BY RYAN O’CONNOR

Four years ago, Alexandra Van De Water went to the Junior Olympic qualifiers and finished in the top three in her class in fencing.

But, Van de Water was disqualified for being too young. She was only 12 at the time and needed to be 13, but officials didn’t realize how young she was until after the competition.

“It kind of made me laugh that my fencing instructor didn’t know I was too young and I got to go anyway,” she said. “A lot of people thought it was kind of cute that I could beat the older girls.”

Chris Pullo, her instructor, said Van De Water has grown in the seven years under his tutelage at the Seacoast Fencing Club on Webster Street in Manchester.

“She’s been a hot fencer for a number of year now,” said Pullo. “She came into the club as an extremely shy young lady – very bright, but definitely very shy – and now she’s much more social than she ever used to be. And she has been pushed into a leadership position and has really been able to thrive in that role.”

Along with practicing her own skills three times a week, Van De Water spends hours a week training younger fencers and directing their bouts.

“It’s a gratifying feeling,” she said. “It’s fun to see the little kids grow up.”

Van De Water first discovered fencing while on a field trip with her Girl Scout troop.

“I was young and found it kind of interesting to play with swords,” Van De Water said. “When I started, I was pretty bad. I couldn’t even hold the weapon correctly.”

Now 15, Van De Water, a sophomore at Bow High School, will represent the Northeast Division of the U.S. Fencing Association in her third Junior Olympics in Denver.

The competition, which will feature hundreds of competitors, will take place the weekend of Feb. 17.

“It’s going to be fun. It’s always exciting to meet all the different people from across the country,”

said Van De Water. “It may be difficult because there are a lot of people from around the country that fence really well. Here, you end up seeing many of the same people at the same level.”

Van De Water qualified by winning the gold medal in the under-17 women’s foil division and the bronze  medal in the under-20 division at the Northeast Division Junior Olympic qualifiers in Concord.

“She’s a very driven, very determined young lady and this has been a good venue for her to express her commitment,” said Pullo, who added that Van De Water always responds to his challenges to maximize her potential.

“She’s one of the most physically gifted fencers in the club, and I’m really looking forward to seeing her develop her skills on the national level,” Pullo said.

Currently, Van De Water competes in only foil bouts, where only the torso is targeted, though she plans to move up to epee in the future, where any part of the body is fair game for a strike.

An electric foil is used, which indicates when a touch is made through sensors in the fencers uniform.

Most bouts last either three minutes or five touches, whichever comes first. But in direct elimination, Van De Water said the bouts are extended to nine minutes or 15 touches.

AnnMarie Van De Water, fenced when she was her daughter’s age.

“We’re very proud of her,” said AnnMarie. “I’m very happy that it clicked with her and that she loves it as much as she does.”

But, she said she didn’t achieve the success her daughter is currently experiencing.

Van De Water currently has earned 30 medals in various competitions around the Northeast and U.S.