Coaching Staff
Darren Marks (Head Coach): Darren initially trained under French Maestro Francois Rodeur at Toronto's Salle Rodeur Fencing Club and was a nationally ranked foillist. Among the athletic awards earned includes an University of Oxford Full Blue. He founded the Stratford location in 2009 and designed the current Youth Development Program for up-and-coming champions with the Ontario Fencing Association. Dr. Marks competes as a foilist nationally and internationally when able, and sometimes referees when asked politely. When not in the fencing club or piste, he can be found as a Professor at Western University. He is a past President of the Ontario Fencing Assocation.
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Robyn Godfrey (Beginner / Minifence / Adult Coach) started fencing at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. When work took her to Stratford, Ontario she picked up a foil again and started coaching with SFO in 2014. She coaches in order to instill a love of the sport in new fencers, and if she is able to 'graduate' them to Gareth and Darren's competitive classes she considers it a job well done. When not coaching, Robyn can be found at the Stratford Public Library, where she designs and delivers interactive programs for grown-ups and the young at heart.
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Gareth Marks (Visiting Coach, elite team). Gareth is a former member of the Cadet Men's Team for Team Canada, and is the 2019 Ontario University Athletics Men's Foil Champion. He is currently studying Mathematical Physics at the Cambridge University in the UK. Gareth helps train the newest generation of SFO fencers, the pre-elite and elite athletes during SFO summer camps.
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