Our guest is Nzingha Prescod, a 2-time Olympian, World Champion, 4-time Senior World Medalist and founder of PISTE.
Our guest is not only a force on the fencing strip but also a force for change in the community of fencing itself.
Nzingha Prescod is a 2-time Olympian, World Champion, and 4-time Senior World Medalist.
But that's not all — the Columbia University graduate is also the Founder & CEO of The Prescod Institute for Sport, Teamwork and Education, better known as PISTE. Through PISTE, she's been breaking down barriers and making fencing accessible to hundreds of kids in under-resourced communities.
On top of all that, she serves on the Board of Directors of USA Fencing and is a member of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s Council on Social and Racial Justice
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First to 15: The Official Podcast of USA Fencing
Host: Bryan Wendell
Cover art: Manna Creations
Theme music: Brian Sanyshyn
EPISODE 38
[INTRODUCTION]
[0:00:02] BW: Hello, and welcome to First to 15, the official podcast of USA Fencing. I'm your host, Bryan Wendell. In this show, you're going to hear from some of the most inspiring, interesting, and insanely talented people in this sport we all love. First to 15 is for anyone in the fencing community, and even for those just checking out fencing to see what it's all about. Whether you're an Olympian, or Paralympian, a newcomer, a seasoned veteran, a fencing parent, a fan, or anyone else in this wonderful community, this podcast is for you. With that, let's get to today's episode. Enjoy.
[INTERVIEW]
[0:00:40] BW: Today, our guest is not only a force on the fencing strip, but also a force for change in the community of fencing itself. Nzingha Prescod is a two-time Olympian, a world champion, and a four-time senior world medalist. That's not all, the Columbia University graduate is also the Founder and CEO of the Prescod Institute for Sport, Teamwork, and Education, better known as PISTE. Through those efforts, she's been breaking down barriers and making fencing accessible to hundreds of kids in under-resourced communities. On top of all that, she serves on the board of directors of USA Fencing and is a member of the USOPC's Council on Social and Racial Justice. Nzingha, welcome to the podcast.
[0:01:19] NP: Hey. Hi, Bryan. Thanks for having me. Thanks for the intro.
[0:01:23] BW: Yeah, of course. I mean, we could have gone on a lot longer with that intro, but I wanted to get to our conversation. A lot of people recommended that we try to get you on the podcast, so I'm so grateful that you agreed to come on. I think it makes sense to start with your fencing career itself. You grew up in the outskirts of Flatbush, Brooklyn. As you've said, a lot of kids there were cut off from competitive sports, like fencing, because of financial and geographical barriers. I'm wondering, how did you find fencing, or how did fencing find you when you were a kid?
[0:01:54] NP: Good question. Everyone asks me this question, I think, because when I was young, especially, I stuck out a sore thumb coming from Flatbush with my foils in my hand and everyone's like, “Are you going skiing?” Just you haven't seen it in the air before, but I grew up in an area called Flatlands, which is the borders. Flatbush, Canarsie, Mill Basin in Brooklyn. Now Brooklyn's a hot spot, so maybe people know it more now. I grew up there back when there wasn't a ton of – there's still not a lot of public transportation. But it's mostly residential, heavily Caribbean.
I grew up thinking everybody was Caribbean, because that's just how I was raised. My mom put me in a bunch of sports when I was growing up. I did T-ball, I did karate, I did ballet and dance from a young age, and she was always putting me in different extracurriculars, usually sport, with the goal of gaining skills and being able to learn a skill and learn how to learn. She learned of Peter's program and she heard that they were sending young people to the Olympics. And so, she wanted to immerse my sister and I and in black community of excellence. That was the epitome of it and she shuttled my sister and I for the first couple of months on Saturday mornings to Manhattan, to Chelsea, which was on a drive, it's about an hour.
She would drive us. I was nine. My sister was 11. We would go on Saturdays and then Peter and his team thought we were exceptional and worthy of investment. Around that same time, Buckie had come to New York. It was destined timing. We matched up. Peter gave us a scholarship to train at the Fencers Club. I started training with Buckie when I was 10. First, I trained with Sylvia. Now, Voros, who's the Princeton coach. Then she took a leave, then I started working with Buckie. That was the start of my high-performance, fencing life.
