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Rewarded for a job well done
By Kristin Wood, student, DComm, CFPSA, Ottawa
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This April, in her fourth year as head coach for the fencing program at Royal Military College (RMC) Patricia Howes was the recipient of a prestigious award. At the RMC Sports Awards Ceremony, Patricia was honoured with the Commander's Commendation for her outstanding work with the RMC Fencing program.
Patricia's professionalism, ability to teach, and enthusiasm for the sport have brought both the men and women's RMC fencing teams to a highly competitive and successful level. In addition to her work at RMC, for the past two years Howes has coached the CISM fencing teams at the World Military Fencing Championships.
"Since being hired in August of 2002, Patti has been able to change the perception of this long-time RMC sport from unskillful and sedentary to what the sport truly is: physically demanding and mentally challenging," says Darren Cates, RMC Athletic Director.
Patricia got her first taste of the sport while she was studying at Carleton University in Ottawa. Since then, she's achieved a remarkable list of fencing accomplishments. Howes was the first fencing coach in Canada to graduate with a diploma in High Performance Coaching from the National Coaching Institute (NCI). She has also earned her Maîtres d'Armes coaching accreditation. This is the highest professional qualification a fencing coach can hold, and Howes is one of only three women in Canada to attain it.
Patricia has been blazing a trail for future generations of female fencers, leaving her footprints along the way.
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"Last spring we competed at the CISM 40th World Military Fencing Championships for the very first time," says Patricia. "After 40 years Canada was represented and there I was, the only female coach. I'm an anomaly at times, in both the military and sport worlds, but this is not daunting, it is in fact empowering."
Although Howes's favourite.aspect of the sport is the fact that it's really physically and mentally challenging, she says the real reward is in the experience of getting to know great people both in the Canadian Forces and in the sporting community.
