NOTRE DAME, Ind. — University of Notre Dame fencing head coach Gia Kvaratskhelia announced the completion of his coaching staff Tuesday, with assistant sabre coach Christian Rascioni joining the Irish ahead of the 2019-20 season.
A native of Trieste, Italy, Rascioni earned his “maestro di scherma” (three-weapon fencing master) diploma from the Accademia Nazionale di Scherma and the Italian Fencing Coach Association in 2005. Previously, he earned an Italian Olympic Committee Pedagogical diploma in 1999.
“Christian is known as one of the best sabre specialists in the world,” Kvaratskhelia said. “We expect him to make an impact with our sabre squad from day one. His work ethic, attention to detail and kind nature fit our program perfectly. Our entire staff is thrilled to have him here. We would like to thank everyone in our administration, from deputy athletics director Jody Sadler and athletics strategy advisor Jenny Borg, to assistant athletics director Maureen McNamara and everyone else for making this transition as quick and smooth as possible.”
Rascioni was most recently the president and head coach of the Gemina Scherma fencing club in San Giorio di Nogaro, Italy. He joined Gemina as its sabre head coach in 2002 before becoming its president in 2009, and has also coached for the Italian national men’s sabre team since 2004. Additionally, he has served as trainer for fencers from Venezuela, Croatia and Japan and has held fencing coach education seminars in Italy, Hungary, Bolivia and Mexico.
Students of Rascioni have earned more than 50 medals in international competition since 2002, including at junior and cadet World Championships, junior World Cups, Pan-Am Championships, South American Games, European Championships and Italian Championships. Since 2002, more than 10 of Rascioni’s students have competed for the Italian National Sabre Team.
During his competitive career, Rascioni earned a silver medal at the Italian men’s sabre championships in 1999 and bronze medals in 1998 and 2000. He also earned silver medals with the Italian men’s sabre team in 2002 and 2006.
Rascioni earned his master’s degree in history, with a specialization in contemporary history, from Università degli Studi di Trieste in 2003.
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