October 2011 Issue

October 2011
£5.00
October 2011
£5.00
New Series No. 101
October 2011
Front Cover: Bolade Apithy (FRA) launches
an attack against Gyorgi Szilagyi (HUN) in the
semi-finals of the European men’s sabre
championship [Getty Images]
FENCING NEWS
1 Baronʼs Gate, 33 Rothschild Road,
London W4 5HT, Tel: 0208 742 3032,
Fax: 0208 742 3033.
Website: http//www.BritishFencing.com
e-mail: headoffice@britishfencing.com
President: Keith Smith
Chief Executive: Piers Martin
Chairman: David Teasdale
Editor: Malcolm Fare
Pyndar Lodge, Hanley Swan,
Worcs WR8 0DN
Tel: 01684 311197
Fax: 01684 311250
email: malcolm.fare@crossword.demon.co.uk
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Advertising: BFA
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Email: headoffice@britishfencing.com
British Fencing accepts no responsibility
for the contents of advertisements and
reserves the right to refuse inclusion.
The Sword, a quarterly magazine
founded in 1948, is distributed to all
individual and club members of British
Fencing and its affiliates. It can also be
obtained on subscription – UK £20
Overseas airmail £26 – direct from HQ.
5
LONDON 2012 ORGANISATION
Malcolm Fare talks to Olympic and Paralympic Games fencing manager
Hilary Philbin about the organisation of London 2012
10
LONDON 2012 UPDATE
Hilary Philbin explains the build up to the Games
14
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Malcolm Fare reports on the first European championships to be held in Britain
16
NATIONAL SOCIALISM AND FENCING
Mark Barton and David Hall look at the fascination of 20th century right-wing
leaders with fencing
32
LETTERS
35
REVIEWS
London Olympics 1908 and 1948 by Janie Hampton; Fencing/Escrime/Fechten
by Serge Timacheff and Giovanni Minozzi
39
ROUND-UP
Marsh & Benney, Merseyside Open, Haverstock training camp, Club News
40
YOUNG FENCER
UK School Games, Refereeing course, Coach moves on
43
RESULTS
46
Contributions are welcome. Photographs
should include the names of those
pictured and the photographer.
Views expressed in The Sword do not
necessarily reflect those of British
Fencing. No part of the magazine may
be reproduced without permission from
the editor/photographer.
Next deadline:
21 November
The
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3
Fencing News
CHAIRMAN’S
REPORT
How do I start my first
Chairman’s report? I
guess, by saying what I
plan to do with this
column. So, on behalf of
the Board, this report will
deal with current and big
issues affecting our
management of the sport and
the progress against the key
objectives.
By now, you all know we have a 3G strategy. This means Green –
to be an effective governing body, operating fairly and properly,
meeting the governance standards now applying to the governing
bodies of all UK sports; Grow – to get more people fencing, more
often; and Gold – to win the right colour medals at Olympic
Games.
These are not new targets. They are not different from most sports.
But what’s new and different is we have a clear direction, with
clear focus – and this strategy provides very clear ways for
members to judge our performance.
TEAM SELECTION
The Board has given Alex Newton responsibility for selection and for
this year’s world championships she has followed the current
selection policy. To be eligible for automatic selection, individual
fencers had to achieve at least one L8 or two L16 results from World
Cups or the most recent world/European championships, and teams
had to be in the top 12 of the world cup team rankings – all in the
12 months prior to the selection date.
Based on the 3G strategy, she selected the following for the 2011
world championships in Catania, 9-16 October:
Men’s Foil – Richard Kruse, Laurence Halsted & Team (RK, LH,
Jamie Kenber, Ed Jefferies; James Davis reserve)
Women’s Foil Team – Anna Bentley, Martina Emanuel, Natalia
Sheppard, Sophie Troiano; Claire Bennett reserve
Women’s Epee – Corinna Lawrence; Mary Cohen reserve
Men’s Sabre – James Honeybone, Alex O’Connell
Women’s Sabre – Chrystall Nicoll, Sophie Williams & Team (CN,
SW, Louise Bond-Williams, Joanna Hutchison; Katherine Kempe
reserve)
After appeals, the following were added:
Men’s Epee – Jon Willis
Women’s Epee Team – CL, Sissi Albini, Jenny McGeever, Georgina
Usher
Junior epee world champion Philip Marsh will join the British team as
an observer and sparring partner for Jon Willis.
How are we doing? It’s well known that BFA has been short of
‘Green’ in the recent past. Lower rankings are dangerous for us;
they mean much reduced funding and thus little chance of hitting
Grow or Gold. We are making progress. I’m confident the next
report in January will carry good tidings. The same for Grow,
where we are about to try new ways to boost demand for fencing.
The Gold agenda has created controversy over selection policy.
Nothing new there, you might say – everyone’s a selector! The
Board endorsed the Action Plan of our new Performance Manager,
Alex Newton, which encompassed a selection policy based on
picking for the world championships a team with genuine
potential, if smaller than in the past. The aim is gold, in 2012
and/or 2016. Some critics think we are aiming too high, we are
unrealistic. Maybe we are. But, for the first time, we are giving our
top fencers world-class support; some won’t come through, but
some will be trained and motivated to perform at new levels.
Some critics would take lots of fencers to big events. That isn’t the
Board’s policy. We want to concentrate resources on fencers in
epee, foil or sabre who have real world-class potential.
One last thing – this BF Board runs a transparent house. If you
have comments, ideas, complaints, questions, let us hear them. We
are ever open to opinion, argument, even approval! My own
mobile number is below.
David Teasdale
Chair, British Fencing 07803 891623
HONOURS
The BFA Honours Committee has awarded the following honours:
Silver Medal – Philip Marsh, Ismay & Steve Cowen
Bronze Medal – John Anderson, Chris Howser, Brian Matless,
Lynden Taylor
Award of Merit – Beth Davidson, Graham Langton, Ken
McCubbin, Tim O’Conor, Shirley Parker
Goblet – Sue Benney
Tankard – Kristjan Archer, Richard Kruse, Men’s Foil Team (Richard
Kruse, Laurence Halsted, Ed Jefferies, Marcus Mepstead + Ziemek
Wojciechowski), Junior Men’s Foil Team (James Davis, Jamie
Fitzgerald, Husayn Rosowsky, Alex Tofalides + Maciej Wojtkowiak)
Fencing is one of the sports
featured in the last of three
sets of ten Olympic stamps
issued by the Royal Mail.
Designed by British artist
Lyndon Hayes, it is one of
30 stamps marking the fact
that this is the 30th Olympiad.
The
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Fencing News
ENGINEERING PRIZE FOR FENCING
CENTRE
Students from Penair School in Truro have beaten 200
other teams from across the UK to win an engineering
prize with their innovative proposal for a national fencing
centre. Create Sport, a competition run by the Institution of
Civil Engineers, consulting engineers Arup and the
Engineering Development Trust, challenged 12-13 year olds
across the country to plan, design and construct a model
for a new sports venue in their region. Proposals had to
take into account all the engineering considerations of a
real life project, such as environmental and community
impact, planning and safety requirements. The team from
Truro triumphed in the final mock public inquiry where
they were required to defend their project to the
‘community’, in this case a high profile group of athletes
and engineers.
The team’s design for a Cornwall National Fencing Centre
costing £2.5m featured a flexible grid-shell roof and
factored in plans to use rainwater for the stadium’s
facilities, including showers and flushing toilets, as well as
solar energy to power the venue. Local fencer James
Honeybone advised on the centre’s specification.
The project was part ofTruro Fencing Club’s continuing initiative
to involve young fencers and parents in the development of
fencing in Cornwall. Since beginning fundraising in 2006,
the TFC Gold Foundation has raised almost £300,000,
money that is used to fund a Sabre Performance Programme
and develop plans to build a top-class fencing facility.
Penair students
with a model
of their design
for a Cornwall
National
Fencing Centre
Janet Huggins became the 16th recipient of Salle Joseph’s Hebden Cup at an award ceremony held before the
Modern Pentathlon test event for London 2012 at Crystal Palace. The Cup, which seeks to recognise “services to
fencing”, was presented to her by the Salle’s president Joe Gibbons for her outstanding contribution to the sport
both as a coach and as an armourer of some repute.
Janet is pictured with her fellow armourers: (from left) David Lichfield, Simon Axon, Rob Kirby and Peter Huggins.
6
The
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Fencing News
DURHAM OPENS PURPOSE-BUILT
SALLE
After 8 years planning, Durham University’s purposebuilt fencing salle opens officially in October. Part of the
University’s Graham Sports Centre at Maiden Castle in
Durham City, the eight-piste (four metal) salle has
wall-mounted scoring equipment and is fully airconditioned.
Head coach Laszlo Jakab will direct the new programme
for student teams and the Regional Fencing Centre, which
offers weapon-specific training for performance fencers,
coach development and beginners’ courses for all. Prof.
Jakab said, “This is a great opportunity for fencing in the
Region. We now have an environment which is only about
fencing, with no limitation in the training and preparation
of our best fencers.”
In the future, this full-time facility will play host to the British
Fencing National Academy – Sports Universities North East
England (SUNEE), a partnership between British Fencing and
the five universities in the North East.
For more information about the Regional Fencing Centre –
Durham, contact Carole Seheult
c.seheult@btinternet.com.
19th century German Korbschlager
Following John McGrath’s’ excellent article on Student
Duelling in Heidelberg in the January issue, readers may
be interested in the following acquisition. A rare 19th
century Korbschlager, the weapon used by German
student fighting fraternities in the ritualised duelling
encounter known as the Mensur, was found in a West
Country auction. Catalogued as an 18th/19th century
practice sword with blunted end a/f (as found), which in
auctioneers’ speak means it was in damaged or poor
condition, the sword has a diamond shaped 34-inch blade
and a large felt covered basket guard complete with
original grip and leather finger loop. Some sympathetic
restoration was required as the felt was detached in parts,
the shagreen grip loose and the blade covered in rust.
Cleaning revealed the maker’s mark stamped on the
ricasso – a knight’s head, which was used by Carl
Reinhard Kirschbaum (1814-1862) of Solingen. The name
still exists as part of Weyersberg, Kirschbaum & Co (WKC),
the largest manufacturer of swords in the world. The value
of any sword at auction is devalued if it is considered that
the blade has been shortened and the blunted end of the
diamond shaped blade, correct and original in
Korbschlagers, may have put off potential bidders. The
sword was secured with a bid of £120 (£145 with
commission) and the current market price is estimated at
£350-£450. ■
Richard Bonehill
100 YEARS AGO
Ladies’ assault-at-arms
In 1911 the first international assault-at-arms by lady
fencers took place in Paris in aid of ‘gentlewomen in
reduced circumstances’. English, Belgian, French and
Swiss fencers took part. The highlight was a display
between Julia Johnstone, reigning English champion and
winner of the first ladies’ international Challenge Cup in
Stockholm, and Millicent Hall, Britain’s first lady
champion. The Field pointed out that “fencing among
women has not made as much progress in France as in
this country…”
Kirschbaum korbschlager and knight’s head mark
COLLECTORS’ CORNER
18th century Fencing Room
An early 18th century fencing room is identified on the
plan of a conveyance document that came up for sale at
Mullocks of Ludlow. Dated 1734, it shows a small building
newly erected just off Fleet Street, London, by a bricklayer,
Moses Westbrook, and a carpenter, William Newman; they
sold the property, which covered an area just 43ft (13m)
square and was divided by an open passage, to Charles
Hoker of Greenwich.
The fencing room measures only 22ft x 19ft (6.7m x 5.8m)
and has a coffee room adjoining with a yard outside.
When this contract was drawn up, fencing still had a
dubious reputation as an activity practised by prize
fighters before a gambling public. The small premises
suggests that it might also have been used for boxing and
cudgel fights. The document was unsold at £150.
The
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7
Fencing News
W
elcome to the new style News. David Teasedale will
from now on explain Board policy and communicate
it to the membership. My News is designed to
explain what is happening in fencing at home and abroad
and thank those who make a real difference to our sport.
INTERNATIONAL
British Fencing successfully organised the European
Championships in Sheffield. It was good to see large
audiences for the finals and my thanks to UK Sport and
Yorkshire Forward for their financial support. Katie Dolan,
Johnny Davis and John Timms were all excellent and very
much appreciated by the foreign delegations. My particular
thanks to Rochelle Dazeley who ran the superb team of
volunteers. Without them the championships would not
have been able to take place. At the World University
Games, Huseyn Rosowsky was an excellent 6th and Alex
O’Connell made the top 16. Britain topped the medal table
at the European veterans championships and Graham
Paul, Richard Cohen, Silvia Earl, Carol Wengraf and Janet
Cooksey all won gold medals, Janet collecting two.
PUBLICITY AND COMMUNICATIONS
YOUTH FENCING
I was glad that the UKSG in Sheffield were once again a
success and that the National Academy has continued to
improve this year, showing our younger fencers how to
prepare to be real athletes and how to maximise their
potential. It was also excellent news that the FIE have
awarded Philip Marsh $1500 in recognition of his
becoming Junior World Champion.
WHEELCHAIR FENCING
I remain totally committed to doing my best for fencing. I
want to thank the multitude of volunteers at all levels who
remain passionately committed to our sport and would like
to single out Peter and Janet Huggins and all the armoury
team, Malcolm Fare who has edited The Sword unpaid for
many years and Penny Spink who successfully promotes
fencing in many unseen ways and gets grants for our
younger fencers. These are just examples of so many
people who give much time and effort and who really love
fencing.
FORTHCOMING INTERNATIONAL EVENTS
The
It is great to see how many people have volunteered for
London 2012. The Olympic qualification process is now in
full swing and ends in March. The European zone qualifiers
take place in April and then the host nation quota places will
be selected on the proposal of our Performance Manager.
AGM
An Olympic test event will be held on 26/27 November. We
will also host the Eden Cup and Leon Paul International
foil tournaments at the beginning of December (followed
SWORD
OLYMPIC GAMES
It was good to see Sky Sport covering the European
championships and to see Laurence Halsted featured in a
recent Arsenal programme as a potential Olympian. I
would also like to thank the European Confederation for
their financial help with TV coverage.
I was pleased that the European wheelchair championships
were fully integrated in Sheffield and that able-bodied
fencers travelled to Bath to help our potential Paralympians
with their training. It was heart warming to see the reception
that Caz Walton received from all the domestic and
international representatives at the official dinner when I
announced she had won ten Paralympics gold medals in
three sports.
8
a week later by the senior British championships) and the
women’s sabre World Cup in February. The Cadet and
Junior Europeans are being combined for the first time in
March in Porec, Croatia, and the Cadet and Junior Worlds
will be in Moscow in April. I will represent the BFA at the
FIE Congress in Philadelphia in December.
The AGM will be held on 29th October and it is vital that
members wishing to express views, ask questions or
generally have a say attend. It is your chance to question
those who run your sport.
I hope you all have a happy and successful season. ■
Keith Smith
keithfence@aol.com
HEREFORD & WORCESTER OPEN
3rd/4th December 2011
VENUE: Thorns Leisure Centre, Stockwell Avenue, off Acres Road, Quarry Bank
Brierley Hill, West Midlands, DY5 2NU Tel: 01384 816229
EVENTS
Latest report time
Saturday 3rd December
Menʼs Epee
08.30
Womenʼs Epee
10.00
Womenʼs Sabre
12.30
Sunday 4th December
Menʼs Foil
Womenʼs Foil
Menʼs Sabre
08.30
09.30
11.30
ENTRY FEE: £20 per weapon until
the closing date. No refunds after the
closing date. Enter ONLINE or by post.
CLOSING DATE: 14th November 2011.
