How to support our children during and after a fencing competition?

As parents, we are encouraged to see our children fencing in a competition that displays their competitive spirit and sportsmanship.

We parents play a very important role in supporting our children's goals and guiding their behavior after every competition.

During the Competition

Stay in control. Do not lose our cool or get angry with our children. Our negative emotions and body language could influence them.
Be understanding, supportive and encourage them to try new things.
Guide them to manage their emotions, so that they stay calm & learn to problem solve even if they fail.

After the Competition

Praise their efforts over abilities or results.
Listen to what they have to say and acknowledge their feelings. Help them recognize and organize their emotions and thoughts.
Be a role model, acknowledge good play and encourage them to support their teammates.
Be empathetic and supportive with what we say. Encourage them to turn it into a learning experience. Ask them "what can you learn from this?
Challenge negative thoughts by providing positive responses.

Character lessons that our children pick up through competition can help them understand that success and failure are both important for an individual's development. Through this, they develop values such as determination, grace and honour; develop attitudes such as discipline and focus while learning from their failures.

At Z, we want our fencers to develop these key skills through sports to apply to their daily lives, through academics and eventually to adulthood. This is the Z difference and we hope to share that with all our Z Parents.