It was very intense. Really tough. Always being pushed. I loved the intensity. I loved training. I loved getting better and I loved practice and repetition and just very incremental gains in terms of skill and strategy and being able to make better decisions on the strip. It wasn't really about winning bouts for me. It was always about solving the puzzle. I just was so fascinated with how can I resolve this issue, or this solution that my opponent has, how can I counter it and how can I execute that strategy better and better? How can I be creative with my strategies and mix all of my actions?
It was a love of the strategy and the problem solving for me that caught me really early on. Just loved to practice and yeah, just try out new things and sweat and grind and work hard. I was very bought into that and loved training with my teammates and Buckie's class and then with Peter's other students, we all just grew up together and had a lot of fun in our non-fencing time. It was a great way for me to grow up.
[0:05:24] BW: When you first showed up at the Peter Westbrook Foundation, did it have the reputation that it has now of like, this guy is – obviously, his fencing reputation was known, but was his reputation as like a pioneer in opening doors for more young people to fence? Was that the case 20 years ago when you showed up, or was he still building that program?
[0:05:46] NP: I think it was kind of in between. There's already a generation ahead of me. Aaron, Keith, Ivan, Aki, Kamara, they had – they either were made the Olympic team recently in 2000, or they either made it, or they were on the cusp. It was recognized that this was something epic that Peter was doing. He had gotten quite a bit of recognition about his work, which is how my mom learned about it. It was represented in media. I'm sure not as much as it should have been, but she learned about it. That's how I found out about it.
When I got there, they were about 10 years in. They had systems in place, people inspiring. They had a lot of skill in their community. Aaron was always very involved. I grew up looking to Aaron and seeing what was required to be this level of greatness. I always had that view and that look ahead, which was a huge benefit to me. That's how it goes, too. It's like, each generation pulls on the strength of the earlier group.
He had just been starting to pioneer this legendary lineage of greatness. I was a recipient, luckily. Yeah, he was still get just getting started. I think I hit it as it was peaking, about to peak, or going on the up. I got in at a good time. Since then, I mean, Peter has an endowment and Peter has produced a lot of other Olympians after me and expanded and reached a lot of hundreds of kids across New York City, probably thousands of kids across New York City in his tenure. It's been a highly successful, hyper-valuable program.
There's not a lot of research about fencing's impact on youth development. I'm very interested in researching exactly how – what the mental benefits are for fencing, for a young person in fencing and how it develops your mind as a critical thinker. I'm a strategist. As a decision-maker, problem solving all of those very valuable skills that you do in fencing while you're training almost every day. There's not a lot of understanding, I think, on how that translates to a career in business, or a career in medicine, or that there's not a lot of mind study. I would love to do that one day.
Fencing was doing that for the black and brown community that Peter was serving. I think beyond fencing, he's developed a strong generation of very capable and community-minded thinkers and leaders, which is really cool to me. I think a huge benefit of fencing in general is the type of person it develops and the personality it develops.
[0:08:43] BW: Yeah. You're an example of that. I want to go back to Buckie and obviously, for people who know fencing, all you have to say is Buckie, but that's Buckie Leach, the legendary women's foil coach. Tragically, he died in 2021 just after the Olympics. I want to talk about what he meant to you, your coach since you were 10, what lessons or memories from Buckie really stick out the most to you?
[0:09:09] NP: Yeah. Buckie, I worked so closely with Buckie for a long time from when I was 10 to 20, about 23, I think. Then Nash, he went over to Notre Dame and then I stopped fencing for a little bit, had a hip surgery. Then we were back together intermittently at the national team events, like the World Cup. I had a long, long journey with Buckie. When I was young, Buckie, I tell people Buckie taught me how to work hard. He's from a military family, so he has, have disciplinarian-like energy. That was really formative in my early years, as a nine, 10, 11-year-old, definitely, but also is the beginning of my fencing career.
He really shaped my work ethic a lot. Just the concept of don't waste your time and my perspective on being productive, especially as a student athlete. I was traveling when I was 13, 14 to Europe. It's like, you don't have a lot of time to get your homework done. It's like you're working a job and going to school. He always really pushed that on me, at practice like, “You're not here to talk, you're here to work. You're here to get things done and use your time wisely.” That's one of the biggest lessons I feel like I've taken away from Buckie. Still, I have to unlearn it a little bit, because especially with what I do now, it's so people relationships time and I'm always – my time is always very dedicated to getting things done, usually behind the scenes. That's just how I'm oriented, I think a lot influence by Buckie. I'm trying to even unlearn some of it, because it's not – it's just, there's more to life than working hard, too.
