04/30/2025
BERRY ATHLETIC FOUNDATION FOR FENCING AND MODERN PENTATHLON
Founded in 2017, the Berry Athletic Foundation for Fencing and Pentathlon (BAF) was formed to promote and support the sports of fencing and the modern pentathlon.
Since that time, the foundation has supported several initiatives to bring the sport of fencing to Yolo County youth, and to make local venues compatible with USA Fencing tournament standards. Examples include:
Purchasing and donating a small cargo van for Davis Fencing Academy's (DFA's) “Fencing in the Schools” program. Fencing in the Schools provides physical education and exposure to over 4,000 students in the Davis, West Sacramento, and, hopefulyy.in the near future, Woodland school districts. DFA’s instructors work with the physical education programs, providing instructors and equipment to elementary and middle schools. The van enabled DFA to transport over 100 sets of fencing gear from DFA to the schools.
Purchasing and donating grounded, metal fencing strips which are required for high level USA fencing tournaments. Not only does this help local fencers, but it increases opportunities for hosting Northern California fencing tournaments. These tournaments bring in competitors from California and beyond.
NATIONAL PENTATHLON TRAINING CENTER
Looking to the future, the BAF hopes to support efforts to bring a National Pentathlon Training Center (Training Center) to Davis, CA. Just fifteen minutes from the California State Capitol and 30 minutes from the Sacramento International Airport, the Davis Pentathlon Center would provide training facilities for future Olympians, recreation opportunities for local residents, a venue for regional, national and World Cup competitions and a permanent home for the USA Fencing History Museum and USA Fencing Coaches Academy.
The Modern Pentathlon consists of five events; swimming, fencing, running/shooting (laser marksmanship) and an obstacle course similar to Ninja Warrior competitions. BAF and DFA have been working for years with the City of Davis, USA Pentathlon and the United States Fencing Coaches’ Association to bring a National Pentathlon Training Center to Davis, California.
The Training Center venues will include:
17,000 square feet fencing hall
an 8 lane, 25 meter long pool
running track
room for an obstacle course.
In addition to benefiting elite World Cup and Olympic athletes it will also serve the local community and athletes.
The primary use for the center will be to train top U.S. athletes for elite World Cup and Olympic competition. They will need all of the center’s training venues throughout the day, however they will rotate through each venue. Therefore, they will only use each part of the facility for a small portion of the day. Their training will occur primarily while most people are at school or work.
The second, and most extensive, use of the facility will be to offer training to local athletes in different sports. This will be through afternoon and weekend classes and vacation camps.
Finally, the Training Center will organize regular competitions from local and/or community events to regional fencing competitions and World Cup pentathlon events. This will be of primary importance to the local hospitality industry which will see over $1M per year of increased business.
Additional Uses include rental space for other programs, open lap swim practice times, the U.S. Fencing History Museum, U.S. Fencing Coaches Academy classes, and venue space for events larger than the City of Davis can typically host.
Goals Achieved
Land Donated - In the winter of 2025, the City of Davis approved development of the center on land donated by a developer.
Pool Funding - Negotiations with the City of Davis is on-going for the pool.
Next Steps
Architectural designs - Architectural designs (estimated cost of $150,000) are the next step towards making the National Pentathlon Training center a reality.
Funding - The Berry Athletic Association’s goal is to help make this project come to life by raising funds for the architectural designs and the additional estimated $6,000,000 for construction and labor fees.
WE NEED YOUR HELP
We are looking for community donations to help support this exciting project.
The Berry Athletic Foundation for Fencing and Modern Pentathalon is a registered 501 organization. All donations are tax-deductable.
