Contact:
David Shorey, 604.220.2156; dshorey@sfu.ca (leaves Weds. mid-afternoon)
Marianne Meadahl, PAMR, 778.782.9017; Marianne_Meadahl@sfu.ca

Photos: http://at.sfu.ca/MfSnOP

A Grade 6 project on the science of fencing introduced David Shorey to the sport – now seven years later, the Simon Fraser University science student is on his way to Russia to compete as a fencer at the World University Games July 6 – 17.

The 19-year-old Surrey resident and physics buff, who just completed Science Year One at SFU’s Surrey campus, says he was never athletic through school and typically “the last one chosen for a team.” But all that changed after he wrote a report on the sport and decided to give it a try. He found a local fencing club, suited up and learned the techniques. Four years later he won gold at the national championships.

“I found that I was attracted to the thinking aspects of the sport, it’s kind of like chess, figuring out your opponent’s moves,” says Shorey, who leaves July 3 (Wednesday) afternoon for Kazan, about 800 km east of Moscow, together with fellow fencer and recent SFU grad Paul Pietrusinski.

Shorey, who trains at multiple clubs and coaches at the Delta Fencing Club, has competed for Canada twice at World Cup events in North Italy and Sweden, placing each time in the middle of the pack.

He’s hoping for good results in Kazan but says his bigger goal is to make the 2016 Olympic team and compete in Rio de Janiero. “It’s great to gain experience at an international level, not only to compete but to see what it’s like living in the athletes’ village,” says Shorey.

A graduate of Surrey’s Kwantlen Park Secondary School, Shorey won a scholarship to SFU via the South Fraser Regional Science Fair and still considers physics his first love.

Shorey is one of more than 13,000 athletes expected to compete at the Games, also known as Summer Universiade, and one of more than 330 student-athletes who make up Team Canada’s largest contingent. The International University Sports Federation (FISU) organizes the event.

Simon Fraser University is Canada's top-ranked comprehensive university and one of the top 50 universities in the world under 50 years old. With campuses in Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey, B.C., SFU engages actively with the community in its research and teaching, delivers almost 150 programs to more than 30,000 students, and has more than 120,000 alumni in 130 countries.

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Simon Fraser University: Engaging Students. Engaging Research. Engaging Communities.