Coaches and Staff
John Harvie
Magister Emeritus
John Harvie is our Magister Emeritus who as previous Head Coach shared his love of fencing with everyone who walked through the door. He is still at the club sharing knowledge and immense curiosity about how we can all become better fencers. Whether it be through examples of “Quantum Fencing” or simple biomechanics, John always finds a way to explain our art in a way that the student will be able to absorb. Student of Stephen Vamos and Laszlo Szabo, John is a master of all 3 fencing weapons and we are proud that he continues to be a crucial part of the EMR team and community.
David Farley Chevrier
Historical Fencing Coach
David Farley Chevrier has been charge of historical fencing since 2018. He started fencing foil at EMR in 2014 before discovering smallsword the following year. Dave would like historical fencing to come into its own & be better known within the fencing community at large. His biggest question in life : should I buy another sword or another kilt. The answer is always both.
Maureen Griffin
Club Manager
Started with John Harvie at the YMCA and became a fencer on the Canadian National Team with multiple medals. She has trained in Hungary with Laszlo Szabo just like John Harvie. She ran her own successful fencing club for 25 years and has held multiple administrative positions in USA Fencing. She is currently High Performance & Membership Services Manager for the Canadian Fencing Federation. Maureen’s coaching credentials include Maitre D’Arme for both Epee and Foil and she looks forward to guiding the club into the future as our Club Manager.
Board of Directors
Jason Harel
Head Coach
A fencer of 20 years, his first coach was multi paralympian Sylvie Morel and the last 15 years were at EMR learning from John Harvie. He is an international fencer who’s main weapon is Epee but fences all three weapons along with historical weapons. He has been coaching at the fencing club for over 2 years growing the epee section of the club. Jason looks forward to sharing his fencing experience as Head Coach and sharing John Harvie’s, magister emeritus, teachings while continuing to work with him.
Alexandre Daraï
Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors
Alex is a foilist that began his fencing journey in 2010 under the tutelage of maître Gérard Agouès at Collège international Marie de France. After taking a break from the sport during his years of studies at Concordia University, he reignited his passion for fencing through Escrime Mont-Royal in 2020 and now competes at a national level. He is serving as EMR’s Vice-Chair.
Matthew Côté
Member of the Board of Directors
Matthew Cote is a relatively new foil fencer, having started fencing at EMR two years ago. His vision is for EMR to be a welcoming environment for both new and experienced fencers alike.
Lisa Bianchin
Member of the Board of Directors
Hi! Moi c’est Lisa, je suis escrimeuse à l’épée depuis 12 ans et animatrice d’escrime depuis 2019. Je suis arrivée à l’EMR en 2024 comme tireuse et pour donner des cours à des personnes non-votantes. Au plaisir de vous rencontrer et de tirer ensemble!
Antoine Venant
Member of the Board of Directors
Antoine Venant est enseignant-chercheur dans le domaine de la linguistique informatique. Il est professeur adjoint au département linguistique et traduction de l’Université de Montréal depuis 2019, et pratique l’épée en loisir et compétition depuis presque 19 ans.
Prune Huguet
Chair of the Board of Directors
Prune has been fencing epee for around 2 years at EMR! Passionate about the sport, she’ll never say no to a bout! She is an aerospace engineer who still makes time to come to club to improve and make sure everyone at the club loves fencing as much as her! She is currently fencing at a national level and is the Chairwoman of EMR.
Escrime Mont-Royal