Coaches
John Kissingford, head coach of Ouray Swordplay, has fenced since high school. He studied with Maitre Michel Sebastiani, a French Olympian and US Olympic coach, for four years at Princeton University, where he was varsity team captain. He has coached at Harvard University, Choate Rosemary Hall, Mesa State College, Denver Fencing Center, and various other clubs. John has won gold in US national tournaments in Veteran, Vet-40, and Vet Team events. His team, "Wildlife Fencing," was the 2021, 2019, 2018, and 2015 national veteran foil champion and 2017 and 2016 runner-up (no competition in 2020!). John has represented USA in international competition, placing 14th at the 2017 Veteran World Fencing Championships in Maribor, Slovenia, and helping the US vet foil team to a 4th place finish; in 2018 he fenced at the Vet Worlds in Italy. He fences a little epee as well. In his spare time, he teaches English at Ouray High School.
Nathan Anderson, head coach and owner of the Denver Fencing Center, camp coach in Ouray, teaches all three weapons, and DFC members regularly win gold medals at national tournaments. The DFC Vet foil team, consisting of Nathan, Henri and two of Henri's students, defeated Wildlife Fencing in 2016 to capture the team national championship. Nathan began fencing in 1989, was captain of the University of Pennsylvania varsity team and an NCAA All-American foil fencer, and continues to fence competitively. He won the gold medal in Pre-Vet men's foil at the PanAm Games in Aruba, 2014, and has won several US national championships in Veteran foil. Nathan served as Secretary on the USA Fencing Board of Directors from 2013-2015, and is very active in promoting the sport of fencing at the local and national levels.
Henri Darricau, fencing master and Ouray Swordplay summer camp coach, has been teaching, coaching, and living in Denver since 1979. He grew up fencing and his fencing career has some remarkable achievements. He fenced foil in the U-20 World Championship, was the youngest fencer at World Military Championships, and in 1978, fenced in the World Championship in Hamburg, Germany. His team took first place in foil at the French National Championships. He earned his Brevat D'Etat, Optiones Escrime (Fencing Master Degree) from the Institute National de Sports Education Physique (I.N.S.E.P.) in Paris France. Henri fenced in the Individual and Team Foil events at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California. After fencing in the Olympics, Henri took the referee exam and became a 'B' level International Rated referee. From 1983-1992, he served as the head coach for the University of Colorado Fencing Club. He has taught at the Denver Fencing Center for the past 15 years, while continuing to fence competitively: Since 2015, he has represented the United States in the Veteran World Championships, where he took 7th in 2016.