Entry numbers will be limited. Late entries: £8
extra per weapon accepted at the organisersʼ
discretion till 28th November. Entries after that
only accepted if double fees are paid in cash at the
venue at least 30 minutes before latest report time.
NOTES: BFA membership will be checked.
BFA rules (subject to organisersʼ discretion).
Best Cadet/Junior/Veteran awards. Refreshments.
Leon Paul sponsored competition (advance
orders 0845 388 8132 or www.leonpaul.com ).
For further information and results:
see http://www.one4all.plus.com/hwo.html
ENTRIES ONLINE via:
http://www.leonpaul.com/acatalog/HWOpenEntry.html
ENTRIES by post to: John C Haynes, Acrefield, Mathon Road, Colwall, Malvern, Worcs. WR13 6ER
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hereford & Worcester Open: 03/04.12.2011
Surname:
Forename:
Club:
Address:
Tel:
Weapon(s):
Postcode:
E-mail:
Entry Fee (payable to H&W CFU, non-refundable after 14.11.2011): £
If Cadet/Junior/Veteran, please state year of birth:
BFA No:
Contact name & telephone in case of emergency:
I accept that the organisers cannot be held responsible for any accident, loss or damage sustained at the tournament.
Signed:
Date:
(Parent/Guardian if under 18. N.B. Entry is not open to anyone under 13 on 01.01.2012)
London 2012 Organisation
Malcolm Fare talks to Hilary Philbin, Fencing Manager for London 2012, about the
organisation of the forthcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games
WE HEAR A LOT ABOUT BOTH LOCOG AND THE ODA – CAN YOU EXPLAIN
THE MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THESE ORGANISATIONS?
In a nutshell, LOCOG (London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games) are the organisers of the Games
and the ODA (Olympic Delivery Authority) delivers the infrastructure. Detailed information about the two organisations
is available on London2012.com, from which I’ve extracted a brief summary.
LOCOG
10
The
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ODA
LOCOG is headed up by Sebastian Coe as Chair and
Paul Deighton as Chief Executive.
The ODA is headed up by John Armitt as Chair and
Dennis Hone as Chief Executive.
Responsibilities include:
● The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games
● A series of test events in the year leading up to the
Games
● The opening and closing ceremonies of both the
Olympic and Paralympic Games
● The Olympic and Paralympic torch relays
● The Inspire programme
● The London 2012 mascots
● The London 2012 festival
● The finale to the cultural Olympiad
Responsibilities include:
● Developing and building the new venues and
infrastructure for the Games and their long-term
use after 2012
● Permanent works to existing sports venues
● Planning and delivery on transport infrastructure
and services to support the Games
● Converting the Olympic Park for long-term use
after the Games
● Making sure the project sets new standards for
sustainable development
LOCOG needs approximately £2bn to stage the
Games, and raises almost all of it from the private
sector. Their revenue comes from several sources,
including income from the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) as well as sales of tickets,
merchandise and, most importantly, a domestic
sponsorship programme.
The ODA budget is drawn entirely from the public
sector. It is funded by the Department for Culture,
Media and Sport, the Greater London Authority, the
London Development Agency and the Olympic Lottery
Distributor.
London 2012 Organisation
WITH LOCOG ORGANISING THE FENCING EVENTS, HOW ARE BRITISH
FENCING, THE BRITISH OLYMPIC ASSOCIATION AND THE FIE INVOLVED?
The Sport teams in LOCOG work closely with a number of external organisations and the main external contacts are
shown below.
Fencing Team Relationships – External
Olympic International Federation
(IF)
International Olympic
Committee
(IOC)
Federation International d’Escrime
(FIE)
International
Paralympic Committee (IPC)
LOCOG
Fencing Team
204 National Olympic Committees
(NOCs)
eg: British Olympic Association
(BOA)
170 National Paralympic
Committees (NPCs)
eg: British Paralympic Association
(BPA)
Paralympic International Federation
(IF)
International Wheelchair and
Amputee Sports Federation (IWASF)
Olympic National Governing Body
(NGB)
British Fencing (BF)
Paralympic National Governing Body
(NGB)
British Disabled Fencing Association
Federation (BDFA)
The IOC appoints the host city for the Olympic Games and HOW DOES THE FENCING TEAM
has contracted LOCOG to deliver the Games in London on
its behalf. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) OPERATE WITHIN LOCOG?
operates separately, but alongside the IOC, with its own Organising the Games is a huge challenge. With 26
contract with LOCOG to deliver the Paralympic Games.
Olympic sports and 20 Paralympic sports, it’s the equivalent
of staging 46 world championships simultaneously. There
Our ultimate responsibility is to the IOC and IPC, but our main will be 36 competition venues, 14,700 athletes, 21,000
working relationships are with the international federations.
media personnel and broadcasters, 10,800,000 ticketThe FIE is the organisation responsible for the conduct of the
holders and a workforce of around 200,000 people,
Olympic fencing events and the International Wheelchair
including staff, volunteers and contractors.
and Amputee Sports Federation (IWASF) is similarly
responsible for the conduct of the wheelchair fencing events.
The LOCOG fencing team is a small cog in a very large
We liaise regularly with the National Governing Bodies – wheel. LOCOG is split into 104 function-based
British Fencing and the British Disabled Fencing Association departments, of which Sport is just one. Within Sport, there
(BDFA).Although not part of the Games organisation, the NGBs is a small dedicated team (generally three people) for each
provide LOCOG with the National Technical Officials (referees pair of Olympic/Paralympic sports, plus a number of central
and armourers) and many of the all-important volunteers. units. Each sport is led by a Sport Manager, aided and
abetted by a Technical Operations Manager and a Services
We also have contact with many of the 204 National
Manager.
Olympic Committees (NOCs) and 170 National Paralympic
Committees (NPCs) when they come to London for regular
The fencing team liaises with most of the other 103
pre-Games visits. This includes the BOA and the British
Paralympic Association (BPA). The NOCs and NPCs have departments, which generally hold the budgets and the
overall responsibility for their national Olympic and relevant policies across all sports. This means, in effect, that
each of the 46 sports negotiates for what they need from
Paralympic teams who will compete in London 2012.
the other 103 functional departments. (This results in up to
There are a lot of acronyms in the Olympic and Paralympic 4738 crossing points where decisions are made involving a
world – I think I’ve now mastered the first 500 or so!
sport and a function-based department.)
The
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11
London 2012 Organisation
Below is a basic illustration of a section of the decision-making matrix – I haven’t listed all 104 departments. You can
see from the areas shaded in blue that there are 208 crossing points between sport and a function-based department –
104 for each of fencing and wheelchair fencing. That’s a lot of meetings for the fencing team.
Fencing Team Relationships – Internal
26 Olympic + 20 Paralympic Sports
104 LOCOG
Departments
1
3
6
29
56
67
68
79
80
88
92
96
97
102
103
104
...
Accreditation
...
Broadcast Services
...
Publications
...
NOC/NPC Services
...
Press Operations
Protocol
...
Sports Presentation
Sport
...
Ticketing
...
Technology
...
Victory Ceremonies
Venue Management
...
Volunteer Recruitment
Volunteer Training
Website & New media
cia
xi
c
Bo
1
g
in
nc
Fe
ng
Bo
2
3
do
Ju
4
s
ni
en
T
e
bl
Ta
5
...
g
in
nc
e
rF
g
tin
ai
g
lif
in
t
lch
h
e
stl
g
re
he
ei
W
W
W
11
13
12
...
As a simple example, when fencing needs to plan athlete buses, we meet up with the Transport department. However,
the athlete bus policies will be Olympic-wide and/or Paralympic-wide, so will be designed to fit 46 sports and many
locations. Much discussion and negotiation is therefore needed to ensure that non-standard items, such as cumbersome
fencing bags and Paralympic competition chairs, can be properly accommodated. It all makes our working day
interesting, but we’re confident that it will be 'all right on the night'.
A further complication of a function-based structure is the number of departments that are involved in an apparently
simple task. Any one task, from the thousands required to be completed, can require interaction with many of the other
departments, as in the example here.
Task
Obtain and install pistes and scoring
equipment
12
The
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LOCOG departments involved
Contract Management
Furniture, Fittings & Equipment
Health & Safety
Logistics
Look
Office Technology
Procurement
Results Services and Distribution
Security
Sport Competition
Sport Equipment
Sport Presentation
Technology
Venue Design
Venue Management
Venue Projects
At least it gives us a good opportunity to
make a lot of friends – and I've even
recruited a few to a fencing class!
WHO’S WHO IN THE
LOCOG FENCING TEAM?
We really are a team of fencers, or exfencers anyway. Apart from myself, there
is Liz Charlton (Thurley) as Technical
Operations Manager and Caryl Oliver as
Services Manager. We’ve joined LOCOG
from very different working backgrounds
and we all chose to give up our ‘day jobs’
to take on this once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity.
I will include information about the
fencing team and their LOCOG roles in
the next issue of The Sword. ■
13
London 2012 Update
by Hilary Philbin, LOCOG Fencing Manager
TEST EVENT
Test events for all sports are being run under a ‘London
Prepares’ banner, and the fencing test event will take place
on 26-27 November in ExCeL in East London – the venue
for next year’s Olympic and Paralympic competitions. The
test event is an international invitation men’s foil
competition for eight countries: Austria, China, France,
Germany, Great Britain, Korea, Russia and USA. There
will be an individual tableau of 32 on the Saturday and
a team event on the Sunday.
The test event is designed to test specific elements of
the technology and processes for the Olympic Games, so
while the competition areas will be set up as closely to
Games-time as possible a lot of the behind-the-scenes
activity will be different. It also provides an opportunity
for workforce training.
There are no tickets being sold for this event as spectator
facilities are limited. However, an allocation of free seats
will be made available through British Fencing for
fencing ‘family and friends’ and supporters. Entry to the
venue will be strictly controlled and will be limited to
those with accreditation or supporters’ wristbands.
Those who would like to come along and support the
men's foil team against the top nations in the world
should contact British Fencing for details of how to
register for a wristband. Details will also be on the
British Fencing website and information will appear in
To The Point.
14
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VOLUNTEERS
Fencing requires 277 Games-Makers (volunteers) for
London 2012. Most applicants have already been in for
interview at one of the regional selection events, and a
few more are still to come. Work has commenced on
assigning volunteers to roles for the test event and this
will be followed by assignment of Olympic and
Paralympic roles. Most (but not all) volunteers will be
needed for the test event and volunteer training
sessions will take place on 24-25 November.
Young Games-Makers: LOCOG and British Fencing
have agreed a scheme to enable 24 young fencers to
volunteer as Young Games-Makers (YGMs). The group
will comprise a mix of boys/girls, foil/epee/sabre and
juniors/cadets. (To be eligible, YGMs must have been
born in either 1994 or 1995.) The group will work as
piste assistants in the competition hall and the two
warm-up halls.
London 2012 Update
TECHNICAL OFFICIALS
Technical Officials fall into two categories – International
and National.
International Technical Officials (ITOs) are appointed
by the FIE and include:
● 6 Directoire Technique
● 3 SEMI Commission
● 2 Medical Commission
● 6 Referees Commission
● 24 Referees
We hope that there will be a number of British
representatives within these groups and we are
awaiting confirmation from the FIE. An update will be
included in the next issue of The Sword.
National Technical Officials (NTOs) are appointed
by LOCOG and include:
● 8 Referees (in addition to the 24 appointed by the
FIE)
● 23 Armourers (in London 2012 all armourer positions
have the status of NTO, in recognition of their
technical skills and Guild of Armourer
qualifications)
A process for the appointment of NTOs has been agreed
with British Fencing, based on the input of the Chairs of
the relevant committees – Ian Hunter (Referees) and Peter
Huggins (Armourers). A separate process has been agreed
for each group, whereby the relevant sub-committee and/
or selectors produce a recommended list based on agreed
criteria. This list is forwarded by BF for formal approval
and appointment by LOCOG. Once the lists are finalised,
LOCOG will forward them to the FIE (by end of October
2011) and issue invitations direct to the selected NTOs.
TICKETING
The fencing seating bowl will hold approximately 8000
and with two sessions a day that is a huge audience for
our sport.
Tickets are managed through the LOCOG Ticketing
department. Unfortunately the Sport department has no
access to either tickets or accreditation, so we are unable
to assist or advise those who have not been successful
with their ticket applications.
However, there may be some further opportunities:
● A block of tickets has been purchased by the British
Olympic Association to ensure that each 2012
competitor has the ability to purchase two tickets
for their event through the Athletes Friends &
Family Programme. (Further information is available
from the British Olympic Association or through
www.olympics.org.uk .)
● A block of tickets has been purchased by the
Olympians to enable former Olympic competitors to
buy tickets for their own events.
● British Fencing may have access to some tickets, in
which case further information wil be available at a
later date.
● Some blocks of tickets are currently being held by
UK travel agents and are on sale to the public as
part of a range of packages.
● There is a possibility of a further release of tickets
early next year once the seating bowl design and
other space requirements are finalised. ■
MERSEYSIDE OPEN: 18/19.2.2012
Venue:
Greenbank Sports Academy, Greenbank Lane,
Liverpool L17 1AG
Events
Check-in closes
Saturday 18 February 2012
Men’s Foil
09.00
Men’s Sabre
10.15
Women’s Sabre
10.15
Sunday 19 February 2012
Men’s Epee
09.00
Women’s Epee
10.15
Women’s Foil
10.15
Fencers may only enter one weapon each day
Entry Limit
108
72
36
108
54
54
Entry Fee: £20 or £35 for two weapons. Only entries with fees will be accepted
(£5 extra for late entries).
Cheques payable to: MOFT
Entries to: Barbara Evison, 31 Hale Road, Walton, Liverpool L4 3RL.
Telephone 0151 521 7657.
Online entries: www.moft.co.uk
Closing Date: 4.2.2012
Prizes: Top 8, Best Veteran and Best U/18 Fencer at all weapons. Novices
trophies at MF and WF.
Notes: Minimum age 13 at 1.1.2012. BFA membership will be validated
otherwise membership must be taken out on the day. BFA guidelines on clothing
and safety will be enforced. Leon Paul stand. Visit website for full details.
ENTRY FORM
Merseyside Open: 18/19.2.2012
Weapon(s) ...........................................................................................
Please tick:
❒
❒
❒
Under 18 on 1.1.2012
Veteran (BVF member)
Novice (under 2 yrs) at 1.1.2012
Note – Novices trophies at MF and WF only
Name:...................................................................................................
Address: ..............................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
Club:.....................................................................................................
Telephone:............................................................................................
Email: ..................................................................................................
Entry fee enclosed: .............................................................................
BFA No:............................................. Nationality..............................
I accept that the organisers cannot be held responsible for any accident,
loss or damage sustained at the tournament.
Signed:......................................................... Date:..............................
(Parent or guardian if under 18)
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Senior European Championships
by Malcolm Fare
he senior European championships were held in the
MEN’S FOIL
T
UK for the first time and brought together ablebodied and wheelchair fencers over 7 days at the
English Institute of Sport in Sheffield. 605 competitors
(404 able-bodied, 201 wheelchair) from over 30 countries
took part and eight British referees were among the 32
selected by the European Fencing Confederation.
The sports consultancy MLS Contracts was appointed by
British Fencing to deliver the event, supported by an army
of 200 volunteers a day organised by Rochelle Dazeley.
Their roles included piste assistant, steward, wheelchair
assistant, armourer and a variety of administrative
positions. Admission was free to the qualifying halls,
tickets to watch the semi-finals and finals costing £10 for
adults and £5 for concessions (U17, full-time students,
over 65s). Sponsors were British Fencing, UK Sport,
Welcome to Yorkshire and Sheffield City Council.
