Carl Borack: Vision Quest

Carl Borack has been driven by his vision for what fencing in the United States ought to be since he was very young. It’s a challenge for the current generation of competitors to conceive of the amount of change that has taken place in our sport over the past 30 or so years. The notion that USA Fencing took a back seat to the world in all weapons since the inception of international competition with occasional flashes of brilliance must seem like a story spun by some historically minded fabulist. But if you trace through the historical records, the results speak for themselves. And what did U.S. fencers mostly not get? Results.

Felicia Zimmerman, Ann Marsh, Carl Borack, Suzie Paxton and Buckie Leach at the White House in 1996.

The turnaround for U.S. fencing is nothing short of breathtaking. For decades the successful nations of the international fencing community must have congratulated themselves that the sleeping giant of sports-mad USA seemed content to ignore fencing and maintain the status quo of what-might-be. There was occasionally a celebration of a U.S. fencer or team success every 10 or 20 years, but no effective effort was made by fencers, coaches or administrations to create lasting change and improve our results. To put it in factual terms, you need only look at the list of U.S.-won Olympic medals between 1912 and 2000 (discounting the 1904 St. Louis Games, where the competitors comprised six Americans, two Cubans and a German). In that 88-year span, four team bronze medals, three individual bronze medals and one silver medal were won by the USA. Eight medal-winning results, less than one per decade. At the beginning of the American awakening, we matched that total between the 2004 and 2008 Games, but with a difference. A golden difference.

Carl with the Men’s Foil National Champion’s trophy in 1969. At the time, he was the youngest-ever national champion.

The events that drove this upswing began much earlier, of course. The U.S. junior fencers began to regularly climb onto the medal stands in the mid-1990s. Counting backwards, it was the independent inception of multiple programs across the country focused on developing large numbers of youth fencers beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s that allowed elite athletes to first discover the sport and then matriculate to the top. All of this took place because of a new generation of coaches who followed a more evolved vision of how to consistently create champion fencers, which can be articulated very simply: get them young.

For an earlier generation – multiple generations – getting an opportunity to fence at a young age was a roll of the dice. Maybe a local YMCA or recreation program offered classes. Maybe someone in your family fenced, or there happened to be a fencing club in your town with good signage, perhaps you’d walk in and take an interest. A fortunate few had access to a high school class. Keep in mind the AFLA, the early name of our fencing NGB, held its first national Under-19 championship exclusively for younger fencers in 1966. (Prior to this, a “junior” fencer was someone who had never won a tournament at any level, irrespective of their age.) The Junior World Championships had been held since 1950, if you ignore the first dozen years of the event being held under the name “Criterium” rather than “Championships”, but theU.S. came late to recognizing this distinction. 1970 saw the AFLA offer a chance for “young” fencers under 30 to get some help with funding – not under 20, to truly focus on a new generation of fencers. Under 30. Even with that, the debate raged in the pages of American Fencing magazine over whether such financial assistance was appropriate at all in a sport meant solely for amateur athletes.

A young Carl Borack.

The reason for these changes and opportunities for younger athletes can’t all be laid at the feet of one person. That said, you can make a good argument in favor of doing just that. In 1965, Carl Borack, a 17-year-old from Southern California, applied for his FIE card and, with the support of his parents, hopped on a plane and flew to Rotterdam to compete in the Junior World Championships. No AFLA support. No cadre, armorer or trainer. Just him and the guy that taught him to fence, his coach, Mel North. The following year he attended again, traveling to Vienna, by himself this time, after raising funds and working odd jobs to pay for the trip. In 1967 he was off to Teheran, Iran. Other fencers and cadres must have thought him quite the enigma; the lone American showing up to compete without aid or support of any kind. It was entirely unheard of. While there aren’t clear records outlining who from the U.S. might have competed at this international event prior to Carl, the effort put forth at this time by the AFLA to support these young athletes venturing out to the world stage was virtually non-existent. They’d provide the address for where to send your application for an FIE card and that’s about it. I wish I was joking.

The domino effect of these experiences and what he made of them are what sets Carl Borack apart, both as a competitor and what he achieved. First, let’s look at his competitive results.

Carl Borack, standing, Jean-Jacques Gillet kneeling, Yves Auriol and Michael Marx sitting at the 1977 Junior Worlds in Vienna. Note that Carl’s sweats are different than the others. Where they have a patch on the left breast, his say “USA.” That’s because he wasn’t part of the official cadre and had to wear what he brought.

He won the U.S. Under-19 National title in epee in 1966 and finished third in epee at the 1967 National Championship. He competed at the 1966 World Championships in Moscow and the 1967 Worlds in Montreal, landing a spot on the 1967 Pan American epee team that won gold in Winnipeg. Carl didn’t just stick to winning in epee, either. A true three-weapon fencer, Carl was the U.S. national foil champion in 1969, won the saber event at the Maccabiah Games the same year, won more Pan American gold in 1971 in team foil and made the finals in all three weapons at the 1971U.S. Nationals. (That last accomplishment was his established goal heading to Nationals that year, showing his fangs in frustration that he had not been selected to receive any of the abovementioned funding for the under-30 crowd.) These results combined to land him a spot on the 1972 Olympic team. The effort he made to secure travel and participation in three Junior World competitions and the experience he gained from that paid off handsomely, despite the lack of funding, lack of support from the National office and the presumption from the East Coast hegemony that Southern California was essentially a fencing wasteland. Carl showed them otherwise.

