How much does fencing cost in Austin?

At West Coast Fencing Academy in Austin, group classes cost $120 to $275 a month, depending on the group and on how many times a week your child trains. On top of that, every member pays a membership, $300 for 6 months or $500 for a year, and the kit, which is free for the first month, then costs $40 a month to rent unless you bring your own. The first class is free.

What is free

• The first class. It is one of the seven weekly group classes on the schedule. There is nothing to pay or sign for it.
• The kit for the whole first month. We lend a mask, a jacket, a glove and a blade for the free class, and they stay free for the first month if your child continues.

After the free class you decide. If your child continues, you sign the membership agreement and pay at the next class.

Every price in one table

You pay nothing until the class after the free one, and only if your child continues. The same prices are on the free class page.

What a first year costs: a beginner aged 7 to 11

Children aged 7 to 11 train on Monday and Wednesday, 6:00 to 7:30 PM, so once a week means one of those evenings and twice a week means both. Here is a first year for a beginner who trains all twelve months and rents the kit after the free first month.

The membership comes two ways: $300 for 6 months or $500 for a year. The 6-month one is the smaller sum on the day you join, but it covers six months, so over a full year it is paid twice: 2 × $300 = $600, against $500 for one annual membership. Over a full year the annual membership comes to $100 less; each total below shows both.

Once a week:

• classes: 12 months × $150 = $1,800
• kit: 11 months × $40 = $440
• membership: $500 annual, or 2 × $300 = $600 for two 6-month memberships
• first year with the annual membership: $2,740 ($1,800 + $440 + $500), about $228 a month on average
• first year with 6-month memberships: $2,840 ($1,800 + $440 + $600), about $237 a month on average

Twice a week:

• classes: 12 months × $190 = $2,280
• kit: 11 months × $40 = $440
• membership: $500 annual, or 2 × $300 = $600 for two 6-month memberships
• first year with the annual membership: $3,220 ($2,280 + $440 + $500), about $268 a month on average
• first year with 6-month memberships: $3,320 ($2,280 + $440 + $600), about $277 a month on average

If you buy your own kit instead of renting, take $440 off each total and add what the kit costs you. Before the kit, once a week comes to $2,300 with the annual membership or $2,400 with 6-month ones, and twice a week to $2,780 or $2,880.

The same sum for the Saturday class for ages 4 to 6, once a week: 12 × $120 = $1,440, plus $440 for kit, plus $500 for the annual membership, makes $2,380; with two 6-month memberships ($600) it makes $2,480.

Private lessons

Private lessons are priced per 20 minutes: $70 for non-members and $60 for members. A package of 10 lessons is $550, which works out at $55 a lesson, and members can buy 20 lessons for $1,000, or $50 a lesson. Ask Coach Pasha whether private lessons make sense for your child.

If your child starts competing

Tournaments are not part of the club's prices. To enter USA Fencing events, a fencer pays USA Fencing for a membership: for the 2026-27 season, Access membership is $34 and is for local events, and Competitive membership is $109 and adds regional, national and international events (USA Fencing, 2026-27 membership fees and membership types, read 2026-10-16). On top of that, each tournament charges its own entry fee, and travel is extra. A beginner does not need any of this to start. Fencing ratings and a first tournament explains which membership each kind of event needs.

Is fencing a rich kids' sport?

Fencing has that image, partly from its history and partly from what competing costs: travel to tournaments, entry fees and a fencer's own electric kit. Starting does not need any of that. Here are our own numbers:

• the first class costs nothing, and neither does the kit for the whole first month;
• after that, a beginner aged 7 to 11 training once a week pays $150 a month, plus a membership ($300 for 6 months or $500 for a year), plus $40 a month for kit or your own;
• a first year at that pace adds up to $2,740 with the annual membership, about $228 a month on average, or $2,840 with 6-month memberships, as worked out above;
• the Saturday class for ages 4 to 6 and the adult class are $120 a month.

That is not the cheapest sport there is, and we will not pretend it is. It is a known amount, in the open, with no paid intro lesson before the free class. Tournaments come later, if at all, and only if your child wants to compete. To see how fencing compares with other sports a family might choose, read fencing vs tennis, soccer and chess. In the summer, our fencing day camps are $450 a week.

How to compare fencing prices

Clubs price in different ways: by the class, by the month, with or without a membership fee, with kit included or not. To compare fairly, add up one year of the same things everywhere:

1. the monthly price at the number of classes a week your child will really do;
2. any membership or registration fee;
3. kit, rented or bought;
4. whether the first class costs anything, and whether a paid intro lesson comes before it.

At our club, the four answers are on this page.

Questions parents ask about cost

Do I pay anything to try? No. The first class is free, and so is the kit for the first month.

Do adults pay the membership too? Yes. Every member pays a membership on top of the monthly price: $300 for 6 months or $500 for a year.

Do I have to buy a kit? No. After the first month you can rent the club's kit for $40 a month, or bring your own. What a beginner fencer needs explains the gear.

Which group and how often? Which group is right for my child? goes through the groups by age, and at what age a child can start fencing covers the youngest and the late starters.

Call Coach Pasha at (408) 592-1244 with any question about cost. If he is on the strip, leave a voicemail: he calls back within 24 hours. Or leave your number for a call-back.