Giorgio Avola of Italy celebrates beating
team-mate Andrea Cassara to become
European men’s foil champion
[Aidan Byrne]
Giorgio Avola of Italy caused the first upset in the
championships by beating his compatriot and world No. 3
Andrea Cassara 15-14 in the men’s foil final. Cassara had
a disastrous start when he suffered from cramp and lost
the first five hits. But after a medical time-out of 10
minutes, he fought back to equalise at 10-all and went
ahead for the first time with a beat disengage attack
followed by a fleche to lead 13-11. It seemed that the tall
left-handed Italian was back on track. However, Avola had
other ideas. Shrewdly anticipating his opponent’s attacks,
he equalised at 13-all and again at 14-all. Then he
dramatically snatched the last hit with a well judged
parry-riposte and fell to his knees in joy.
The semi-finals had produced what most people thought
would be the final: a confrontation between the world
Nos. 2 and 3, Baldini and Cassara, but each had dropped a
bout in the poules, Cassara being beaten 5-0 by Laurence
Halsted, so they ended up as 14th and 15th seeds going
through to the same semi. Baldini took an early lead at 53, but Cassara soon caught up and used his reach to keep
his team-mate at bay, winning six hits in a row to lead 137. Although Baldini narrowed the gap, Cassara was always
in control and made sure of a 15-11 victory. Avola
despatched Cheremisinov (RUS) 15-8 in the other semi.
There were disappointing performances from the four
British competitors. Ed Jefferies crashed out to Marcilloux
(FRA) 3-15 in the L64. The others reached the L32, Halsted
beating the world No. 24 Rigine (RUS) 15-13, Jamie
Kenber disposing of Yunes (UKR) 15-9 and Richard Kruse
dealing with the world No. 20 Hetsyk (UKR) 15-12. But
they all went out in the next round, Halsted to Avola 9-15
and Jamie Kenber to Baldini 8-15. Kruse had weapon
problems against Kawiecki (POL), ranked 40 places below
him in the world, and lost concentration in the last period,
falling 11-14 behind before refocusing and levelling the
score, but his final riposte was blocked and Kawiecki
scored with a disengage.
TEAM
With three individual medallists, it was not surprising that
the Italians stormed to a 45-28 victory over France in the
final of the team championship, despite an incident that
might have banned Cassara from the tournament less
than halfway through the match. Fencing former Olympic
champion Brice Guyart and with a 10-hit lead, Cassara
scored with a fleche attack and on his return deliberately
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Baldini catches Cassara as he begins an attack in the semi-finals
[Getty Images]
Senior European
Championships
Avola fleches through the defence of Cheremisinov
[David Bradley]
Cassara stops Avola in mid-attack
(Aidan Byrne)
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17
Senior European Championships
shouldered the Frenchman in the back, affecting surprise when
the referee gave him a red card. To make matters worse, he then
pretended to limp back to his team, mocking a thigh injury
suffered by Guyart earlier this year. The Frenchman has apparently
been targeted by the Italians ever since he beat both Cassara and
Salvatore Sanzo to win the 2004 Olympic title in Athens. Baldini
and Avola defused the situation by quietly accumulating hits in
their relays to put the match beyond France’s reach. Russia beat
Germany 45-35 for the bronze medal.
Earlier, GB had come close to beating Germany, leading until the
last bout in which Laurence Halsted scored the first four hits in
defensive mode against Peter Joppich. But Joppich is not a four
times world champion for nothing and is also something of a fightback specialist who is particularly good at forcing his opponents to
initiate moves from which he can score. He applied this pressure
to Halsted who started to attack and was overwhelmed as the
German picked up five hits in a row to take the match 42-39.
However, the British team are a strong squad and they bounced
back to beat Poland 45-33 and then Austria 45-36 to finish fifth.
National foil coach Ziemek Wojciechowski commented, “The
Germans always put Joppich on last fight as he can score a lot of
hits in a short time. He did the same thing to the Russians not so
long ago when Ganeev was 10 hits up and lost. Lessons have
been learnt and we will be working on various strategies in the
run-up to the Olympics.”
tes to back against
Laurence Halsted ripos (RUS) [Aiden Byrne]
the left-handed Rigine
Kawiecki (POL) eliminates Richard Kruse in the L32
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[David Bradley]
Senior European Championships
WOMEN’S FOIL
Elisa Di Francisca of Italy confirmed her status as world number one
by beating triple Olympic and five times world champion Valentina
Vezzali, 10-8 to win the women’s foil title. A scrappy first period saw
both fencers missing and hitting off-target, so that the score was only
1-0 to Vezzali at the first break. She then took control to lead 5-1
before Di Francisca began to find her range and was only trailing 45 at the second break. In the final period Vezzali again extended her
lead to four hits, but began to tire as Di Francisca maintained her
composure and gradually clawed her way back to equalise at 8-all.
A remise put her 9-8 up with 3 seconds left and a counter into a
despairing fleche from Vezzali clinched the fight. The new champion
promptly leapt into the arms of her coach, Stefano Cerioni, and
wrapped her legs around his waist. She seemed quite pleased.
Elisa Di Francisca of Italy
wins the European women’s
foil title [Getty Images]
The semi-finals saw Vezzali overwhelm Knapek (HUN) 12-4, but
Lamonova (RUS) gave Di Francisca a tough fight in the other semi.
With no love lost between them, they traded hits to 11-all, stopping
frequently to play for time by loosening their hair and tying it up
again. One corps-a-corps encounter resulted in the Italian raising
her fist against Lamonova, miming to the referee that the Russian
had hip-butted her. She eventually scraped through 13-12.
Of the British contingent, Claire Bennett was eliminated after the
poules with one victory. Martina Emanuel won two, but that only
made her 31st seed and she was crushed by Vezzali 3-14. Natalia
Sheppard was always behind against Knapek (HUN), but managed
to equalise at 10-all as time expired. With priority in her favour,
she held off the Hungarian until just 4 seconds were left before
Di Francisca and Valentina Vezzali (left) in the final
[Getty Images]
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Senior European Championships
Di Francisca at full stretch against Vezzali [David Bradley]
succumbing. Anna Bentley also came from behind to draw
level with another Hungarian, Kreiss, and then snatched
the last hit to reach the L16 where she met the No. 1 seed
Shanaeva and went down 8-15.
TEAM
The Italian women edged to a nervy 45-43 victory over
Russia to take the team title with the lead changing hands
four times. Vezzali began badly, going down 0-5, but in the
penultimate fight Di Francisca pulled back a six-hit deficit
to give Italy a 40-38 lead as Vezzali came on for the last
relay against Shanaeva. Although the Russian levelled the
score at 43-all, Vezzali took the last two hits, finishing
with a deceptively simple extension closing the line into
her opponent’s preparation. The bronze medal was taken
by Germany who beat Hungary 45-38.
In their first match, GB made a good fight of it against
Italy, going down by a respectable 34-39, but in the fightoffs, the team lost 31-45 to France and 28-38 to Ukraine
to finish eighth.
Vezzali wins the
women’s foil team
championship for Italy
[Getty Images]
Anna Bentley reaches the L16 after beating Kreiss (HUN) [Getty Images]
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Senior European Championships
MEN’S EPEE
Vermijlen fleches at Feidler
Two equally tall epeeists, the left-handed Joerg Fiedler of
Germany and the right-handed Bas Verwijlen of the
Netherlands, put on a remarkable display of fast and fluid
fencing in the men’s epee final. After a slow start, the
German led 3-1 at the first break, but by the second break,
the Dutchman had equalised at 7-all. Driving Verwijlwen
to the back line, Fiedler scored to edge ahead and then
four doubles made it 13-12. A neat riposte put the German
within one hit of victory, but Verwijlen responded with a
brilliant foot hit to narrow the gap to 14-13. Again driving
the Dutchman to the back line, Fiedler anticipated the
inevitable attack and countered to make it a double and
secure the title.
In the semi-finals, Fiedler took out the No. 1 seed Tomasz
Motyka of Poland, who had beaten Britain’s sole
representative Jonathan Willis 15-8 in the L64, and the
Olympic champion Tagliariol (ITA) in the quarter-finals. The
first period was close, Motyka making up for his shorter
reach by some lightning fleche attacks to lead 6-5 at the
first break. But the German began to anticipate the attacks,
parried and riposted to go 12-9 up by the second break.
Changing from a pistol grip to a long French handle, the
Pole tried to take advantage of the extra length, but
Fiedler maintained his three-hit lead to win 15-12.
In the other semi Verwijlen took on the in-form Max
Heinzer from Switzerland. They were 4-all at the first
break, but then the Dutchman waited for his shorter
opponent to attack, making a successful parry-riposte
followed by two sudden attacks to lead 7-4 and 9-6 at the
second break. He continued to anticipate well and never
allowed the Swiss back into the fight, winning 15-11.
Other results of note were 47-year-old Arwin Kardolus of
the Netherlands making the quarter-finals, and the young
Frenchman, Yanick Borel, defeating his fellow countryman
[David Bradley]
and world No. 1 Gauthier Grumier 15-12 in the L32 before
going out to Fiedler.
TEAM
The French team led from the start in the final against
Hungary, Grumier, Luceney, Gustin and Borel all
contributing to their 45-40 victory. France’s progress to the
gold medal match was straightforward, as they overcame
Switzerland 45-34 in the quarter-finals and Ukraine 45-37
in the semis. In the other semi, Hungary just beat a strong
Russian team 45-42. Russia went on to win the bronze
medal by beating Ukraine 45-36.
Joerg Feidler (GER) and Bas Vermijlen (NED) in the men’s epee final
[Getty Images]
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Senior European Championships
Feidler counters into a fleche from Motyka (POL) in the semi-finals [Getty Images]
WOMEN’S EPEE
Tiffany Geroudet of Switzerland ground out a hard fought
9-8 win over current Olympic champion Britta Heidemann
of Germany to take the women’s epee title. After 1½
minutes of relative inactivity in the first period, referee
Matt Haynes called non-combativity and moved the fight
straight into the second period. The decision worked and
both fencers started taking the fight to each other, with
three hits scored in less than 20 seconds. Heidemann fell
behind by two hits as they moved into the final period, but
pulled back to equalise at 8-all with less than 30 seconds
on the clock to take the fight into extra time. With priority
against her, Heidemann had no choice but to attack.
Geroudet was waiting and thrust out a fast counter to
score.
The fights were tight throughout the day, both finalists
scraping through their quarter-finals by one hit as
Heidemann edged out Stroka (POL) 10-9 and Geroudet had
a monumental battle with Flessel-Colovic (FRA) before
winning 15-14. They had easier semis, Heidemann beating
Branza (ROM) 15-10, while Geroudet had a narrower
victory over Moellhausen (ITA) 15-13.
Tiffany Geroudet (SWI – left) and Britta Heidemann (GER) in the women’s epee final [Getty Images]
22
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Senior European Championships
Heidemann at full stretch against Geroudet
[Getty Images]
Of the four British epeeists, Elisa Albini was eliminated
after the poules with one victory. Georgina Usher and
Mary Cohen fell in the L64, Usher to Beljajeva (EST) 9-15
and Cohen just losing to Moellhausen 14-15. That left
Corinna Lawrence, who beat Marinuk (ISR) 15-7 before
going out to Jacques-Andre-Coquin (FRA) 7-15 in the L32.
TEAM
The Romanians cruised to victory over Russia to take the
team title in great style. The match started slowly with three
fights ended early by the referee for non-combativity, but
in the final two bouts Romania stormed ahead to win 4531.
In the semi-finals Romania had beaten France 45-38, while
Russia had a tough match with Estonia before winning
42-41. The bronze medal match saw the most sensational
comeback of the championships, as France’s Flessel-Colovic
swapped from a pistol grip to a French handle so that she
could pommel and then stormed back from 32-40 down
against Embrich to level the score at 41-all at time, winning
42-41 in the priority minute.
Zuikova (left) and Nisima in the women’s epee team bronze medal match between Estonia and France
[Getty Images]
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Senior European Championships
MEN’S SABRE
World No. 1 Alexey Yakimenko of Russia became the only
person to retain their European title after one of the most
exciting sabre finals in recent years, just defeating Bolade
Apithy of France 15-14. The Russian favourite led 8-4 at the
break and the crowd expected him to win easily, but Apithy
had other ideas and closed the gap before equalising at 13all. Yakimenko steadied himself to go 14-13 up, but the drama
wasn’t over as Apithy levelled again. This entertaining fight
had to end and ultimately it was Yakimenko who prevailed.
Apithy had progressed to the final after another intriguing
fight with Szilagyi (HUN) in the semis.The Hungarian had the
early lead and seemed to be heading to the gold medal
match, but Apithy was to become a crowd favourite by
coming back from behind and winning 15-14. Yakimenko
was 0-2 down in his semi against Hartung (GER) before
levelling the match and then taking the lead. He came
through 15-10.
Synchronised appealing
by Apithy and Szilagyi
[Getty Images]
James Honeybone attacks Yakimenko (RUS)
in the L32 of the men’s sabre [Getty Images]
Yakimenko (right) launches an attack against Apithy (FRA)
in the men’s sabre final [Getty Images]
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Senior European Championships
Hartung in mid-flunge against Montano in
the men’s sabre team final [Getty Images]
TEAM
In the final of the team event, the Italians led from start to
finish, as they beat Germany 45-38. From the first bout when
Montano raced to a 5-0 lead over Hartung, they never looked
back. Occuzzi and Tarantino widened the margin and by the
end of the seventh match Italy held a commanding 10-hit
lead. A late rally from Hartung closed the gap to seven
hits, but there was no stopping the dominant Italians.
Italy had progressed to the gold medal match with
straightforward victories over Hungary 45-38 and Romania
45-29. Germany had a harder time, beating Belarus, 45-41
before coming up against the favourites, Russia. To general
surprise the Germans powered their way to a 45-35 victory.
The world’s best sabre coach, Frenchman Christian Bauer,
who is now in the Russian camp after coaching the last
two individual Olympic champions, gave his team a tough
debriefing. They then beat Romania 45-36 for the bronze
medal.
Olga Kharlan of the Ukraine
wins the European women’s
sabre title [Getty Images]
WOMEN’S SABRE
Sophia Velekaia (RUS) and Olga Kharlan (UKR), the world
Nos. 2 and 3, were expected to reach the women’s sabre
final, but Velekaia had a bad day, going out 9-15 to
Vougiouka (GRE) in the L16. Her place was taken by
Aleksandra Socha (POL), who worked her way quietly
through the tableau to knock out top seed Pundyk (UKR)
15-11 in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, in the other half of
the draw Kharlan never broke sweat, reaching the final
with an easy 15-8 victory over Gavrilova (RUS). In the final
she succeeded with every attack, going 8-2 up at the
break and powering on to a 12-4 lead before appearing to
become bored and allowing Socha six hits to get back into
the fight. But she quickly regained her focus and closed
out the match 15-10.
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Senior European Championships
TEAM
Having scored an unexpected win over the world number
one team Russia 45-32 in the semi-finals, Italy faced
Ukraine, who had defeated France 45-36 in the other
semi. Although Vecchi gave the Italians a 5-0 lead in the
first fight, Kharlan promptly demolished Bianco 10-1 in a
seemingly casual yet irresistible manner to put Ukraine
10-6 ahead. Her team-mates held on for much of the
match until the penultimate bout, when Marzocca scored
eight hits in a row against Khomrova to give Vecchi a 5hit lead going into the last fight with Kharlan. Despite a
valiant effort from the Ukrainian, Vecchi held her nerve to
give the Italians a narrow 45-43 victory.