[0:11:04] BW: Yeah. There's a balancing act for sure.
[0:11:06] NP: To have balance, right, with it. Then as I was growing up, he taught me when I started traveling, all that stuff to be very responsible for myself. That no one else is going pick up your slack. He wouldn't carry our bags when we traveled. You have to pack responsibly. You can't expect, because Buckie is the coach and a man and that he's going to carry your bags, or you're going to have some help with your bag, so make sure you plan ahead and do that stuff. Also, when we were traveling, sometimes there's not the most amazing food. You have to eat the utility. Buckie taught me a lot of utility values like, “All right, you have to eat. Whether it's a hot dog, or it's a pizza.” The only thing, the only options there. You can't be picky, because you have to eat.
Prioritizing a lot, like, what's needed right now, and going with that, because you have to get here, so your goal is to get here, which requires this, which you might not want to do, but that's what's required of you to get the best result. Having a great prioritization strategy, I think he helped me with. I think that's really helpful now in what I do. Yeah, there's just – I could go on non about lessons, fencing lessons, I mean. Pause counter attack, peri-post, that was very Buckie.
Also, later on in his coaching career, he was not as strict as he had been. Even for me, I've heard, I haven't gotten the most strict version and the toughest version of Buckie. When I was older a little bit, he relaxed a bit and wanted to emphasize the importance of relationships and stuff like that. That and teaming and being a good teammate. Always, it was always about being a good teammate, cheering, staying and cheering for your teammates. Just showing up enthusiastically every practice. Those are things I try to pass on to our kids at PISTE. I think we're pretty successful in doing that. It's very influenced by Buckie's philosophies and his outlook on mission, like getting a mission accomplished and definitely his fencing strategies. Yeah, his general outlook on getting work done and being productive and achieving your goals.
[0:13:27] BW: Yeah, and we could talk about a dozen different goals that you achieved. I want to focus on one real quick, which is the 2015 Senior Worlds, where you became the first black woman to win an individual medal there. You got a bronze. You talked about when you started fencing and traveling for fencing that you didn't see a lot of competitors who looked like you. What was in your mind the significance of that really barrier breaking achievement in the sport of fencing?
[0:13:54] NP: Yeah. I mean, when I was younger, I was traveling to Germany. My first World Cup, I think was in Jena. I was 13, 12 or 13. Jena is a small town in Germany. Just in general, there's no black people around. Then the competition itself, there's maybe one or two from France, or something like that. I grew up in a buffer system, because I worked, I was in Peter's program and Peter's program is predominantly black at that time. I was growing up in fencing in a black community. Then the Fencers Club wasn't predominantly black, but I had – there are people there from Peter's program, so I had pretty great balance in terms of seeing myself.
When I started traveling, that shifted a bit, because I was the only one from the group who was going to this cadet foil World Cup for women. That was the start of like, “Oh, wow,” a reminder that this is that broader world of fencing, not just my home in New York City. That was some of an adjustment. I traveled with my mom quite a bit and my sister, so I never felt – I didn't think about it too much. But in terms of making history and doing that meddling first at Worlds, it's not something I was actively conscious about in that moment.
I think, I feel it more after the fact. Even after the fact, I don't think I presented as much as I have, as I could, I think. It is, I think, a big deal. I think when you make history, or when you meddle at a big event, like World Championships, there's a lot of eyeballs on it, which is the power of it. I got my entry into fencing was eyeballs on Peter's program, right? Without those eyeballs, I wouldn't have known about it. It allowed for eyeballs for young black girls to see that, oh, this is something – this plant a seed of like, this is something I can do also.
I think for, yeah, the next generation coming up, it's very cool to see that and powerful, because you see what's possible for you and you work towards that, you work backwards, right? Something like Coco Gauff, Serena Williams. It's inspirational for nine-year-old, 10-year-old, 11-year-old to see that and plant a vision for themselves, and create a blueprint for themselves of what their life can look like when they are 20, like 23. In another 10 years, okay, I want to do that. What do I need to do to get there and work from there?