As impressive as Carl’s competitive career is, his true impact on USA fencing and U.S. fencers developed after he had moved into his professional career in the entertainment industry, where he ran a very successful production company.

Producer Carl Borack on the set of the “Saving Shiloh” feature film with two young stars. Photo: Serge Timacheff

There are a number of markers to measure Carl’s impact on U.S. fencing but in many ways, it begins with a rescue. In 1977, future seven-time U.S. national foil champion Michael Marx was an 18-year-old on his first international trip, traveling solo. The first stop was Budapest for his first World Cup, then to Vienna for the Junior World Championships. Due to a breakdown in relations between the U.S. cadre representative and the Hungarians, upon arrival in Budapest Michael discovered that he did not have a visa. He spent the first several days shuttling between his hotel and the airport, where both his visa and luggage were being held hostage. By luck and persistently repeating to strangers on the streets of Budapest the only Hungarian word he knew, “Honvéd? Honvéd?” (which means “your country”), he finally landed at the Honvéd Fencing Club where someone recognized him. He was able to get some logistical assistance from 1964 Olympic saber champion Tibor Pézsa, who was then the club’s head coach and spoke English. Still, between the stress and confusion, Michael lost around 15 pounds and was eliminated in the first round of the World Cup. Then, whoosh! Off to Vienna.

Carl with U.S. fencer and teammate Tyrone Morse Simmons at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, competing in men’s team foil.

This is where he runs into Carl Borack. Carl had paid his own way to Vienna to see the Junior World Championships and ended up feeding and housing a very stressed-out Michael Marx. Carl then inserted himself into the cadre that accompanied the athletes, using his knowledge about the ins-and-outs of the international fencing scene to do whatever he could to ease the burden on the athletes. After all, he’d been to this same tournament three times and knew exactly the kind of help the fencers needed.

This event brought into-focus Carl’s post-competitive efforts and how he would contribute to the future development of U.S. fencers. He turned his competitive fervor into helping build a system favoring the athletes. That was the premise that led Carl and Lewis Siegel to challenge for control of the sport’s governance. They ran for and were elected to the top two spots of the (then) United States Fencing Association. Lew became president, Carl executive vice-president. This coincided with Carl diving headlong, officially this time, into athlete representation on the world stage. He was named team captain for the World University Games in 1985, where Michael Marx earned a silver medal in individual foil. From there, Carl captained the next three Pan American teams and the next four Olympic Games from Seoul 1988 through Sydney 2000. In-between Olympic Games, he was captain or chief of mission for numerous World Championships, as well as chief of mission for the Rio 2016 Olympics.

Here’s the thing: As impressive as that list of titles may be, it pales by comparison to the human element Carl brought to the work. His support for the athletes and wanting what was best for them was unwavering. Whether it was organizing a training camp in preparation for an international event, a word of encouragement at the right time or challenging a fencer to reach for peak performance and their best result, Carl’s work was centered around the individual athletes in his care. The gratitude fencers have expressed to Carl over the years, sometimes long after the fact, when the realization of just how much Carl’s efforts contributed, pays tribute to the success of his labors.

Carl, U.S. Ambassador to China Clark T. Randt Jr. and Sunil Sabharwal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Photo: Serge Timacheff

Carl’s expertise and imagination have had free reign to envision myriad opportunities to promote the sport. He has made many attempts to use his credibility in media to influence television executives and Olympic sports producers to pay attention to the U.S. fencers. A successful promotion with the Queen Elizabeth II cruise ship saw a group of fencers from multiple nations gather to promote the sport on board. In recent years, he has produced and directed three documentary films about fencing, “A Path to Excellence,” “What Is It About Fencing,” and “Bold Journey.” They’re all now available on YouTube and very much worth watching.

Carl has worked on behalf of fencers the world over by serving on the FIE’s Promotion, Communication and Marketing Commission beginning in 1996, serving as its president from 2008 to 2012, and continues to lend his time and effort to it as an elected member.

Recognition has come in various ways for Carl. He has been elected to the Southern California Jewish Athletes Hall of Fame, the USA Fencing Hall of Fame, the FIE Hall of Fame and was named a Member of Honor of the FIE in 2017. Coupled with his competitive success and the teams he has managed, the laurels that can be hung on his wall are many, varied and equaled by few, if any.

Carl giving a fencing lesson to a cast member on the set of “Saving Shiloh.” Photo: Serge Timacheff

Carl Borack didn’t single-handedly create the change that has swept U.S. fencing. Many others, coaches, fencers and volunteers brought time, sweat equity and dedication to these efforts. But Carl was one of the primary catalysts of that change. He saw possibility. He encouraged talent. He spent his own money, dedicated his time, offered himself up to put in the work that needed to be done. He made himself a reliable confidant and advisor to so very many in our sport, both here and abroad. Not every plan succeeded. Not every strategy played out the way he hoped. Still, like any successful competitor faced with challenges and setbacks, he continued to fight for success. That he brought so many along with him on his journey is a testament to an intrinsic affinity for collaboration. His vision wasn’t constructed around a self-serving desire to stand alone on the podium. Rather, he wanted everyone to join the party he helped conjure into being, one victory at a time.