Russia beat France 45-26 to take the bronze medal in a
one-sided match. GB lost to Spain on the final hit 44-45 in
the L16 to finish tenth.
Italy completely dominated these championships, winning
six gold medals, two silver and two bronze. No other
country won more than one gold, although Russia
equalled Italy’s total tally of ten medals, with one gold,
two silver and seven bronze.
WHEELCHAIR EVENTS
BACKGROUND
After the Beijing Paralympics of 2008, Britain had only one
or two regular wheelchair fencers, no domestic competition
apart from the nationals and no ranking system in place.
Since then, the sport has had increased training
opportunities, several integrated clubs, a number of domestic
events mostly co-hosted at Opens, a domestic ranking
system, integration with the British fencing championships
and has appointed a performance manager.
At these championships, Simon Wilson achieved a personal
best: L16 in both foil and epee Cat A. He was one hit from
reaching the L8 in the epee and about 18 months ago he
had not won a DE fight. With the exception of Tom Hall
Butcher (who made the cut in the men’s sabre A and lost
his DE by 1 hit), most other fencers have less than 3 years
in the sport or are returning to fencing after some years
away and are catching up to the current level of the
game.
Able-bodied fencers, who had not seen serious wheelchair
fencing before, were astonished at how athletic and
flexible the fencers were as they swayed back and forth in
and out of distance, the effort often moving the locked
chairs in their frame along the short metallic piste, so that
the whole contraption had to be reset. The distance
between opponents is fixed by the fencer with the shorter
reach who can choose to set it at their own reach or that
of their opponent. Each fencer is classified according to
their ability to perform the skills needed to fence – arm
extension, speed of movement, lunge and recovery, etc –
with those in Category A having the most ability.
MEN’S A FOIL
The biggest upset in the men’s foil Cat A competition came
when Richard Osvath from Hungary, ranked 23 in the world,
beat the world No. 6, Ludovic Lemoine (FRA), 15–12 to take
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the European title. Earlier he had beaten Pender (POL),
Beijing bronze medallist, in the quarter-finals and
Tokatlian (FRA), the world No. 4, in the semis.
British highlights included Craig McCann having a great
win against Betti (world No. 5) from Italy in his poule and
Simon Wilson reaching the L16.
MEN’S B FOIL
This was a fiercely fought event with four of the world’s
top five battling it out. Pal Szekeres from Hungary, last
year’s world silver medallist, showed his mental
toughness and experience by coming through 15–14 in his
quarter- and semi-finals. He went on to beat the current
world No. 2 and Beijing silver medallist, Laurent (FRA), 1511 to take the title.
MEN’S C FOIL
Russia dominated the medals in Cat C, taking gold, silver
and one of the bronzes. Only Russo (ITA) broke their
monopoly by grabbing the other bronze. The all-Russian
final between Nikolay Lukiyanov and Alexander
Logutenko was tight and keenly contested. In the early
stages there was nothing to choose between the two, but
as the fight progressed Logutenko eased in front and
seized the initiative to take gold 15-11.
TEAM
Number one seeds France were at the centre of much of
the drama, no more so than in their semi-final bout with
Russia. This ended in chaos as the ninth and final fight
produced five red cards, the last of which gave Russia
victory by 45-36 amid angry French protests. France was
then involved in an epic battle with Italy for the bronze. As
the match reached the closing stages, it looked as if the
French had done enough to win, but the Italians
overhauled them at the last and won 45-44. The final
between Russia and Ukraine was a much calmer affair
with the Russians establishing control early on and
holding on for a deserved 45-38 victory.
WOMEN’S A FOIL
There were plenty of surprises in the women’s foil Cat A as
Sabrina Poignet from France had a great run, beating
Halinka from Belarus 15-14 in the quarter-finals and
Sycheve 15-3 in the semis. However, the final was one
round too far as the world No. 4, Szuszanna Krajnyak from
Hungary, proved too strong and took the title 15-11.
WOMEN’S B FOIL
Judit Palfi from Hungary beat the highly fancied Lukianenko
(UKR) 15-8 in the quarter-finals and then the No. 1 seed
Biese-Baetke (GER) 15-12 to set up an all-Hungary final
with Gyongyi Dani, who had beaten Vasilueva (RUS) 15-11
in the semis. It was Dani, the 2010 bronze medallist, who
prevailed 15-13.
TEAM
Hungary consolidated their position at the top of the
wheelchair event medal table with some convincing fencing,
disposing of Ukraine in the semi-final 45-21. In the final
Senior European Championships
they faced a French team that had held its nerve well in a
tight semi-final against Russia, winning 42-41. In the final
the Hungarians always appeared to have enough class to
beat the French and that proved to be the case as they
established an early lead. The French narrowed the gap in
the middle, but the Hungarians raised their game and
pulled away to win 45-26. The bronze medal went to
Russia who beat Ukraine 45-32.
MEN’S A EPEE
Romain Noble of France was in confident form throughout
the day. Having disposed of world No. 1, Pender (POL), 1512 in the semi-final, he went on to crush Matteo Betti
(ITA) 15-6 in the final. This category saw the best British
performance of the day by Simon Wilson who finished
16th, going out by a slender 15-16 to eventual bronze
medallist Tsedryk (UKR).
MEN’S B EPEE
It was a golden day for Belarus fencer Nikolai Bezyazychny
as he upset the form book and rankings table by winning
the Cat B epee, beating Maxime Valet (FRA) 15-10 in the
final. It was his semi-final and quarter-final victories over
the two Frenchmen who are world Nos. 1 & 2, respectively
Cratere and Latrech, that really caught the eye, excellent
results for a fencer ranked 15th in the world. Bezyazychny
does have a habit of shining in major tournaments,
however, having taken silver in Beijing.
MEN’S C EPEE
Ukraine triumphed in Cat C with Oleksiy Sundiyev beating
Italian William Russo in the final. Russia took both bronze
medals.
TEAM
There was a packed and noisy crowd for the France v Russia
final and it lived up to expectations. The Russians took an
early five-hit lead and were still four ahead going into the
fifth fight, when Noble took the final by the scruff of the
neck and posted a five-hit turnaround with some elegant
precision hitting against Kuzyukov. Cratere and Citerne
then stretched France’s lead to five points before Noble
returned to the piste to wrap it up, despite a late flourish
by Yusupov.
Russia had upset the form book to reach the final as they
put out 2nd seeds Belarus 45-42 and 3rd seeds Poland 4539 before finding favourites France a step too far in the
final. The bronze medal match went to Poland who beat
Italy 42-27.
WOMEN’S A EPEE
Hungary’s Zsuzsanna Krajnyak added to her foil gold
medal by capturing a second gold in the epee final,
beating Yuliya Efimova (RUS) 15-13. The Russian took an
early lead, but she was only 6-5 ahead at the break. World
No. 2 Krajnyak then slowly took control and eased herself
to victory. The bronze medals went to Fidrych (POL) and
Juhasz (HUN).
WOMEN’S B EPEE
Russia’s Ludmila Vasilueva survived an extraordinary fightback by world No. 2 Marta Makowska (POL) in the final of
the Cat B event. Vasilueva had Makowska on the ropes from
the start, racing to a 6-0 lead after 2 minutes and retaining
that margin at the break with a convincing 11-5 lead. But
this evaporated as Makowska clawed her way back to
Craig McCann reaches for a hit in a men’s epee Cat A poule [Getty Images]
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27
Senior European Championships
equalise at 12-all. In the end Vasilueva held her nerve to
take the final hit. Briese-Baetke (GER), currently ranked
world No. 1, had to settle for bronze, as did Pozniak (UKR).
MEN’S A SABRE
This event had every fencer in the top 10 in the world
except four from China and Hong Kong. Andreev (RUS)
was a surprise semi-finalist, along with his team-mate
Frolov. But the final was a French battle between Romain
Noble and Moez El Assine. Noble took an early 8-4 lead
and it looked like he would run away with it, but El Assine
dug deep and pulled it back point by point until he was
only one hit behind at 12-13, then 13-14. But Noble
swayed back out of reach of his opponent’s multiple
attacks and then pounced to win 15-14. Earlier in the day
the strongest performance from the British team saw Tom
Hall Butcher narrowly miss out on a top 8 finish, losing 1415 to Pylarinos (GRE).
over Poland in the team event by 45-36. The final was
dramatic and tense with fencers from both sides picking
up red cards as vociferous support cheered every hit. Poland
kept in touch in the first three fights, but a swashbuckling
5-0 win by Laurent followed by an almost equally
devastating 5-1 from the imperious Noble gave France a
ten-hit cushion. Makowski helped Poland cut the deficit
but even he was powerless to stop Noble in the last fight
as the Frenchman chalked up another 5-1 victory. Russia
won the bronze medal match, beating Greece 45-29, and
it was the Greeks who put out the British team 45-23 in
the first round.
WOMEN’S A SABRE
MEN’S B SABRE
This event was extremely strong, with the top six in the
world taking part, including the gold, silver and bronze
medallists from last year’s world championships. However
after the poule round, the direct elimination draw placed
the top fencers all in the same half. Burdon (POL) and
world No. 2 beat world No. 3 Pavlova (RUS) in the quarter
finals 15-7 to set up a rematch of last year’s gold medal
fight in the semis. But Kuramshina (RUS) was too strong,
winning 15-5 to reach the final. There she met Loredana
(ITA), the world No. 4, who had beaten Fidrych (POL) 1512 in the other semi. The day belonged to Kuramshina as
she confirmed her place as the world’s best female
sabreur, winning comfortably 15-7.
TEAM
In the medal table events, Hungary may have won only
nine medals, but seven of them were gold to put them top.
Both France and Russia collected more medals, but only
four were gold, France’s haul of 12 including six silver,
while Russia amassed 19 of which 11 were bronze.
This event had the top three in the world looking to battle
it out. In a surprise victory, Anton Datsko (UKR), beat the
world No. 1 and gold medallist in Paris, Laurent (FRA), 1511 in the quarter-finals. Marat Yusupov (RUS) also had
everyone talking when he made it through to the final with
a great semi-final win over Cratere (FRA). Datsko, however,
continued his great run, beating Yusupov 15-8 in the final.
Romain Noble picked up his third gold medal of the
championships as he led a powerful French team to victory
Alan Sheriff attacks Stanczuk (POL) in the men’s sabre Cat A event [Getty Images]
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Senior European Championships
VOLUNTEERING
The volunteers were a mixed bunch from school children
to retired people, experienced fencers and non-fencers,
British and foreign. A volunteer’s day lasted for as long
as there were fencers in the venue, which was often
8am-9pm and even longer for some. Breakfast and lunch
was provided in ‘Flamingo Land’, a place for them to
relax during breaks. There was a bright pink theme for
the volunteers, who could be spotted from far away and
were easily approachable by spectators, fencers and
coaches.
Volunteers were given a variety of roles over the week.
They included piste assistant, video-jockey, frame handler,
working in the call room, in media, or at the welcome
desk. Most of the roles allowed them to get close to the
action and they often had the best seats for many fights.
Tor Axel Thullberg, from Sweden, worked in the call room
throughout the week where he had to pack a fencer’s kit
once it had been checked and then carry it out on the
piste. He said, “I found it interesting to see how the
fencers prepared themselves before going out to fence.”
Without doubt the hardest role was being a wheelchair
frame handler. It was very tough work having to clamp
each wheel on the piste, adjust foot straps and then
correct the distance between the chairs. Each piste would
typically have a team of three volunteers. Throughout the
week turnover times became faster and techniques were
perfected.
Britta Heidemann with volunteers
James Frewin (left) and Daniel Ming
The spirit among volunteers was always high; everyone
helped each other, worked through breaks and never
complained. They were often excited after watching a
thrilling fight or meeting a fencing idol. It was quite amazing
to turn your head and see the current Olympic champion,
then the world champion would walk past and if you
approached them they would often talk for a short time and
allow you to have a photo taken with them; if you were
cheeky enough to ask, they might give you some piece of kit.
The volunteer team
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Senior European Championships
On the penultimate evening a party was held in Flamingo
Land for everyone to kick back and have some fun. It
was also the time for the event management to thank
each individual volunteer and give them a present, which
was of course pink, as a token of their appreciation. The
Volunteer Manager, Rochelle Dazeley, was very impressed
with them all. “Fantastic, absolutely brilliant”, she said.
“It was lovely working with everybody, tiring but good
fun.”
after whoever needed help. They each deserve a big thank
you and with their involvement in next year’s Olympic
fencing I’m sure it will be another first-class event. Very
well done to everyone involved.” ■
These championships were definitely a week for everyone
to remember, new friendships were made, new skills
learnt and a lot of world-class fencing was watched and
admired. Hayley Beaumont, who volunteered all week,
had a great time. “I’ve seen some amazing fencing and
I’m now inspired to get back into training.”
Will Sturgeon
ENDORSEMENTS
“This is the best competition I have ever been to and I
have heard a lot of the foreign competitors say the same”,
said wheelchair fencer Simon Wilson. “The organisation
has been spot on and it has had a great atmosphere.”
“What a fabulous job British Fencing did in organising this
event”, commented Swindon Fencing Club president Neil
Bromley. “From the piste organisation by Leon Paul to all
the logistics and attention to detail involved in making
sure the fencers and members of the public were looked
after by the support team, it really was a first-class few
days. Special mention must go to Rochelle Dazeley and
her team of volunteer ‘Friendly Faces’, who worked
tirelessly everyday, always smiling and attentively looking
A tired helper [Aidan Byrne]
ENTRY FORM
CAMBRIDGE WINTER TOURNAMENT:
Cambridge Winter Tournament: 7/8/1/2012
7th/8th JANUARY 2012
Venue: Cambridge Regional College, Kings Hedges Road, Cambridge
CB4 2QT
http://www.camre.ac.uk/Documents/Maps/Cambridge-Map.pdf
Events
Check-in closes
7 January 2012
Men’s Epee
09.00
Women’s Epee
09.30
8 January 2012
Men’s Foil
09.00
Women’s Foil
09.30
Men’s Sabre & Women’s Sabre
11.00
Entry Fee: £15 (£25 late entry fee at organisers discretion)
Cheques payable to: Cambridgeshire Fencing Association
Entries to: Nick Bane, 133 Caxton End, Bourn, Cambs. CB23 2ST.
Tel: 01954 719270. Email: nick.bane@camfc.org.uk
Closing Date: 31/12/2011
Notes: Only entries with fees will be considered. The organisers reserve the
right to limit the size of the competition if required. Leon Paul will provide
an equipment stall. BFA membership will be checked – please ensure full
membership. Sports Halls open 8am.
Website: www.camfc.org.uk/cwt.html
30
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Weapon(s):............................................................................................
Name:....................................................................................................
Address:................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
...............................................................................................................
Club:.....................................................................................................
Telephone:............................................................................................
Email: ..................................................................................................
BFA No: ...............................................................................................
Cadet: (Yes/No)
Veteran: (Yes/No)
I accept that the organisers cannot be held responsible for any accident,
loss or damage sustained at the tournament.
Signed:......................................................... Date:...............................
(Parent/Guardian if U18)
31
National Socialism and Fencing
by Mark Barton and David Hall
B
enito Mussolini, Reinhard Heydrich, Hermann Göring,
Juan Perón and Oswald Mosley all had something in
common, in addition to being right-wing political
leaders. They were fencers. Indeed, an active interest in
fencing was not limited to these infamous few. Heinrich
Himmler had also fenced at university. Before we get too
worried that only the malevolent men of history fenced,
there were plenty of more inspiring leaders who fenced,
including French and US Presidents, Winston Churchill and
General Patton, who competed in the 1912 Olympics and
wrote a sabre manual.
