep fencing affordable and accessible for our students at a price about 5x less than others. Typical club fees throughout Colorado are at least $200 a month with no drop in rate and often an initiation fee in the thousands of dollars range.
Not only do we offer affordable training to the community we also utilize state of the art equipment in our classes that is currently not available anywhere else in the world! (thanks to Allons-y Fencing and their innovations) Every coach is an active or former competitive fencer who is USFA and SafeSport certified. We are active volunteers, teachers, professionals, and participants in the community and strive to bring the joy of fencing to all people of all sizes, body types, backgrounds, abilities and skill levels in a safe and belonging environment.
Meet your HPFG team
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Coach Bill Garcia
Youth, Intermediate, and Adult Foil & Epee At University of Northern Colorado (not too long ago) an aspiring young Bill Garcia happened upon a foil fencing class that would spark a lifelong interest. College provides an excellent opportunity to learn new skills and in Bill’s case these skills continued to grow as did his education and aspirations.
Fast Forward to the mid 90s and you’ll find Bill training under Olympian Elaine Cheris at Cheyenne Fencing and Modern Pentathlon Center in Denver. Later on down the road after moving to Greeley Bill found out fencing opportunities were pretty hard to come by. He partnered up with Dr. C.M. (Mike) Churchill where the two would work together to practice foil and stay sharp providing skills demonstrations at the Centennial Library. When Bill’s daughter found Coach Victor’s youth fencing offering in the Greeley Recreation Center’s Activity Guide he knew this was a great opportunity for the both of them! Coach Bill began as the Windsor Fencing Coach in January, 2022. He brings his knowledge, passion, and love of the sport to Friday classes. You’ll find a very effective and fun class under Bill where sportsmanship and community grow. As a former American Government Instructor at AIMS Community College, as well as a distinguished lecturer on a variety of legal topics, he utilizes his education and skill to demonstrate effective communication and honing a winning mindset. In addition to fencing, Coach Bill is a real estate attorney and involved with a number of community nonprofits in Weld County. |
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Coach Clara K.
Beginner/Youth Foil & Epee Clara was first introduced to fencing when a couple friends invited her along to try it during an event at the community rec center. Immediately intrigued, she began taking classes with High Plains Fencing in the summer of 2022 and quickly immersed herself in the sport. Under the guidance of Coach Victor and later Coach Bill Garcia, Clara honed her skills in both foil and epee and remains eager to continue learning along with the club.
Initially drawn to fencing by its uniqueness and sportsmanship, Clara has not only gained unforgettable experiences but also a network of friends. She continues to train with High Plains while studying at Aims Community College and dedicates her time outside of fencing to reading, music, and volunteering. Excited to contribute to the fencing community, Clara looks forward to sharing her and the club's passion for the sport. She aims to inspire others to give fencing a try and discover all the fun it has to offer. |
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Coach Elliot F.
Competition Epee Bio Coming Soon
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Coach John W.
Competition Foil (coming soon to Evans) Bio Coming Soon
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Coach Josh Miller
Fort Collins (coming soon to Foothills Recreation Center) Josh Miller began fencing as a senior in high school in rural Ohio in 2016. A classmate introduced him to a small local club, the Knights of the Old Code where classes were hosted in a rented space in the local mall. There he learned primarily foil fencing under coach Amy Ewbank, though his true love for epee was honed by coach Mike Anderson. Josh fenced here until college studies took him to The Ohio State University’s main campus in 2017, where he continued practicing as an non-competitive athlete. In 2018, Josh decided to cut his studies short to move to Loveland, CO and join the Colorado Reading Corps AmeriCorps program, where he met his now wife. Over the next few years, Josh found great pride and purpose in providing individualized literacy and math education to northern Colorado students, becoming a Special Education Paraprofessional in Thompson and Poudre school districts, and rejoining AmeriCorps through the Colorado Math Corps program.
Since his move to Colorado, he had been interested in taking up fencing again but struggled to find a local club. A coworker invited him to watch a demonstration by High Plains Fencing at the LINC Library in Greeley in early November, 2023, and this opened the door for him to jump back into the sport he loved (he even got to fence Jr. Coach Nik at this event, immortalized by a photo on the homepage of the club website!). Ever since, Josh has been an active member of the club. Joining Friday adult classes with Coach Bill Garcia, Wednesday competitive epee with Coach Elliot Ferrell-Carretey, and representing the club at tournaments such at ROC of the Rockies and Division Qualifiers. He has enjoyed his short time with the club so much, he has been inspired to translate his education background and passion for the sport into becoming a coach. He is looking forward to hosting classes in northern Colorado and continuing to learn and grow with the club. When he’s not fencing, Josh is a coach and supervisor for tutors in the Colorado Math Corps program, as well as an avid PC gamer and Dungeons & Dragons enthusiast. |
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Coach Victor Moskalski
Saber 2004 Athens Summer Olympics - a young Victor sees fencing for the very first time. This would be the catalyst that launched High Plains Fencing Guild some 13 years down the road.
Northern Colorado wasn't a hub for fencing. More of an afterthought of perspective university students. While studying at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) Coach Victor joined the UNC Fencing Club. While Victor fought through multiple MVP club awards the idea of something bigger came to mind. Soon after ascending to the clubs presidency in 2017 Victor took the first steps towards what would one day become HPFG. The formation of the Greeley Fencing Club provided an opportunity for anyone in NoCo interested in fencing to learn about the sport. Fast forward 7 years and see Coach Victor in Windsor continuing to share the love of fencing through our much anticipated Saber classes while promoting the joy of fencing through coaching and also in his regular life as a science teacher and magician. |
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Jr Coach Nik
Intermediate Foil & Epee Bio Coming Soon
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Armorer Trevor
bio coming soon
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Connect with the HPFG team
info@highplainsfencing.com
info@highplainsfencing.com