[0:16:32] BW: What is that they say? See it, be it, or something like that. There's an expression that I've seen. You just have to see that it's possible.
[0:16:38] NP: Seeing is believing.
[0:16:39] BW: There you go. Yeah. I mean, another example of that is that 2018 team, where you won that team gold in China and you're up there with your teammates at the top of the medal stand. What do you remember most about that experience? Because that was a historic moment for team USA and for you, obviously.
[0:16:58] NP: Yeah. No, I love that team. Those are my girls. But that gold medal we've been working for, we all started on the senior circuit so young. Lee was the youngest. I was young. Our first team together was 2009. It was me, Lee, Doris, I think, [inaudible 0:17:16]. Then the following year, Nicole joined. But 2009, I was 16. Lee was probably 14. So young. We started competing at the senior level and it was just so hard. There were so many losses. There were so many, just how could we ever beat these people?
Then gradually, we kept figuring things out. We would obviously get stronger as athletes and as fencers, have more tools and under our belt, more confidence. Then also know how to support each other and how to keep momentum and about for each of us and where we’re strong and where we have to use our energy to make up, or any strategy that one of us might have to supplement where we needed to supplement and just figuring out all those pieces to make a win happen.
Bout after bout, the round of eight, the round of four, the round of two, and then the gold medal bout. You finally get your gold medal bout, and it's like, you got to try to win that, too. That year, we were really successful. We had a great strategy going in. we had been on the stage so many times. I think that was our ninth time, or eighth, or ninth time going for a medal. We had gone a silver the year before in Leipzig. I wasn't even supposed to be at that competition. I had a surgery. I had a hip surgery that year and I stopped fencing. I was kind of retiring, kind of not. I wasn't sure what I was going to do and I had started my job at Ernst & Young.
I didn't fence all season. I was at the job, the new hires training in Atlanta, I think. Sabrina got hurt. She hurt her foot, and so she couldn't fence. They called me. I was at the training and they were like, “Can you come fence?” I was like, “That sounds great.” I hadn't even really started fencing then. I might have fenced a couple of times. I had been spinning and I had been doing rehab and stuff. I was ready and then jumped right in, had a great bout with China and Russia. Then we were in the gold medal bout, all of a sudden.
[0:19:28] BW: Clearly, you hadn't lost too much of your game at that point.
[0:19:31] NP: They say, it's like riding a bike.
[0:19:34] BW: Apparently. That's wild.
[0:19:36] NP: Yeah, it was wild. Then the following year, we won the golds. It's just taking it in stages. These things do not happen overnight. To get the gold in 2018 was really cool, because it was a long time of preparation and work to figure out exactly how to do that. Then beyond us, I just saw Suzie Paxton.
[0:19:58] BW: All of those accomplishments that we mentioned before, plus first American woman to win a foil grand prix, ranked as high as fifth in the entire world, two-time Olympian. Then, there was one more added to your resume earlier this year, which was when your fellow USA fencing members elected you to the Hall of Fame. You'll be officially inducted in July 2024 in Columbus. I'm wondering, what that honor in a career of so many honors, what that particular honor means to you.
[0:20:27] NP: Yeah, I haven't thought about it so much yet, but I haven't competed in fencing for a while. It's really removed from me. To talk about my athletic career in fencing is I don't even bring it up a lot of the times now when I introduce myself. I forget, because my life has just evolved, even though it's still intertwining with fencing, it's so remote. I don't train every day. I don't see my teammates every day anymore. I’m not traveling to the world cups. It's just, my life is a lot different than it used to be.
It's nice to be recognized for that period of my life where I was intensely committed to competing and being an athlete and performing. I'm mostly, I’m very proud of the skill that I committed to learning and all that I've been able – all that I was able to do because of my commitment. Yeah, I'm happy to accept and I'm excited for the Hall of Fame induction.
[0:21:29] BW: It's awesome. We should say, you got the most votes of anybody in this cycle, not that it's a competition per se, but I think that's a testament to how people perceive you within the community. I do want to shift now from your career as an athlete to your current initiative with PISTE, which we mentioned in the intro is your nonprofit that helps bring fencing to under-resourced communities. What motivated you to start PISTE and how do you describe the goals of that organization?