Fencing did, however, have an extraordinary prominence
within the Nazi hierarchy. Some of this popularity pre-dated
the Nazis rise to power. In the 19th century, Germany had
a strong tradition of Schlager fencing. This was very much
university led and there were many fencing clubs and
fraternities. Himmler was the most notable Nazi to embrace
this fraternity scene. He was ‘blooded’ when he clashed
swords with another student, receiving five cuts that needed
stitches and earning himself a scar. Schlager was initially
banned (although later rescinded) by the Nazis as they did not
want the oaths of loyalty taken by fencing society members
being made to any other organisations other than their own.
What was it, though, that attracted the right-wing leaders
of the first half of the 20th century to the sport? Perhaps
the best known and most accomplished fencer out of this
group is the SS leader, Reinhard Heydrich. He fenced for
Germany and the Third Reich, but did not quite achieve his
ambition of representing Nazi Germany at the 1936 Olympics.
Mussolini was also a noted duellist and Mosley was in the
British epee team. Perón was Argentinean Army champion
and had been due to go to the 1924 Olympics, but was
barred from leaving the country by the War Minister.
Fencing was important to these men who were driven by
a real interest in the sport. In 1937 fencing featured in a
high-level conference between Italy and Germany, when
Göring and Mussolini fenced each other. According to a
fencing master who witnessed the 20-minute contest,
“Mussolini was faster and more agile. He showed his years
of constant training. Göring was the stronger. He showed
surprising speed for a man of his size and revealed himself
to be an accomplished swordsman.”1
Oswald Mosley (right) demonstrates fencing to his ‘black shirt’ followers
32
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National Socialism and Fencing
Although fencing was not traditionally associated with
Germany, as it was with France, Hungary and Italy prior to
the Berlin Olympics, the country did produce one
outstanding pre-war fencer, the 1928 Olympic and triple
European/world champion Helene Mayer. At 5 feet 10
inches tall, she was a powerful yet sleek figure with
striking blue eyes and long golden blonde hair – in every
respect the embodiment of the idolised female German
athlete, but she was also part Jewish. When the Nazis
came to power in 1933, Mayer was living in the United
States. As the 1936 Berlin Olympics approached, she was
the subject of intense political pressure: Jewish groups
pressed her not to represent Nazi Germany, whilst the US
Government and the International Olympic Committee
(IOC) put increasing pressure on the German government
not to discriminate against Jewish athletes. Under the
Nürnberg Laws of 1935, Mayer was no longer a German
citizen, but she was eventually invited to represent
Germany at the Olympics in a sordid compromise between
the American and German Olympic Committees. The final
must have been thrilling, with the Hungarian Ilona
Schacherer-Elek winning on overall points ahead of Mayer
and Ellen Preis of Austria. Ironically, both Schacherer-Elek
and Preis were part Jewish too.
Undeterred by the contradictions thrown up in Olympic
fencing, Heinrich Himmler, the Reichsführer SS, ordered
the first SS Fencing Masters Tournament to be held just
three months after the Berlin Olympics ended. Reinhard
Heydrich, Deputy Head of the Gestapo and Head of the
much feared Sicherheitsdienst (SD), won third place in sabre
and fifth in epee. In August 1941, at the second wartime
German fencing championships, Heydrich again came fifth
out of the top 12 fencers in the country and close to the
top for all of occupied Europe. Heydrich was fanatical about
the sport. Despite working 16 hours a day, he always
found the energy and the time to train. Lina, his wife, said
that ‘he trained at least an hour every morning, before
the day’s work began. Then on weekends there were
competitions.’2
Interestingly, fencing also caused several of these
individuals to compromise on their normal behaviour as
well as their publicly professed beliefs. Heydrich, despite
his role in the SS and his personal responsibility as one of
the chief architects of the Holocaust, helped Paul Somner,
a Jew and a former German fencing champion, find safe
passage to the United States. And during the Polish
campaign in September 1939, Heydrich gave strict orders
not to harm any of the 1936 Polish Olympic fencers. Attila
Petschauer, a Hungarian Jew, who had won individual
silver and team gold in sabre at the 1928 Olympics, was
given a special ‘document of exemption’ protecting him
from arrest and deportation. Unfortunately, Petschauer was
arrested by Hungarian police while walking in Budapest,
having left his papers at home. He was deported to the
Davidovka concentration camp in the Ukraine where he
died.
After the German occupation of France and the Low
Countries in the summer of 1940, Heydrich attempted to
take over the International Fencing Federation (FIE). The
Gestapo arrested Paul Anspach, the FIE President, on
suspicion of murdering German deportees, and seized the
Göring watches Mussolini (left) and a German officer
put on a display of swordsmanship
FIE archives from his home in Brussels. Anspach was
cleared of any involvement in the crime and released, but
the FIE archives had been sent to Berlin on Heydrich’s
orders. On 5 February 1941, he summoned Anspach to
Berlin and tried to persuade him to relinquish the FIE
Presidency. Anspach refused and, perhaps surprisingly,
was allowed to return to Brussels. Less than two weeks
later, the Gestapo turned up at his house with a letter of
resignation for him to sign. Again, Anspach refused,
saying: “I am mandated by thirty-seven national fencing
federations; nothing can permit me to abdicate my powers
to one affiliate.” Heydrich, however, was not a man who
gave up either easily or gracefully. He formed an alliance
with Dr Giulio Basletta, a friend of Anspach and President
of the Italian Federation and by June 1941, Heydrich had
all the support he needed to force Anspach out and take
over the FIE. In a letter dated 25 June 1941, Heydrich told
Anspach that “for the duration of the war I shall carry on
the direction of the FIE in consultation with Dr Basletta.
The question of the ultimate direction of the affairs of the
FIE for the next period of office can only be settled after
the end of the war.” 3
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33
National Socialism and Fencing
A similar tale of defiance had also occurred to Mussolini
with his initial attempts to persuade Nedo Nadi, Italy’s
greatest gold medal winning fencer, to move to Rome to
coach the Italian Olympic fencing team. Ironically, a local
Fascist leader who was threatening Nadi as he would not
join the Fascist party was initially moved to protect Nadi
and then executed by a black shirt hit squad. Nadi
eventually succumbed to the requests, moving to Rome
where he coached the successful 1936 Italian Olympic
team. From 1935 to his death in January 1940, he served
as President of the Italian Federation.
physical development of Nazi youth and featured in the
curriculum of the elite schools created by the National
Socialist Party to generate the future party political elite.
Fencing was a new way of undertaking a traditional
activity, so it built on the Schlager tradition but for all, as
befits the socialism part of the National Socialist
Weltanschauung (worldview). Merging history with a new
way, it fitted well with the Teutonic legends; this is also
seen with the widespread wearing of daggers, swords and
dress bayonets, which no doubt aided employment in the
sword manufacturing industry based in Solingen.
Fencing not only featured prominently in the sporting lives
of these ‘Fascist fencers’, it pervaded the society they were
creating. At the end of the first SS Fencing Masters
Tournament, Heydrich gave the after-dinner speech and
emphasised the importance of fencing in SS culture. He
even persuaded Himmler that all senior SS officers should
be compelled to practice with the sabre.4 Heydrich’s public
image underscored physical toughness and an absolute
determination to succeed. He was often pictured in the
newspapers dressed as the captain of the SS fencing team.
Fencing was also seen to be important in the cerebral and
Sport provided a clear and unifying focus for the nation.
It is notable that all the right-wing regimes were keenly
interested in hosting major international sporting
competitions. Italy hosted the second football World Cup
in 1934, Germany the 1936 Olympics and Argentina the
first World Basketball Championship in 1950, followed a
year later by the first Pan-American Games. These events,
rightly or wrongly, conferred international prestige and
status on the host nation.
In the early 20th century sport also had a military purpose.
For many national governments, there was a clear drive to
develop fit young men to be better military personnel.
Fencing was an ideal sport in this respect. Unlike several
other pugilistic sports, fencing usually does not involve
participants getting injured and thus becoming unfit for
service. The various elements of the sport: precision,
physical speed and strength, concentration, dedication,
and the need to think as well as act with confidence and
conviction, all expedite the development of good military
traits. The Waffen SS taught fencing to increase speed and
ferocity in combat.
Finally, whilst uniformity is often thought to be a key
feature of military life and military institutions, it is not
necessarily the case in the higher levels of command and
leadership. Great captains are unique individuals. Sporting
champions also require exceptional and often distinctive
skills and talents, which may explain why sport appealed
to many political and military leaders. The combination of
this logic, particularly with regard to fencing, is pertinent
to the National Socialists and also to the other fascist
leaders who were so keen on the sport. Equally, the same
logic applies to non-right-wing leaders who fenced. It is
perhaps no coincidence that the US Army general George
S Paton Jr. was not only a fencer but was also notorious for
designing his own uniforms and weapons so that he stood
out from the crowd. ■
Reinhard Heydrich
34
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1
Time Magazine, 25 January 1937.
2
Mario R Dederichs, Heydrich. The Face of Evil translated by
Geoffrey Brooks (London: Greenhill Books, 2006) pp.130-133;
and Richard Cohen, By the Sword (London: Macmillan, 2002)
pp.333-338.
3
Günther Deschner, Heydrich – The Pursuit of Total Power
(London: Orbis, 1981) pp.118-119.
4
Callum MacDonald, The Killing of SS Obergruppenführer
Reinhard Heydrich (London: Macmillan, 1989) p.42.
Letters
WHITHER EPEE?
Wellington Swords is a successful foil and epee club in the
South West with a full range of fencers at all levels from
cadets through to veterans. Its main strength lies at epee
as the regular stream of our fencers to the international
and world championship arena indicates. This is due to a
combination of factors, among them:
a good experienced Hungarian coach who has been
working with the club for the past 8 years.
a strong and dedicated corps of parents who have
funded their teenagers to a host of international training
camps, team competitions, championships at home and
abroad and club fencing.
last but not least, the fencers themselves who have a
burning desire to compete at the highest level for their
country.
The emergence of a number of new policies and strategies
from British Fencing in recent months regarding selection
for the Olympics, World Championships and, indeed, any
international competition appears to be putting all this
work at risk for one particular weapon – epee. There is a
disturbing undercurrent of unrest amongst all epeeists at
the moment, not only in our club, but in many others
across the UK with whom we have spoken. Parents and
fencers have a distinct impression that epee is now being
actively sidelined and recent communications from British
Fencing have done nothing to dispel this concern.
Look at some of the following examples:
A. BF selectors chose only one male epeeist to represent
GB for the 2011 Senior European Championships in
Sheffield, when we could have entered at least three more
as the host nation. Not to take the opportunity to fill these
places with our current epee hopefuls seems bizarre!
B. Following Sheffield, a new performance strategy removed
epeeists almost totally, both male and female, from the
Performance Programme. Epee is the most popular weapon
in the UK; its standard is much higher across the board
and results have widely improved in recent years. We now
see such incredible successes as Phil Marsh, who at 16 years
of age has won the Junior World epee title – a success that
seems to have been barely recognised by British Fencing.
Jon Willis and Georgina Usher continue to compete
successfully in a much larger field internationally with
excellent results that certainly echo those chosen for the
present Performance Programme and the world
championships at the other two weapons.
C. There is currently no replacement for the national epee
coach after the resignation of Prof Meschov and any epeeist
now capable of fencing at world-class events seems either
to have lost their funding or not even know whether they
are able to self-fund. If British Fencing can provide for a
world-class coach, such as Ziemek, for foil but ignore
epee, then there is a self fulfilling prophecy here, ie if you
do not invest in a weapon and do not select fencers for
that weapon, then they will be unable to meet the
qualifying criteria for any future Performance Programme!
D. Weapon committees have always been at the forefront
of pursuing the best for their individual weapons. It is now
apparent that this responsibility has been taken away
from them and placed in the hands of a select few
members of the Board. The Epee Committee appears to
have had virtually no say in future selection for Senior
events. This is particularly worrying for clubs such as ours
who need to know where their fencers stand within the
UK and must have confidence in the selection criteria and
its process. Parents and fencers need to be convinced that
the weapon committees are representing their concerns to
the Board.
E. Our fencers have now been told that the National
Academy is the only route to future selection. Despite the
fact that the introduction of the Academy was badly
handled at the outset, both in its timeframe and its
imposition of a whole new raft of expensive weekend
training sessions to fit into an already overburdened
Cadet and Junior calendar, our young fencers are now
examining whether they will truly stand a chance for any
international championships if the current 3G strategy
remains fixated on only foil and sabre. Why spend money
and time on a weapon that seems to have no support at
Board level? Medal winning is all very laudable to meet
the aspirations of Sport England and sponsors, but it is no
good if the only legacy it leaves behind is the stripping out
of a generation of epee fencers.
F. It is noted that the British Fencing Performance Manager
is using a computer program as the primary means for
predicting performance trajectories within fencing. Such a
tool may well be useful for some combat sports, but it
does not allow for the passion of performance in a weapon
such as epee, which is renowned for its unpredictability.
Look at the names of world championship and Olympic
medallists over the past decade. Only six male epeeists
have won more than one medal, compared with nine or
ten at the other weapons. In other words, the chances of
winning a medal from outside the top group are one-third
more likely at men’s epee. That is because there are far
more epeeists in the world rankings – last year 60% more
(men and women) than sabreurs and 70% more than foilists
– and consequently medallists come from a larger pool
than the other weapons. Who would have forecasted Jon
Willis’s incredible success at the Heidenheim A-grade in
2007!
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35
Letters
So there it is. Epee has apparently been allowed to lose its
focus at the highest level. Although it is understood that
the British Fencing Selection Panel may select other
fencers for a World Championships who have not met BF’s
selection criteria, this is very much at the discretion of the
Performance Manager. If epee is not even on BF’s agenda
at present, then the chances of this changing before 2016
seem remote. What then are we to tell parents and fencers
as to the future of epee? From our viewpoint, it is incredibly
dispiriting, particularly as there is so little communication
from the top. The Fencing Forum is full of these concerns,
but short of all epee fencers withdrawing their membership
from the BFA, there seems to be little that epeeists can do
to change this apparent anomaly. Our young epeeists
have the ability – now all they require is to be given the
motivation to fence for their country before and after
2016. Currently it is just not there.
Club Committee
Wellington Swords
Performance Manager Alex Newton replies:
I have stated on many occasions that OF COURSE epee is
not being sidelined. But at this immediate time we need
to identify where our real chances of fencing success are
in 2012 to ensure we meet our performance goal with UK
Sport.
Since funding was awarded to British Fencing for a worldclass programme, we have yet to meet our annual
milestone target with UK Sport. Unless we can focus and
target resources over the next few months to turn those
potential medal chances into reality, we will not be able to
convince our partners to continue to fund us beyond 2012.
I appreciate epee is the most popular weapon in the
country – that is why BF is investing significant funds in a
development programme for all weapons. However, the
funding for the performance programme is to drive up
performances and deliver medals.
I am not sure where the rumour started that a computer
program is predicting trajectories, but I have heard this
from a number of sources. Let me be clear: performances
and comparison amongst the world’s best is the best
measure of success. Unfortunately, our performances at a
senior level do not measure up against the world’s best.
Many people have told me that epee is unpredictable.
However, an analysis of results at the significant senior
international competitions shows that it is not luck that
wins medals but consistently good fencers ranked in the
top 20 in the world.
All weapons are on the BF agenda. But we have to look at
current performances which are not where they should be
a year away from the Olympic Games – if we are serious
about medals. I have consistently stated that there will be
a major review after the world championships when we
will identify real medal potential for 2012 and resources
will follow. Beyond that, we will need to rebuild for 2016
and of course epee will be included within this.
