Hello friends, family, and total strangers who've arrived here! I'm Matthias Jamison-Koenig, and I'm a teacher at Brooks College Prep in Chicago. I've also been a fencer since college, and continue to be active in that community in the Midwest. I started CPS's first fencing club in many years, and have grown it into a fully active member of the Great Lakes High School Fencing Conference.



As we continue to grow, our operating costs grow with us. Replacing broken equipment, buses, and tournament entry fees all pose a financial challenge to our team. I can no longer reasonably finance this team out of my pocket - tournament fees alone for one season amount to a couple of thousand dollars. I want to be able to offer my students this opportunity without having money be a a barrier. If I'm forced to charge students to join the team or compete, I would quickly lose any ground I've been able to gain.

I humbly ask you to help lower or remove that financial barrier for my students. $500 covers our average annual equipment expenses. $360 enters our entire team for one event. $100 covers an average students' gear for all four years. $20 allows one student to compete at an invitational event. $5 buys parts to rewire a blade. Every little bit helps us continue to grow our organization and directly supports our students. The goal reflects our expected costs to run the club for the next 5 years.



Brooks College Prep is brimming with incredible talent. We are one of the premier schools in the city, offering the best public education possible to our students. As we are a selective enrollment school, we are available to students from all around the city, though due to our location the majority are from the south and far south side neighborhoods of the city. If you're curious about our school, more information can be found at click here for the school's website.



For more information on fencing click here.