[0:22:00] NP: Yes. What made me to start? We started fencing in the park. What motivated me to start fencing in the park was exactly what I said to at the beginning, of being an anomaly in my neighborhood. I think this is something that I struggle with in my post-career, but fencing really pulled me out of my – what my home is, where I grew up. It made me very different from people from where I grew up. I think, I always wanted to bring it together a bit, so that it's not as fractured in my life. That being a personal underlying current being a motivation. But really, it's an access issue, it's an opportunity issue. It's an education issue that's tough for me. Really, it's like, there's not many – how to have a goal and commit to it, self-control, focus, endurance, grit, teaming with people, balancing your time with school and athletics, all of these skills
Then fencing is an enhanced sport in my opinion of where you get all this critical thinking additional benefits. There weren't those really structured outlets for kids in my neighborhood. That's a problem, because I know how it changed my character and my work ethic and all those things. I know it was the main thing informing this capacity that I felt like I developed in fencing, through fencing, but there's nothing like that. There wasn't anything like that that people I was going to school with. In public school, no one was doing that. That's really it. That's the point.
Fencing is, again, this enhanced sport. You learn it through fencing and that's the point of PISTE. It's broader than just getting access to fencing. It's getting access to a structured youth development experience that's going to teach you how to learn, teach you how to commit to things, teach yourself control, teach you focus, teach you how to have goals, teach you how to attain your goals, teach you what hard work looks like, with coaches and mentors and people and a community that's inspiring you and supporting you to embrace that hard, because it's hard. Everything's hard. Life's hard. You need education on how to approach that and do it in the most productive way possible.
That's really the purpose of PISTE. We do that through fencing. Fencing-based youth development, but really, it's like a quality youth development program. That's the intention. Then we infuse education in the community. With that structure, we then add the academics, we add rotation of educational programming, like exposing them to different careers and different skills and different paths for themselves. That's the origin story of it.
We started fencing in the park, park in my neighborhood where I grew up and I was walking with my mom and we saw a football camp going on, doing agility drills. I'm like, I do these drills. This is in 2020 and I say, “I can do this,” and then bring some equipment, and then – so I asked Absolute Fencing to help us with equipment and then we got equipment and then we had a bunch of volunteers come out. Then, Sara was really committed. Sara Taffel very early on. Sara was designing programs and sending out agendas and all that stuff. We teamed together really well, and she's been with the program ever since.
Then we've added quite a few people, have been very supportive on the way. We wouldn't be able to do it without the team. The team is really how we get it done, because I can't do everything and no one person can do everything, so we've gotten better and that's a lot of my job, like defining the roles and bringing people in and getting them going with whatever they're working on and creating those systems and then financing and all of that. That's the intention and that's how we run.
[0:26:08] BW: I love that. You talk about some of the people who are behind it and the classes are led by Olympians and world champions and NCAA athletes. What does having that caliber of individual working with these kids, what does that do to benefit the young people who participate in these programs?
[0:26:26] NP: Yeah. The mentoring, a lot of what we spoke about, like the representation and knowing, okay, if I'm leading a class, or if Sara's leading the class, or Margaret comes in quite a bit, or Nicole, to have those people who have done this and they're giving you the technical information, the strategic information. Sometimes a young person, it's hard to receive it, but we do our best and, I think, like we were saying, you want to see people who are, what's the word? You can relate to.
[0:26:57] BW: Yeah, yeah.
[0:26:59] NP: We try to keep it very culturally relevant and pull in as many coaches that we can are representative of the kids we serve, but also, have the skill, or are close with me, or close with the mission and the intention and the core values of the program to teach the kids fencing, but also, just how to be good people. It's very tied to the Olympism values of excellence, friendship, respect. We grew up in that whole vibe of Olympism. That whole caliber of sport education is what we want to bring to the kids.
[0:27:36] BW: You've done it successfully. I understand that in 2022, you introduced fencing to more than 600 kids across New York City. What are you most proud of about the impact of PISTE so far? I know, you've still got a lot of work you still want to do.