I am always available to discuss issues and meet with the
fencing community, as I have done many times in my first
4 months in post, and I am more than happy to meet with
you all.
36
The
SWORD
OPEN LETTER TO BRITISH
FENCING
I am writing as Chairman of Haverstock Fencing Club to
express my concern about British Fencing’s approach to
developing a competitive Olympic squad, including recent
decisions in respect of the world championship team
selection, and about the future direction of the sport.
Selection for the world championships will impact on the
chances of individual fencers being selected for the Olympics.
It is BF Olympic selection policy to enter the European zonal
qualifying competitions in all eligible weapons, and things
such as world ranking and performance at events like the
world championships are factors for selection to the zonals
– yet only one epeeist has been selected to compete in the
world championships, according to BF’s announcement of
3rd August, which would seem to limit seriously the
chances for epeeists to qualify for the Olympics.
For the world championships, Britain is sending teams for
men’s and women’s foil and women’s sabre, but not epee.
The currently named individual participants are six foilists
(three men, three women), five sabreurs (three women, two
men) and just one woman epeeist. A women’s foil team has
been selected despite poor results this year. Individuals in
both the women’s foil and epee squads have similar world
rankings but few notable results, and there is no obvious
rationale behind the selection of one but not the other.
The selections leave gaps in GB representation at the
world championships and create a surprising imbalance
between weapons, and yet we have some good epeeists,
including a World Cup winner, notwithstanding that epee
is known for its unpredictable results. There are also good
people out there who could benefit from international
competition and for whom inclusion in the world
championship team would represent a significant
development opportunity in the run-up to the Olympics.
The communication which accompanies the press release
announcing the team states that significant powers of
selection have been given to the Performance Manager,
but that, for reasons of equity and consistency, she elected
to follow the stated policy, which was dated the previous
November. I understand that in practice a selection panel
made up of four non-fencers (including the Performance
Manager and a UK Sport representative) and two foilists gave
recommendations to the International Committee to approve.
If that understanding is correct, I wonder how the
selection panel was chosen, by whom and, in particular,
why was the representation of those with a fencing
background apparently so limited? What consideration
was given to exploring the potential for epeeists who
might not have precisely met the qualification criteria, but
whose performance internationally taken overall is strong,
or who are coming up through the ranks and could produce
good results with a bit more international experience?
Only a year before the 2012 Olympics we have a revamped world class programme, which has resulted in
fencers who have dedicated the past few years since 2007
to Olympic selection losing their funding on the basis of
some fairly narrow criteria, despite their world ranking. At
the lower funding level, junior foilists have been added,
presumably based on potential for 2016, yet Phil Marsh,
who is the U20 world champion, is not on the programme.
Letters
With only one epeeist on the
programme, this suggests that only
she will be entered in the zonals, and
yet it is difficult to believe that it was
not possible to identify other strong
and promising epeeists who could be
included. In addition, as far as I am
aware there is no published
development plan for the future of
epee fencing, and there is no national
coach for epee.
I am already noticing a deleterious
effect on the morale of epee fencers at
all levels. Younger fencers are seeing
their role models sidelined, with the
effect that their confidence in British
Fencing is being eroded. This is of
concern to me, given that epee is the
most popular competition weapon. It
should also be of some concern to BF,
amongst whose membership I
wouldn’t mind betting epeeists
represent a significant group. With no
obvious development structure in
place for epee, young fencers will not
see a way ahead to develop their
fencing at the higher levels of
competition, and clubs risk losing
their senior fencers. That means we
lose the valuable experience of top
level competition that such fencers
bring to a club such as mine, and it’s
this experience which helps to bring
along the next generations of fencers.
These are potentially very serious
consequences in the longer term, both
for clubs and for BF.
Unless BF intend to use all eight wild
card places, or send a full quota of
fencers to the zonal qualifiers, my
impression is that we may be reducing
our chances of Olympic medals rather
than increasing them. I have no doubt
that those concerned at BF have the
best interests of fencing in Britain at
heart and that things are being done
with good intentions. However, it is
difficult to avoid the impression that a
certain lack of balance has crept into
the process and that the implications
for the sport long term need further
thinking through.
With no apparent development plan
for epee, I am fearful that we are
consigning the most popular weapon
to the wilderness for the foreseeable
future – which includes taking us up
to 2016. If some of our strong and
promising epeeists can be included in
the world class performance
programme at this stage, there may
be some chance of avoiding this.
John Ince (Prof)
Chairman, Haverstock Fencing Club
Performance Manager Alex
Newton replies:
Selections for the world championships may or may not impact on the
chances of individual fencers being
selected for host nation places at the
Olympics. It will depend on whether
a fencer, who has not automatically
qualified, is still considered to be a
real medal prospect for 2012. If a
fencer is part of the group we are
looking at developing for 2016, then
they may be offered a host nation
place and would not necessarily have
been to the 2011 world championships. The current document for
selection via a host nation place is
completely discretionary.
BF has stated that in this Olympic
year it will send a fencer in every
weapon where we have no qualifiers
to the zonal qualifying competition;
that includes one male and one
female epeeist should they not
automatically qualify. We are
currently preparing detailed criteria
as to who will be selected for the
zonal competitions. There is nothing
to suggest that fencers who have not
been to the world championships
will not be selected for the zonals.
Alex Agrenich has been working with
the world class programme as
national epee coach. After the world
championships, we will be in a
position to identify the resources we
need for 2012 and 2016 success.
John, I suggest that you and I meet
so that I can provide you with the
detailed background to the decisions
and answer any further questions
which might arise as a result of my
response. ■
National
Fencing
Museum
The women’s foil team qualified for
the world championships with a L8
at the European championships.
Although only eight teams entered,
there is nothing to suggest that, had
there been more teams, they would
not still have come eighth.
For clarity, the Performance Management Group is an advisory panel to
me. The selections were proposed by
me after detailed conversations with
all the GBR coaching staff. The
International Committee discussed
and confirmed the selections.
Despite the Olympics being only a
year away, it was critical, if BF is to
achieve its performance target with
UK Sport, to re-vamp the
programme. No new fencers at the
development level for 2016 were
added; they were all receiving
programme support as part of the
men’s foil squad – and at this stage
it would have wasted considerable
resources
(invested
by
my
predecessor) to remove them only to
reinstate them later.
The
SWORD
37
Reviews
£19.99 for A4 size and £27.99 for A3 size
38
The
SWORD
(+p&p)
Reviews
T
o mark London 2012, Shire Publications has published a fascinating illustrated booklet
commemorating the previous two occasions when London hosted the Olympic Games. London
Olympics 1908 and 1948 by Janie Hampton takes a look at some of the intriguing facts and
incidents that made those two Games memorable, like:
London would never have staged the fourth Olympics in 1908 had Mount Vesuvius not dramatically
erupted two years earlier. The Games were due to be held in Rome, but Italy needed all its
resources to rebuild Naples.
Sybil Newall won the archery event at the age of 53 and remains the oldest woman ever to win
Olympic gold.
In order to finish in front of the royal box, the length of the marathon from Windsor Castle to the
While City stadium was increased to 26 miles, 385 yards, a distance that has remained ever since.
The 1908 Olympics, the first with an opening ceremony, cost £15,000, or around £1 million in
today’s money.
Although Britain was virtually bankrupt in 1948, London was considered the only city in Europe
with enough resources to host the first post-war Olympics. Competitors and officials were
accommodated in RAF camps, schools and colleges. Visiting teams were encouraged to bring food –
the Americans brought 15,000 bars of chocolate; the French sent a railway wagon filled with
Mouton-Rothschild wine.
Mary Glen Haig remembered working until 8pm the day before fencing and then taking rations from
the hospital where she worked to the women’s centre at Victoria. She went on to make the final.
Total cost in 1948 was £732,000, about £20 million today, and those Games made a profit of
£29,000 (£850,000 today).
Numbers of competitors have grown from 2000 in 1908 to 4000 in 1948 to over 15,000 in 2012.
The booklet is available from Shire Publications, Midland House, West Way, Botley, Oxford OX2 0PH,
www.shirebooks.co.uk at £6.99.
Malcolm Fare
S
even letters, one passion: fencing. Fencing/Escrime/Fechten is a handsome
coffee table book of photographs showing 60 of the world’s best fencers
in action over the past decade. Produced by Serge Timacheff and Giovanni
Minozzi, who have taken more than one million images of the sport, the book
depicts some of the most dramatic moments in recent fencing history. They
include Valentina Vezzali being carried in triumph on the shoulders of her
coach after becoming 2008 Olympic champion, Stanislav Pozdniakov in his
pomp, Brice Guyart in mid-fleche, Laura Flessel-Colovic and Mariel Zagunis,
each winner of their weapon’s first Olympic titles, and many others.
A large format (38x30 cm/15x12 in) book printed as a limited edition of
1111 copies, it is available from egoth Verlag GmbH, Untere Weissgerberstr
63/12, 1030 Vienna, www.egoth.at and costs €49.90 including p&p.
Malcolm Fare
The
SWORD
39
Round-up
Sue Benney and Philip Marsh receive Epee Club medals from club president David Partridge
in recognition of their achievement at the Junior World Championship
MERSEYSIDE OPEN
This year’s Merseyside Open began with a minute’s applause
in memory of Dorothy Knowles, who in 1938 founded the
Liverpool Open foil tournament, which evolved into the
Merseyside Open. Dr Knowles, who died last November at
the age of 104, won ten women's foil titles, a record that
stood for nearly 50 years.
After two rounds of pools in the men’s foil, Thomas Corlett
and Conor Nagle emerged as joint number one seeds. This
proved to be an accurate ranking as both came through
the DE without being taken to double figures to meet in
the final. A fascinating fight developed with the lead
changing hands until the score reached 10-all late in the
second period. Then Corlett edged ahead and the key
moment came when Nagle was red-carded for covering
while landing a riposte at 13-11, which meant that he fell
three hits behind instead of one. Corlett grasped his
opportunity and scored the winning hit with a crisp
riposte to take the title 15-11. Bronze medals went to
Conor Sharman and Samuel Ward.
The women’s foil produced two familiar finalists in Lydia
Johnson and Caroline Benson. Remarkably, the two fencers,
who between them have won the title for the last six
40
The
SWORD
years, had never met in a Merseyside final before. Indeed,
Benson only just squeezed through from her semi-final,
holding off a determined fight-back from Anna Smith to
win by 10-9. Johnson in contrast had swept past Chloe
Dickson by a convincing 15-2 score-line. After conceding
the first two hits in the final, Johnson fought back to lead
3-2 at the first break and proceeded to edge further ahead,
leading 10-7 at the second break and eventually converting
this into a 15-8 victory to claim her sixth Merseyside title.
The bronze medals were won by Anna Smith and Chloe
Dickson.
With 102 competitors, the men’s epee was the largest
event ever staged at Merseyside. Only four fencers came
through the two rounds of pools undefeated but none of
them managed to reach the final, which was contested by
Adam Gordon and defending champion James Harris.
Harris had advanced through the DE with relative ease,
only being taken to double figures once, by Scott
Chalmers, while Gordon had been pushed harder, needing
a 15-14 victory in the semi-final against Neill Tannock. It
was Harris who took control in the final, leading from the
start and converting a 12-7 lead at the first break into a
15-9 victory to retain his title. Neill Tannock and Greg
Carty received the bronze medals.
Round-up
The women’s epee was closely contested with nearly a
quarter of the field on one defeat or better after two
rounds of pools. Louise Highton came from behind to
defeat Sadie Greetham 13-12 in one semi-final, while
Sophie-Ann St Clair Jones justified her number 1 seeding
to reach the final from the top half of the draw. It was
Highton who started the final best, leading 6-4 after three
minutes and 12-9 after six. She continued to protect her
lead and clinched victory by 15-11 to joins her sister
Elizabeth as a Merseyside champion. Bronze medals went
to Sadie Greetham and Emily Jeanes.
The sabre events produced two keenly fought competitions,
despite the absence of both defending champions. After
winning the men’s title for the last ten years, Chris Farren
opted to participate as a referee this year and was invited
to officiate in the final between Simon Donald and Stephen
Rocks. At the break Rocks led 8-5 and appeared to be in
control as he extended his lead to 11-7, but Donald fought
back to level at 12-all. Rocks then went ahead 13-12 and
14-13, but was unable to convert this into victory and it
was Donald who received the benefit of the tightest of
calls when both lights came on at 14-all. Thomas Nichols
and Robert Veitch took the bronze medals.
Unfortunately, last year’s women’s sabre champion Ellie
Collier was involved in a road traffic accident on the way
to the competition and could not take part. The final saw
Jennifer McMillan take on Laura Hunter-Thomas and, after
the score reached 3-all, it was McMillan who moved ahead,
leading 8-5 at the break and consistently timing her attacks
well to convert her lead into a 15-10 victory. Bronze
medallists were Camilla Demicheli and six-time champion
Beth Davidson.
Two special presentations were made during the weekend:
the Arthur and Beryl Banks Fair Play Cup, awarded in
memory of the long-time chairman and secretary of the
tournament, was presented to Neill Tannock, and the BFA
Diamond Jubilee Fair Play Cup was awarded to Anna
Smith.
Gary Longthorn
The primary objective of the HTC is to provide the highest
standard of fencing lessons and group tuition in a relaxed
and friendly environment. Coaching staff are fundamental
to the delivery of this tailored service and everyone had
an individual lesson daily. Each of the coaches had vast
experience in competitive epee fencing but offered
something slightly different. Tristan Parris, recently
appointed to be Director of Fencing at Millfield and a first
timer at the camp, established a superb rapport with
some of the younger fencers and was a smash hit. Sergei
Rossalko, currently coach to Jon Willis and a former
Olympian, was able to show new ideas even to seasoned
internationals. Alex Agrenich (national epee coach), Peter
Barratt (national junior coach), Neale Thomas (Tiger
Swords), John Ince (Haverstock), Andy Pavaday (Haverstock)
and Andy Vincent (Stockport) completed the coaching
group.
For many campers, the high spot of the week was fencing
some of the German national squad. Niklas Multerer in
his blue competition kit turned a few heads. Then again,
this may be because he’s a 6’ 5” German international,
who kindly agreed to fence all comers for two of our
training sessions. Simone Briese-Baetke, currently the
best female wheelchair fencer in the world, brought two
of her team mates with her. They were kept busy by all the
camp fencers either wanting to try wheelchair fencing for
the first time or renew their battles from the previous
year.
This year’s camp cost £500, plus £95 for transport from
the UK. With generous donations from members of the
fencing public, two young fencers got a 50% bursary. We
would love to be able to offer bursaries again next year
and if anyone is able to help with this, please contact me
via the website; the chance to come and train at
Tauberbischofsheim is a truly inspiring experience. Photos
and videos can be viewed on the website:
www.haverstocktrainingcamp.com .
Jon Willis
HAVERSTOCK TRAINING CAMP
This year, 84 epeeists from six nations came together at the
end of August to sharpen their fencing skills for a week at
the Haverstock Training Camp in Germany. The experience
of Olympiastützpunkt Tauberbischofsheim is a little
overwhelming, even if you're a regular. Going in through
the foyer, you walk down a long corridor lined with trophies,
newspaper cuttings and memorabilia from past triumphs at
Olympic and world championships. Beyond it you reach the
accommodation block and vast training halls with over 40
metallic pistes, overhead score gantries and walls decked
out with club banners.
The packed programme involved free fencing, scenario
fencing and small group sessions, working closely with a
specialist coach. Co-ordination, strength and conditioning,
target work and, of course, footwork were all timetabled. Fencers did as much or as little as they wanted. If
they wanted more at the end of the scheduled activities,
there was a gym, swimming pool and sauna on site.
