The RMC Fencing Program is now recognized as one of the best in the country at the university level.  This is due for many reasons, not the least, the wife & husband coaching duo of Patti and David Howes.

  Patti is the boss and is recognized as a no nonsense, highly capable and professional head coach.  Most of the athletes who arrive in her program have had little exposure and or no experience with the sport of fencing.  In short order, she separates those who are serious and wants to compete from others.  To be a “fencer” at RMC takes a great deal of dedication and commitment on the part of the cadets.  It is not a sport for someone looking for an easy way out of the college on weekend away trips.

Just a few years back when the big “shake-up” occurred with the college athletic program, more than a few negative comments were made from many quarters, including cadets & ex cadets in regards to, “why fencing, and not (fill in the blanks) was part of the new program?”   

Results speak volumes.  Fencers can hold their heads high.  Of particular note, their accomplishments have been done with no “short-cuts” through the recruiting process.  

Patti challenges her athletes to believe in themselves.  They learn to become “real” athletes; to sweat, to train, to work tirelessly, to learn and apply new skills, to take risks and put themselves and their team on the competitive avalanche point trusting that it will pay off in the end. 

The “Howes” formula fits quite nicely in what the athletic pillar is intended to be all about.  

The fact that her fencers are all dressed in their scarlets with the championship OUA Banner is no coincidence and also speaks volumes. One gets the impression that these particular athletes are also winners in a whole lot of other aspects of their personal and college life.  It is safe to assume too, that all the cadets who are part of the Patti Howes Fencing Program are being prepared for a whole lot of the bigger challenges facing them long after they depart RMC. 

For example, Marilyne Lafortune, the team captain, is more than an All Star Fencer.  She has been: three years on the Deans List in Electrical Engineering; earned a Language Profile of ECC; exceeded 400 on the Physical Fitness Test (418); has held four various cadet leadership positions, including Comsec, DCSTO, CSTO,& CSS. She is very active in three different RMC Clubs - Choir, Drama, and Music. Other fencers have impressive profiles too.  

Of course, this intense, professional coaching approach has a price and we can be sure there has been a lot of “tears” shed and bumps along the road to success.  It is clear her athletes think a great deal of Patricia Howes.  Their feeling was best described by III Year, Jasmine Ramratan, “We’ll never forget Patti doing star-jumps and screaming” - WE WON THE BANNER!!