Coaches

Tommi Hurme – Head Coach

Tommi Hurme has 25+ years of competitive epee fencing experience including 4 years training in Budapest, Hungary alongside the Hungarian National Team. He is trained and coaches in the Hungarian fencing tradition and has worked under Dr. Paul Pesthy, Maitre Michel Sebastiani, Victor Svatenko, Dr. Aladar Kogler, Zoltan Dudas, and Ivan Kovacs. He is certified as a Prevot level coach from the US Fencing Coaches Association. He brings his experience from competing at the local, national, collegiate, and international levels to help students gain an advantage in competitive epee fencing. His fencing achievements include:

Junior National Team member in 2004, Junior National Champion in 2003, Princeton Varsity Fencing Team Captain in 2007 and 2008, Div 1 Nationals top 8 finisher in 2007, 8th place finish at NCAA Championships 2008, Paris World Cup top 32 finisher in 2009, 1st place Kupittaa Satellite World Cup Turku, Finland in 2011, and 1st place Men’s Epee Team Nationals 2008 and 2010.

Courtney Hurley – Epee Coach

Courtney started fencing at 8 years old and never looked back. She is a 3 time USA Olympian in Women’s Epee (2012, 2016 & 2020). She won an Olympic Bronze medal with the USA Women’s Epee team in 2012. Courtney also was a 2 time NCAA Champion at the University of Notre Dame, Cadet World Champion, Junior World Champion (team), Junior World Cup (FIE) Points Champion, Senior World Champion (team) and won a Bronze medal at the Senior World Championships. She conducts clinics and strategy sessions for clubs and individuals all over the United States via Hurley Tactics. She likes to travel around the country in her van with her two dogs and cat whenever she gets a chance. Courtney recently coached for the University of Notre Dame during 2022 and moved back home to San Antonio in January 2023 where she now coaches for Olympian Fencing Club.

Tomás Mata – Epee Coach

Coach Tomás Mata has a background as a physical education teacher and has 25 years of experience as an epee coach. He began fencing competitively in 1997 and competed in his first junior world cup in 1998 at the University of Notre Dame. He was a member of the Mexican national fencing team for 10 years. As a coach Tomas trained and qualified fencers for the Mexican national team in different categories such as cadets, junior, and senior. Most notably he trained and qualified Alejandra Terán for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in Women’s Epee.

– Epee Coach

Claudine Barjak Cardenas- Epee Coach

Claudine Barjak Cardenas has been a personal trainer for 25 years and has been fencing since 2005. She has extensive experience in athlete development, injury prevention and rehabilitation, and positive youth coaching. Her fencing accomplishments include 2014 National Champion, December 2014 NAC Gold Medalist, 2015 National Championship Silver Medalist, 2015 Veteran PanAmerican Championship Silver Medalist, and 4 Top-8 North American Cup finishes, all in the Veteran 40 Women’s Epee category. Claudine is a moniteur level coach from the USFCA.

Michael Gonzalez – Assistant Coach

Michael started fencing at San Antonio College in 2010 and has been fencing ever since. Michael enjoys playing music, video games, and practicing yoga in his free time. Michael is a moniteur level coach from the USFCA.

June Hurme – Little Olympian’s Coach

Coach June Hurme started fencing in college at NYU when she met her husband, Risto Hurme, a Finnish Olympian in Modern Pentathlon and Fencing. Coach June has fenced recreationally for over 40 years and qualified for the veterans world championships in Sydney, Australia in 2007. She has three children who all fenced at Princeton University.

Jacqui Willingham – Assistant Coach

Jacqui is an assistant coach and current member of the University of the Incarnate Word varsity fencing team. Jacqui learned how to fence with Olympian Fencing Club and is now sharing that knowledge with Y10 fencers.

Coaches

Coaches

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