Bruce Capin Obituary, Death – Bruce Capin, a well-known fencing referee who also served as the head coach of the University of Fencing Club, passed away on November 28, 2022, after having served in both roles for more than 20 years. He was 60. During the 22 seasons that Capin served as the head coach of the fencing team at the University of Florida, he was responsible for guiding a significant number of young athletes to success in their fencing careers. Capin was a member of the coaching staff at both New Mexico State University and California State University, Long Beach prior to accepting his position with the Florida Gators.
Capin was successful as a coach for all three types of fencing weapons, in contrast to other fencing trainers who specialize in just one type of weapon. The fact that the majority of the student-athletes he coached at the University of Florida were novices when they first picked up a blade makes the accomplishment that he changed the lives of innumerable fencers all the more remarkable. He was responsible for making those changes. To catalog all of the fencers whose lives he had an impact on would require volumes of writing.
According to Damien Lehfeldt, an epee coach, a referee, and the creator of The Fencing Coach blog, Bruce is one of the few college club instructors who could take someone who had never fenced before and convert them into competitive fencers in such a short period of time. A significant number of the student-athletes that Capin coached and who went on to win more than 50 medals at the North American Cup began their careers as college freshmen in the sport of fencing. It is possible to draw a connection between the successes of Capin’s student-athletes and his own successes as a coach.
Lela Myers, who competed in saber fencing at the University of Florida, remembers Capin as a man who was “full of wisdom and support” for anyone who required it. “His demise is a loss not just for the Florida Fencing Club,” Myers said, “but also for the fencing community as a whole and the world.” “His legacy will live on via the sport that he cherished,”