[0:27:50] NP: Yeah. I would say, I'm most proud of – it's really anecdotal to things I'm proud of. When things switch for them and they're like, “Okay, I'm going to turn a leaf and decide to take this seriously. I'm going to warm up on my own. I'm going to take initiative. I'm going to not engage when another student's being distracted, because I'm here to focus.” You know what? Adopting that attitude of like, “I'm here to get things done. I'm here because I have a future ahead of me. I'm here to prepare for my future and take this seriously and do my best and make the most of my time here.” That's when I'm most proud when they have that attitude.
I'm also really proud when they support each other, our kind, and they help each other along the way. That makes me proud to see, too, when they go to compete and they're very on the strip with each other, like supporting each other. That's cool to see.
[0:28:48] BW: It's right there in the name of PISTE, right? T for teamwork.
[0:28:51] NP: Teamwork, yeah, yeah. That's an individual sport. That's not always the inclination, or it's not always easy to embrace that, but I'm really happy that they do, so that's great. Then, I'm also proud of the education piece. A lot of our kids are transitioning into really great selective middle schools. We help him get into – one of our oldest student in the academy to get into his preferred high school. There's different partnerships we're making, like with Stuyvesant which is the high school that I went to. It’s a specialized high school in New York City. We partnered with them. We've been partnering with them for the last couple of years, so that's been really great to have, again, to get the educational bit, their expertise, but also as mentors, to see it in front of them and to even learn what Stuyvesant is.
Because going from school to school, I think a lot of a challenge of like, there's this whole stat about the limited number of black and Latinx students were admitted into Stuyvesant every year. A lot of that is not quality education, underperforming schools. But a lot of it's also exposure to the opportunity. They don't know about the tests until they’re in eighth grade, or they're not even taking the test, or they don't know to prepare for the tests in fifth grade. Which is what the people they're competing with, that's what they do. There's a lot of that.
I'm glad that they're planting a seed that my teachers from Stuy, and I'm sure they chat here and there about, “I have to do this this week,” or whatever the case may be. But to have a little taste of what it's like. They also done specialized test prep at Stuyvesant, and then we partnered with some other high schools across the city. I'm really proud of that education piece, being able to connect them to those opportunities and also, enhance their academic – enrich their academic experience through those things and really change their trajectory in terms of the type of school they're going to, if we can help them get into a school that will provide them with better resources. It's a heavy lift.
Again, you can see how I'm in fencing, but I'm heavily in the nonprofit space and even in the education space more and more. I like that for me, because fencing I see is tied to education, because it's a sport, but really, because it's a mind developer and a mind enhancer. That's really that education piece is cool for me.
[0:31:17] BW: You've made it part of your mission to open these opportunities for athletes who identify as black, or Latina. I know, 98% of athletes in PISTE fall in those groups. That's some huge strides. But it makes me wonder, what can other clubs across the country do to make their own club membership, I guess, you could call it look more like the communities they serve and make fencing as a whole, a place that more represents what America looks like?
[0:31:49] NP: I mean, this is our mission. This is the mission of PISTE. Our team is paid to do this work, and I'm fundraising. We fundraise to do this work specifically. It is a dedicated time and effort and resources towards that mission, so just that. But in terms of the typical fencing club, I would say, partnering with the city is helpful. New York City is huge, obviously, but there's so many departments, there's so many parts of the city to partner with. Doing your outreach to get in contact with who you can, whether it's Parks and Rec, or it's the mayor's action plan, or the mayor's office of neighborhood – the mayor has a million offices, so getting in contact with the people who work at those offices and saying like, “Hey, I have a fencing program. I want to come out and do a demo. Do you have any events coming up?”
We do quite a bit of events with the New York City Housing Authority, so public housing, which is great, because those are kids who are very likely not going to see a sport of fencing, probably won't try it. We're exposing new communities to the sport, not with the goal of having them pay for classes. No one's paying for classes. None of the families are paying for classes. That's not our goal, but maybe it's possible for other clubs, even though it's not particularly your mission. But it's out of goodwill, expose young people to the sport, just because they would appreciate learning from it. Even in five minutes from learning the sport, you can learn some tenets of self-control, or discipline, or focus.
Doing demonstrations, events and stuff like that is one way to activate your community and make fencing more representative. I would say, also, giving out scholarships and even using those events as a pipeline for someone who's really committed and wants to pursue it, transitioning them to a scholarship where you support them out of your club's class, or you apply for a grant to support that athlete and that's how you can get your club more representative. Going into schools is a big part and schools have budget, so that's one way to kill two stones, but you can make money doing a school program and then you can also tap into a new demographic for fencing.
