Camps & Clinics
Skyward Fencing Summer Epee Clinic
with Direct Elimination – Stephen Ewart & Ari Simmons
Join World Championship Team Member, 4x NCAA Team Champion, and international medalist Stephen Ewart and 4x NCAA All-American, former Duke NCAA Épée Coach, and Cadet World Champion Ari Simmons for Skyward Fencing’s first-ever summer training clinic.
Prepare for the upcoming season with a focused, high-level training experience designed to elevate your fencing:
Advanced épée tactics and bout strategy
Distance, timing, and decision-making under pressure
Situational training and competitive simulations
Technical refinement and high-level coaching feedback
Mindset, performance, and competition insights from elite athletes
This clinic is designed for competitive fencers looking to level up going into the fall season.
Schedule - July 31 – August 2, 2026
Friday
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Private Lessons
Limited spots for Individual lessons with Stephen and Ari are available before or after camp sessions for an additional fee.
About Ari and Stephen
The Direct Elimination podcast
In 2025, Ari and Stephen Co-Founded the Direct Elimination Podcast, which is a platform and community geared towards growing the sport of fencing, sharing stories and creating new opportunities for fencers worldwide. They regularly host interviews of top-level fencers and discuss important topics such as success, failure, personal growth, imposter syndrome, burnout, passion, self-mastery, hard work, and focus.
https://link.me/directeliminationpodcast https://www.youtube.com/@DirectEliminationPodcast https://www.instagram.com/directeliminationpodcast/
Ari Simmons
Ari Simmons was raised in Bellaire, Texas and began fencing at the age of 10 at Alliance Fencing Academy with coach Andrey Geva. Although he didn’t shine throughout most of his youth fencing career, the arrival of coach Sergey Danilov to Alliance changed Ari’s trajectory. He really began to hit his stride in his last year of Cadet, qualifying for his first of five USA World Championship Teams and coming home with a Cadet World Championship Gold Medal. He carried his momentum into his NCAA career at the University of Notre Dame, coached by Cedric Loiseau, where he was a 4x All-American, 3x NCAA Team Champion, ACC Champion, and many-time Division 1 NAC medalist.
After graduating, he moved to Colorado and began his professional career in software development, training with coach Omar Elgeziry, and working as the Assistant Epee Coach at the United States Air Force Academy. He continued to excel as an athlete, and as a coach he helped qualify 4 fencers to NCAA Championships over his 2 years in the program. After Elgeziry moved on to become the Head Coach of the Duke University Fencing Team, Ari moved to Durham to continue his training and coaching pursuits as well. His 1 year at Duke culminated in more Division 1 medals and even 1 Senior Team appearance. As a coach, he helped 2 more fencers qualify for the NCAA Championships, one of whom finished as a 1st-Team All-American. Ari now lives in New York City, where he trains at the New York Athletic Club and New York Fencing Academy, where he is coached by Misha Mokretsov and Dylan Nollner.
Stephen Ewart
Growing up in Lancaster, California, Stephen found the sport of fencing at a very young age. Soon after, he began training with Tigran Shaginian at Swords Fencing Studio (Los Angeles, CA), where he established himself as one the top fencers his age worldwide. After numerous national and international medals, Stephen attended the University of Notre Dame where he continued his dominance at the Junior and Senior levels, coached by Cedric Loiseau. His time at Notre Dame was highlighted by a Junior World Cup Gold, a Silver Medal at the Junior World Championships in Teams, Division 1 NAC Individual and Team Gold Medals, a Senior World Cup Bronze, and 4 NCAA Team Championships. After graduating, he moved to New York City, where he now represents the New York Athletic Club and is coached by 2x Men’s Epee Olympian Soren Thompson. Professionally, Stephen works as an insurance professional at Aon.