Coaches (from left): Andy Pavaday, Neale Thomas, Andy Vincent,
Alex Agrenich, Peter Barrett, Tristan Parris, Sergei Rossalko, John Ince
The
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41
Round-up
CLUB NEWS
Gravesham Fencing Club celebrated its 25th anniversary
in August with as tournament and reception at Gravesend
Grammar School. The Mayor of Gravesham, Singh Dhesi,
presented medals to the tournament winners and spoke of
the success the club has achieved in building links with the
local community over the years. Club President John
Anderson was honoured with a medal acknowledging the
major contribution he has made to relations between
Gravesham and its French twin town of Cambrai over the
past two decades.
The club started in 1986 as an initiative by Gravesham
Borough Council and now has over 60 members. Professor
Alf Simmonds was recruited to initiate introductory
courses, which were held in the rather damp surroundings
of the Gravesham open-air swimming pool. Among those
attracted was a young lad called Scott Greenwood, who is
now captain of the club.
Press publicity attracted several retired fencers, notably
Lionel Martin, Clive Wren and Derek Collier. John
Anderson, who was then fencing with two of his children
at Maidstone, was directly recruited by the County Fencing
Union. The club spent its early years at Gravesend
Grammar School with around 18 members, but started to
take off when it moved to the newly built Cygnet Leisure
Centre in 1990.
Prof Simmonds was an inspiring, if idiosyncratic, coach and
young beginners responded well to his coaching. Early
successes in local competitions were achieved by Scott
Greenwood, Michael Anderson and Mark Taylor. In 1990,
the club approached Cambrai to see whether they were
interested in an exchange. The first trip involved two young
fencers, Simon Blackburn and Paul Ganuszko, who fenced
in a local competition. There followed a return visit by four
French youngsters, who fenced in the under-17 foil
tournament at Portslade. One of this group was 13-yearold Loic Attelly, who went on to become a member of the
French foil team and gained a silver medal at the Nimes
world championships.
Young fencers at Gravesham (DE Photos)
In the 1990s half a dozen Gravesham fencers regularly
qualified for the British age-group finals. The first medallist
was Fiona Wilford who came second in the under-12 foil in
1993. She subsequently enjoyed a successful career with
the club, including winning first place in the Kent senior
epee. Both Simon Blackburn and Paul Ganuszko had a
string of medals while with the club, closely followed by
Scott Chambers, who was runner-up in the Kent senior foil.
The 10th anniversary of the club was marked by a match
between current and former members of the club and a
dramatic and swashbuckling play put on by the younger
fencers, which infringed every present-day health and
safety rule. Fortunately everybody survived unscathed.
At the end of 1997, Prof Simmonds retired as coach at the age
of 76 and was succeeded by Chris Penney, who immediately
proved his value to the club. From the early 2000s some of
Gravesham’s most successful fencers emerged: Peter Barwell,
Alek Makucewicz, Miles Gandolfi and Ben Andrews. In 2004
the club had two national age-group champions: Barwell
won the under-14 foil (having taken the under-12 title in
2003) and Makucewicz won the under-12 foil. In 2006
Rajan Rai won another national title for Gravesham by
taking the gold medal in the British under-10 foil.
When Chris Penney had to withdraw as coach
due to ill-health, he was succeeded by Marc
Chapman, who is now assisted by former
member, Taran Nicholls, as epee coach.
Among current potential stars are
epeeists Joe Joyner (bronze
medallist in the 2010 under-16
championships), Cameron Prior and
Tyler Lucas.
Mayor Singh Dhesi with Gravesham and Cambrai fencers (DE Photos)
42
The
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The club has always been active in
promoting fencing to the local community,
but has expanded this in recent seasons
through the enthusiasm of Scott Greenwood
and Catherine Gandolfi, who has particularly
promoted the use of mini-fence (foam/plastic
swords). For more details contact the club
Secretary on 01689 831826 or visit
www.graveshamfencing.org.uk .
A mini-fencer
(DE Photos)
Young Fencer
UK SCHOOL GAMES
Photo-report by Aidan Byrne
England swept the board at the 2011 Sainsbury’s UK School
Games, winning all the events, both individual and team.
into
Kristjan Archer (ENG) leaps
t
ins
aga
ck
tta
r-a
nte
cou
a
Casey Avril (SCO)
Soji Aiyenuro (ENG) on his way to victory over Michael Hering (SCO)
in the quarter-finals of the boys’ sabre
Archer beats team-mate Amol
Rattan in the boys’ foil final
Leah King (ENG) lunges through Stephanie Collister’s (WAL) defence in the girls’ foil final
The
SWORD
43
Young Fencer
Toni Denham (ENG) picks off
Anna Jackson (NIR) in the girls’ epee
Simultaneous hits from England
team-mates Leonora Mackinnon (left)
and Amy Radford in the girls’ epee
quarter-finals
NEWHAM LPJS FOIL:
3/4 DECEMBER 2011
Venue: Newham Leisure Centre, 281 Prince Regent Lane, London E13 8SD
Events
Check-in closes
Saturday 4th U11 Boys
09.00
U15 Boys
10.00
U13 Girls
11.30
U17 Boys & Girls
12.30
Sunday 5th
U13 Boys
09.00
U11 Girls
10.00
U9 Boys & Girls
11.30
U15 Girls
12.00
Entry Fee: £17 Cheques payable to: Newham Swords Fencing Club
Entries to: Linda Strachan, 15 Brock Road, Plaistow, London E15 8NA.
Tel: 07956 618898.
Closing Date: 29 November 2011
Notes: Age as at 1 January 2012. Medals awarded to top four fencers.
Certificates for all competitors. BF membership confirmation must be shown
at check in. U9s must use size 0 blades; U11s & U13s must use size 3 blades
or smaller. All fencers must wear 350N jacket & breeches. U9s, U11s &
U13s must wear a 350N plastron. U15s & U17s must wear an 800N plastron.
Armoury will be present. Large free car park available.
44
The
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ENTRY FORM
NEWHAM LPJS: 3/4.12.2011
Event.......................................................................... (Boys/Girls)
Date of Birth ............................... BFA No:.................................
LP Unique ID Code...................................................(Consisting
of your initials followed by your date of birth in the format
DDMMYY, and then your sex, either M or F. Ignore all middle
names. For example, a fencer named Lewis Day born on 16 June
1995 would have a unique ID code of LD160695M).
Name:.............................................................................................
Address:.........................................................................................
........................................................................................................
........................................................................................................
Telephone:......................................................................................
Email:.............................................................................................
Club............................................... Entry Fee:..............................
I accept that the organisers, officials, referees, sponsors and Newham
Leisure Centre cannot be held responsible for any accident, loss or
damage sustained at the event.
Signed:.................................................... Date:.............................
(Parent/Guardian)
Young Fencer
Toni Denham,
winner of the
girls’ epee
Chiara McDermott (ENG) deceives King in the semi-finals
FRENCH REFEREEING COURSE
went over the road where we spent a while white-water
rafting, which was amazing. I met so many great people
and had a fantastic time. I am so grateful that I was given
this opportunity and would urge anyone who sees an
advert on the BFA website for such a course to apply.
Sean Grundy, 18
I was picked up from the train station by the course leader
and driven to the place where the camp was being held.
The venue itself was brilliant; it had two large fencing
halls, one with fixings for easily laying out pistes and the
other was a permanent fencing salle, which had various
memorabilia on the walls from French competitions and
Olympics. One of the halls was in a building which
overlooked a rowing lake, so the scenery was fantastic.
SCHOOL COACH MOVES ON
Elen Tomlinson and I were chosen by the Referees
Committee to go to a young referees’ camp in Vichy,
France, which at the same time was a training camp for
the best U15 fencers from all weapons in France. This
meant that nothing but the highest standard of fencing
was available to practice refereeing.
On the first morning the 13 referees on the course were up
relatively early for a jog around the campus, which was
huge, complete with playing fields, courts and pitches for
a vast number of sports. We then played some Frisbee; this
was the timetable for most mornings. The main meeting
point of the camp was the ‘red room’, where most of the
lectures and presentations took place. After having a
presentation about the rules and penalties, we did some
refereeing in the fencing hall; during this we were
assessed on all aspects of our refereeing and given tips.
Throughout the course we had presentations on various
topics, including child protection and anti-doping, as well
as a question and answer session with French FIE referees
Bruno Gaby and Pascale Mage. It was great to hear
experiences from well respected referees. Towards the end
of the week we refereed a competition and were assessed
as part of a French refereeing exam.
On the last day we were split into two groups for
activities. Firstly, my group went to the rowing lake to do
some kayak polo, which was so much fun. After that we
After 10 years as fencing coach at St Benedict’s School,
Ealing, Matthew Gale has moved with his family to
Cornwall. Over the past 5 years, he has built up the club
from nothing to over one hundred pupils. At a farewell
party, Ania Foote spoke for all the parents when she said,
“Everyone has grown very
fond of Matthew and we
wanted to express our
gratitude for his
enthusiasm and hard
work over the years.
The club is never
going to be quite the
same, although we look
forward to working with
our new coach Akos
Marinki, a member of the
Hungarian foil squad
in 1999. ■
Akos Marinki
The
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45
Results
NOTE TO COMPETITION ORGANISERS
Some results are sent to the BFA website in non-HTML format, such as pdf files. These are fine for reading, but do not
allow copying and editing for publication in The Sword. For the sake of archived records, it would be appreciated if results
could always be sent in HTML, otherwise they will not be published.
COMBINED
EVENTS – ABROAD
WORLD UNIVERSITY
GAMES: 13/18.8.11
Men’s Foil
L8 – Husayn Rosowsky
COMBINED
EVENTS – HOME
Girls U13 (9)
1.
2.
3=
3=
WHITFIELD Madeleine (LASZLOS)
COPE Aimee (KISS)
CORBY Jessica (WEST FIFE)
WEBB Georgia (LASZLOS)
Girls U11 (15)
1.
2.
3=
3=
5.
6.
7.
8.
DUNGAY Katrina (DUNFERMLINE)
LOUIS Avery (ESCRIME)
BROWN Madeleine (LASZLOS)
HUGHES Phoebe (DURHAM)
JONES Rachel (KISS)
HULLS Madeleine (FRA)
BLACK Mirren (KINGSTON)
NEWTON-HUGHES Phoebe (KISS)
Girls U9 (4)
1. WALKER Matilda (KISS)
2. WEEKS Charity (LASZLOS)
SCOTLAND LPJS: 4.6.11
EPEE
FOIL
Boys U17 (10)
1. DE SAINTE CROIX Calum
[WALLACE)
2. McCOURT Michael (WALLACE)
3= THOMPSON Robin (WALLACE)
3= THOMSON Andrew (WALLACE)
Boys U15 (15)
1.
2.
3=
3=
5.
6.
7.
8.
RENNIE Peter (EFC)
MILBURN Bradley (LASZLOS)
MANSON Ross (WALLACE)
WYNN Gareth (ABERDEEN)
MAY Joseph (LASZLOS)
DOUGLAS Jack (WALLACE)
YEATS Alan (WALLACE)
HOPKINS Oliver (NORTHUMBRIA)
Boys U13 (10)
1. PHILIPS-LANGLEY Thomas
(DUNES)
2. WEEKS Harry (LASZLOS)
3= BULMAN Kai (LASZLOS)
3= NICOL Ethan (ROLLO)
Boys U11 (5)
1. DEERING Maximilian (126)
2. MORRISON Duncan (WEST FIFE)
Boys U9 (4)
1. BRADIE Angus (FENCING FUN)
2. STEELE Gabriel (WEST FIFE)
Girls U17 (5)
1. DICKSON Chloe (DUNFERMLINE)
2. GORDON Heather (WALLACE)
Girls U15 (7)
1.
2.
3=
3=
46
The
SWORD
EDWARDS Asha (LASZLOS)
SMITH Katie (EDINBURGH)
MORRISON Ailsa (EDINBURGH)
MOSS Amber (LOUTH)
Boys U17 (7)
Girls U11 (3)
1. ABEL Sadie (LASZLOS)
2. LOUIS Avery (ESCRIME)
Girls U9 (1)
1. DICKSON Rebecca (DUNFERMLINE)
SABRE
Boys U17 (8)
1. DE SAINTE CROIX Calum
[WALLACE)
2. ADAMS James (WALLACE)
3= REYNOLDS Finlay (WALLACE)
3= THOMSON Andrew (WALLACE)
Boys U15 (10)
1. LINDLEY Thomas (RIVINGTON
PARK)
2. SPENCER Nick (TRURO)
3= CHEUNG Joshua (FOYLE & LON)
3= MURRAY Brian (FOYLE & LON)
1. DE SAINTE CROIX Calum
[WALLACE)
2. McCOURT Michael (WALLACE)
3= ADAMS James (WALLACE)
3= MACKAY Callum (WALLACE)
1. LINDSAY Christian (ESCRIME)
Boys U15 (12)
1. ALVARES-PERES Mark
(DUNFERMLINE)
2. CARTER Toby (WEST FIFE)
1.
2.
3=
3=
5.
6.
7.
8.
REILLY Ahron (DUNFERMLINE)
McGILLIVRAY Keir (WREXHAM)
BURNSIDE Jonathan (FOYLE & LON)
PRICE Jamie (FOYLE & LON)
HOFFMANN Tom (DINGWALL)
DOUGLAS Jack (WALLACE)
MANSON Ross (WALLACE)
YEATS Alan (WALLACE)
Boys U13 (8)
1.
2.
3=
3=
MORRIS George (WREXHAM)
LUCAS Tyler (GRAVESHAM)
DULAC Joseph (ESCRIME)
JORDAN Owen (KELSBY)
Boys U11 (8)
1. GARWOOD-WATKINS Joshua
(BRIXTON)
2. ALVARES-PERES Mark
(DUNFERMLINE)
3= ANDREWS Benjamin (PLYMOUTH)
3= SELLS Alexander (PLYMOUTH)
Girls U17 (3)
1. DICKSON Chloe (DUNFERMLINE)
2. WYNN Amber (ABERDEEN)
Girls U15 (5)
1. DULAC Emma (ESCRIME)
2. KAMAT Maya (WALLACE)
Girls U13 (8)
1.
2.