[0:34:14] BW: And reinvest in the community.
[0:34:16] NP: Right. Then again, you can use that as a pipeline to your normal fencing club. That's a couple of things you can work off of. But yeah. It's not easy, but I think those are like, working with the city, or local government, or even contacting elected officials saying, you have this crazy skill. That, honestly, a lot of people are looking for everyone's – a lot of the school administrators, or government officials I speak to, their thing is always like, we want to expose our kids to new opportunities and we want something different for them. Everyone says that they're looking for that. That's a skill you're unique in providing. It's matching and connecting with those opportunities, but they are there.
[0:35:03] BW: Yeah. Just put in some legwork and see what doors might open for you. Lastly, I'd love to hear what's next for you and for PISTE. What's on the horizon for 2024 and beyond?
[0:35:15] NP: Yeah, great. Thanks for the plug. Okay, so we have our benefit coming up on November 2nd. That'll be really exciting. It's at the Wythe Hotel. They're hosting us very graciously, and they've been so kind to us. Really appreciative to Peter and his family. Daryl Homer Olympic silver medalist and reigning World Champion, Eli Dershwitz, will be fencing there. This hasn't officially dropped, or announcing it soon. That'll be an exciting bout. Yeah, definitely want to work with you on promoting that, especially as the Olympics are coming up next year.
We are sending six of our kids to Paris for a youth sports festival and also, to see the Olympics next year. They're going to attend the opening ceremony. That's really exciting for six of our kids. If you're interested in supporting in that way, we are fundraising for that specific initiative. Then we're opening a new club, our own brick and mortar space in East Brooklyn. It's in a community called Start City, about 15 minutes from where I grew up so. It's very local. It's hyper-local. A lot of kids in the neighborhood will have a storefront, so that'll attract a lot of talent.
Yeah, we need the support and people who will be our partners in impact to help us finance, continue financing our offering, especially in these early stages where we're hiring. We just hired someone full-time. I'm going to be working full-time on it, heading out from Eli. Eli has been a sponsor of the program for the last two years, so that's been super helpful. But now our time is expiring, so I'll be full-time on it.
We just hired a new coach who's coming in six days a week, so we have costs. Our new space will be a fencing club, so that'll be exciting and we'll definitely be inviting people who are not currently members of PISTE, but are friends with PISTE, and guests to come in. I'm going to be hosting a clinic on Thursdays every other week at the club, so we'll be sharing that and blasting that out to invite young advanced fencers around nine to 15 to come fence with me and our kids and whoever signs up. But I'll be running the class. I'll be running conditioning, footwork, and drills and then I will also fence every other Thursday. It'll be me, or another national, past national team member. That's one of our fundraising strategies for the year. See how it goes. Yeah, we'll be blasting that out and letting people know about all these upcoming, exciting ventures for us, so we'll keep you posted.
[0:37:52] BW: Pisteacademy.org, right, if they want to keep up with what's going on, head to pisteacademy.org. We'll put that in the in the show notes of this episode as well.
[0:38:01] NP: You can always visit our Instagram, which is also P-I-S-T-E Academy. @pisteacademy. You can check out links there to our benefit, to purchase tickets. Or if you can't make it, you can donate. Or if you would like to buy a table, or want to connect us to a sponsor, we're still accepting those. Please, let us know. You can reach out to me at Nzingha, nzingha@pisteacademy.org for any questions.
[0:38:28] BW: That's great. Well, I'm glad you got to share that in there and it's going to be a busy stretch for you, so I appreciate you taking some time out of your busy schedule to chat with us and share your story. Thank you, Nzingha.
[0:38:41] NP: No, thanks for having me. It's good chatting with you. Thanks, Bryan.
[0:38:45] BW: Thanks.
[END OF INTERVIEW]
[0:38:46] BW: Thanks for listening to First to 15, the official podcast of USA Fencing. We'll be back with our next conversation in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, you can stay up to date on all the latest fencing news by following us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. If you like this podcast, please help us grow and reach more people by leaving us a rating, or review. Until next time, I'm Bryan Wendell, and I hope to see you real soon out on the strip. Bye.
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