3=
3=
HIDE Amelia (HARROGATE)
WHITFIELD Madeleine (LASZLOS)
DICKSON Lauren (DUNFERMLINE)
HIDE Victoria (HARROGATE)
Boys U13 (2)
Boys U11 (5)
Girls U17 (2)
1. DICKSON Chloe (DUNFERMLINE)
Girls U15 (3)
1. HAMPSON Sarah-Jane (WEST
FIFE)
2. MARSHALL Kathryn (FOYLE & LON)
Girls U13 (2)
1. CORBY Jessica (WEST FIFE)
Girls U11 (2)
1. LOUIS Avery (ESCRIME)
Girls U9 (1)
1. DICKSON Rebecca (DUNFERMLINE)
WREXHAM OPEN:
11/12.6.11
Men’s Foil (27)
1. CORLETT Thomas (KISS)
2. SIBERT Edward (U/A)
3= WILDE Ronan (A&C)
3= STOKES Nick (LEEDS)
5. SCHLINDWEIN Alex (STRETTON)
6. SAVAGE Alastair (ASHTON)
7. MASSEY Oliver (ABERYSTWYTH)
8. DAWKINS Jonathan (BRISTOL)
9. SMITH Gareth (U/A)
10. ROSE Darren (RADCLIFFE)
11. KEMP John (BRADFORD UNI)
12. SPENCER-TAYLOR Alex
(WAKEFIELD)
13. SMITH Christopher (USA)
14. ROBERTSON Mark (WREXHAM)
15. WOOD Chris (RADCLIFFE)
16. HOUGHTON Jacob (ABERGELE)
Women’s Foil (15)
1. BENSON Carolyn
(ABERYSTWYTH UNI)
2. ROBINSON Elinor (CARDIFF)
3= FITTON Alexandra (KISS)
3= DIFFORD Abi (CARDIFF UNI)
5. LAMB Sarah (MELIA)
6. CHINN Liz (PRESTON)
7. RHODES Ann (BRISTOL)
8. BRYCE Ellie (ABERYSTWYTH UNI)
Men’s Epee (47)
1. HARRIS James (PLYMOUTH)
2. HUGHES Ben (U/A)
3= WARD Granville (MARY
HAWDON)
3= STOKES Nick (LEEDS)
5. HEAPS Chris (BLACKPOOL)
6. HAZLEWOOD Darryl (FRISBY)
7. HARRINGTON James (CARDIFF)
8. VAN Gemeron (EVERT
[Wingerworth)
9. ROWE-HAYNES Max
(APOCALYPSE)
10. GALTREY Robert (HARROGATE)
11. KNOWLES Alan (SWINDON)
12. BOLTON Matt (FRISBY)
13. HIAM David (SHREWSBURY)
14. MASSEY Oliver (ABERYSTWYTH)
15. HUGHES Adam (SKIPTON)
16. WILLIS Scott (NEWTON ABBOT)
Women’s Epee (11)
1. GREETHAM Sadie (HARROGATE)
2. GALTREY Jodie (HARROGATE)
3= BENSON Carolyn
(ABERYSTWYTH UNI)
3= PEAT Sally (BLADES)
Men’s Sabre (16)
1. WILLIAMS Griff (MILLFIELD)
2. RILEY Danny (RIVINGTON Park)
3= VAN Gemeron (EVERT
[Wingerworth)
3= BOWLEY Stan (SKIPTON)
5. McKENZIE Killion
(ABERYSTWYTH)
6. POTTER Steve (STOURBRIDGE)
7. MADDOX Tom (ABERYSTWYTH
UNI)
8. ELLWOOD Steve (DDRAIG WERN)
Women’s Sabre (10)
1. POTTER Emma (BIRMINGHAM
CITY UNI)
2. SANGER Kevanne (SWINDON)
3= TREMBLE Nichola
(ABERYSTWYTH UNI)
3= LANGLEY Karen (BANGOR UNI)
Results
LONDON OPEN:
18/19.6.11
Men’s Foil (36)
1.
2.
3=
3=
5.
6.
7.
GROS Xavier (FRA)
HOLDER Peter (PAUL)
ALI Xavier (MOR)
MARINKI Akos (HUN)
LIM Alexander CAN (BOSTON
COOKE Christopher (IRL)
MACCHIAROLA Alessandro
(BOSTON)
8. WILD Chris (CARDIFF UNI)
9. GUPTA Gaurav (BOSTON)
10. ABIDOGUN Kola (BOSTON)
11. WILLIAMS Steven BOSTON
12. DONOVAN Alex (FIGHTING FIT)
13. JENNINGS Chris (PAUL)
14. SADIQ Hussain (ACADEMY)
15. SIBERT Edward (ARNOLD &
CARLTON)
16. BEARDMORE Alexander
(FIGHTING FIT)
Women’s Foil (26)
1. UJLAKY Virginie (FRA)
2. SHEPPARD Natalia (U/A)
3= ROULIN Maëva (ANTONY)
3= SIBERT Catriona (EDINBURGH)
5. NG Elizabeth (ALDERSHOT)
6. COOK Catherine (U/A)
7. BAILEY Victoria (ANTONY)
8. DUHEM Charlotte (ANTONY)
9. HYMAN Amy (SHEFFIELD UNI)
10. KING Leah (FIGHTING FIT)
11. KWOK Rachel (ACADEMY)
12. McDERMOTT Chiara (CRAWLEY)
13. HART Anna (PAUL)
14. SEGALL Emma-Tina (SURREY
SWORDS)
15. SEGALL Grace (SURREY
SWORDS)
16. BEAVERS Elizabeth (CADS)
Men’s Epee (42)
1.
2.
3=
3=
MARSH Philip (BATH)
LANE Tristan (LTFC)
HARRIS James (PLYMOUTH)
PAOLASINI Lorenzo
(HAVERSTOCK)
5. PINKERTON Stephen (TRURO)
6. KELLY Chris (HAVERSTOCK)
7. FARINA Gianluca (HAVERSTOCK)
8. ORGE Alp (LTFC)
9. AJZENSTADT Ido (ISR)
10. BEAUMONT Edward (READING)
11. HAY Chris (WELLINGTON)
12. CURRAN JONES Tommy
(BRIXTON)
12. DOMEK Stephen (HAVERSTOCK)
14. THOMAS Gareth (TIGER)
15. HARDING Tim (REDHILL)
16. SANCHEZ-LETHEM Paul
(BRIXTON)
Women’s Epee (15)
1.
2.
3=
3=
5.
6.
7.
8.
MACKINNON Leonora (MALVERN)
CROOK Jayne (HAVERSTOCK)
HENSON Julie (NORFOLK)
MAYLE Rebecca (MALVERN)
FANNON Beatrice (CARDIFF)
STELZER Victoria (AUT)
MASON Mariette (CADS)
RUSSELL Charlotte (MALVERN)
Men’s Sabre (12)
U11 Boys Foil (10)
1.
2.
3=
3=
5.
6.
7.
8.
1.
2.
3=
3=
BALES Michael (CADS)
BETTLE William (CADS)
DOWSE Niall (MX)
NICKEL Joe (CITY)
LEMON Jonathan (CITY)
HENSON Alexander (NORFOLK)
GILLAN Jason (UEA)
JACKSON Christopher (SUSSEX
UNI)
Women’s Sabre (3)
1. CARSON Victoria (CITY)
2. GLADDISH Laura (MX)
DUNSTAN OPEN:
19.6.11
Mixed Foil (19)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
JANICEK Ondrej [WELLINGTON]
HALE Caron [RAVEN]
WILSON Daniel [WELLINGTON]
BERNSTEIN Richard [MILLFIELD]
HALL Adam [BATH]
MERRICK Astrid [BRISTOL]
JONES Kenny [CITY]
MULCHARY Isaac
[GLASTONBURY]
U13 Boys (10)
1.
2.
3=
3=
BEATY Alfred [GLASTONBURY]
WEBSTER-KHAN Luke [BRISTOL]
CROSSLEY Alaistair [MILL PREP]
LEWIS Celyn [RUSSEL]
CROMIE Eoghan [TRURO]
MANNING Finn [SIDMOUTH]
MASON Luke [CHURCHILL]
BAXTER-ALLEN Cameron [MILL
PREP]
U9 Boys (5)
1. SEARGENT Alex [MILL PREP]
2. WILLOUGHBY Luke
[GLASTONBURY]
3= WACHS Adam [GLOUCESTER]
3= GRAY Thomas [GLASTONBURY]
U13 Girls (4)
1. PLAYDELL Tilly [REDMAIDS]
2. WHARTON Elizabeth [WYCLIFFE]
U11 Girls (5)
1.
2.
3=
3=
ACTON-PETERS Suki [BATH]
GRANVILLE Bronwen [BATH]
KUEHNE Ottilie [BARNSTABLE]
HOWARD Jessica [BATH]
U9 Girls (2)
1. DE ST PAER Isabel
[GLASTONBURY]
2. ZAKU Morgan [MILL PREP]
Mixed Epee (22)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
HODGSON Ben [WELLINGTON]
HAY Chris [WELLINGTON]
BURR Lawrence [GLASTONBURY]
HANNEY Mike [BATH]
BROOKS Rob [RAVEN]
The
SWORD
47
Results
6. WEDGE-THOMAS Raoul
[WELLINGTON]
7. DAVENPORT Robin [SCARAMOUCHE]
8. PARR William [WELLINGTON]
Mixed U14 (8)
1. HARLE Joshua [BATH]
2. CARTER-HUGHES Jack
[GLASTONBURY]
3= WILLIAMS-STILES Hannah
[LAWRENCE]
3= CROMIE Conall [TRURO]
Mixed U11 (7)
1.
2.
3.
4.
BERRY Reece [GLASTONBURY]
BIRCH Charlie [GLASTONBURY]
PARSONS Katie-May [MILL PREP]
MARSH Brendan PPLYMOUTH]
U9 (1)
1. DUNCOMBE Quinn (Plymouth)
NORFOLK OPEN:
17/17.7.11
Men’s Foil (53)
1. HENDRIE Tom (SUSSEX HOUSE)
2. HENDRIE George (SUSSEX HOUSE)
3= LIM Alex (BOSTON)
3= WARD Sam (CHILWELL)
5. SADIQ Hussain (ACADEMY)
6. CHU Andrew (LOUTH)
7. MACCHIAROLA Alessandro (BOSTON)
8. HESLOP Adam (CAPITAL)
9. WEST Philip (DRAGON)
10. ALLEN Richard (BOSTON)
11. SAGE Richard (LANSDOWNE)
12. TROIANO John (LANSDOWNE)
13. THURSTON Dan (AFFONDO)
14. OSTACCHI Glen (BOSTON)
15. WYLIE Ali (U/A)
16. MORRIS Richard (MELIA)
17. QUESTIER Michael (CRAWLEY)
18. MALDOOM Edz (SAXON)
19. ROSE James (NORFOLK ACADEMY)
20. CHU David (LOUTH)
21. DARROUX Steve SMJ)
22. MOLLARD Christopher (SAXON)
23. JENNINGS Chris (PAUL)
24. BENNETT Freddy CAMBRIDGE)
25. PARSONS Thomas (CYRANO)
26. BROSNAN James (PAUL)
27. SCHLINDWEIN Alex (U/A)
28. DODSWORTH Rhys CYRANO)
29. IGALI Joseph (NORFOLK ACADEMY)
30. TOPP Stephen (BOSTON)
31. GUPTA Gaurav (BOSTON)
32. BROADBENT Dale (MAIDSTONE)
The
Men’s Sabre (9)
1.
2.
3=
3=
1.
2.
3=
3=
LUFF Sarah (BIRMINGHAM)
HEALY Laura (ESQUIVE)
EARL Silvia (BIDFORD)
RUSSEN Tracy (NORFOLK)
UK SCHOOL GAMES:
1-4.9.11
Boys Foil (16)
1.
2.
3=
3=
5.
6.
7.
8.
ARCHER Kristjan (ENG)
RATTAN Amol (ENG)
AVRIL Casey (SCO)
WATSON Jack (SCO)
DE SAINTE CROIX Calum (SCO)
CHERITON Kareem (ENG)
RIDSDALE Ethan (WAL)
OSTACCHINI Scott (SCO)
Girls Foil (16)
1.
2.
3=
3=
5.
6.
7.
8.
KING Leah (ENG)
COLLISTER Stephanie (WAL)
CRAIG Alex (ENG)
McDERMOTT Chiara (ENG)
LINEHAM Amy (ENG)
DICKSON Chloe (SCO)
CLARKE Ruth (SCO)
TOMLINSON Elen (SCO)
Boys Epee (16)
1.
2.
3=
3=
5.
6.
7.
8.
FREWIN James (ENG)
THOMSON Campbell (SCO)
EDWARDS Tom (WAL)
PINKERTON Steven (NIR)
RIDLEY Sam (ENG)
SIMPSON Jamie (NIR)
ARNOLD Daniel (WAL)
LITTLER Joe (ENG)
Girls Epee (16)
Men’s Epee (36)
1.
2.
3=
3=
5.
6.
7.
8.
NG Elizabeth (ALDERSHOT)
TULEN Carmel (NED)
KWOK Rachel (ACADEMY)
TULEN Lola (NED)
McDERMOTT Chiara (CRAWLEY)
TOWNSEND Dawn (SWAY)
KWOK Charlie (A&C)
NICHOLS Zoe (CENTRAL LONDON)
NICHOLLS Thomas (CHILWELL)
BALES Michael (CADS)
GILLAN Jason (UEA)
HENSON Alex (NORFOLK)
Women’s Sabre (8)
1.
2.
3=
3=
5.
6.
7.
8.
1. SANCHEZ-LETHEM Paul (BRIXTON)
2. OOSTHOF Colin [NED)
3= DALTON Matthew (HUNTINGDON)
3= PHILLIPSON Andrew (CADS)
5. SINCLAIR Aml (BRIXTON)
6. BRYAN Wayne (CADS)
7. BOLTON Matt (FRISBY)
8. LEITHES Alexander (LTFC)
9. BROWN Andrew [HUNTINGDON)
10. STEINER Adam (GADASKI)
11. TOWNSON Paul (CADS)
12. CHAMBERLAIN Martin
(NORTHAMPTON)
13. RODRIGUEZ Jamie (AFFONDO)
14. COLETTI Emmanuel (BEDFORD)
15. TOOLIS Thomas (HAVERSTOCK)
16. LINDGREN Carl [SWE)
SWORD
1. STEINER Christine (GADASKI)
2. TULEN Carmel [NED)
3= GOODLASS Molly (YORKSHIRE
PENTATHLON)
3= PHILLIPSON Elsa (CADS)
5. TULEN Lola [NED)
6. SPINLOVE Eryn (BIRMINGHAM UNI)
7. TURNBULL Fiona (CAMBRIDGESHIRE)
8. ONIYE Marg (LTFC)
Women’s Foil (22)
1.
2.
3=
3=
5.
6.
7.
8.
48
Women’s Epee (18)
DENHAM Toni (ENG)
CHANG Caitlin (ENG)
LAMBERT Justine (SCO)
MACKINNON Leonora (ENG)
RADFORD Amy (ENG)
JAMES Miratha (WAL)
WOODROW Megan (NIR)
McSORLEY Eimilie (NIR)
Boys Sabre (16)
AIYENURO Soji (ENG)
BOTELER Harry (ENG)
SLANKARD Kirk (ENG)
VEITCH Robert (SCO)
HERING Michael (SCO)
ARTESI Gianfranco (ENG)
SCOTT Stuart (SCO)
DOWSE Niall (NIR)
Girls Sabre (16)
1.
2.
3=
3=
5.
6.
7.
8.
ITZKOWITZ Aliya (ENG)
SOSNOWSKA Izabela (ENG)
CARSON Victoria (SCO)
RUAUX Emily (ENG)
SPENCE Niamh (NIR)
JONES Libby (WAL)
YATES Georgia (ENG)
HARRIS Philippa (WAL)
FOIL – HO ME
ACADEMY YOUTH CUP:
2.7.11
U14 Boys (14)
1. PAGES Thomas [FRA]
2. DEERING Max [126]
3= BACHELARD-BAKAL Alexander
[ACADEMY]
3= CHAYENKO Nicolas [FRA]
5. HOBSON Finn [ST. BENEDICTS]
6. KAMERON Nikolas [FIGHTING FIT]
7. CARSE Hector [ACADEMY]
8. BOST Benoit [FRA]
U14 Girls (4)
1. TANG Sophie [FRA]
2. GELPEROWIC Marianne [FRA]
U12 Boys (5)
1. DE-ALMEDIA Dominic [FIGHTING
FIT]
2. DUFEU Elie [FRA]
U12 Girls (4)
1. CAMPBELL Yasmin [FIGHTING FIT]
2. FOOTE Camena [ACADEMY]
U10 Boys (10)
1. UDRZAL Benjamin [NEWHAM]
2. PLATONOV-GARDNER Arthur
[EATON SQUARE]
3= DELIBES Andreas [FRA]
3= MACKINLAY Samuel [FIGHTING FIT]
U10 Girls (5)
1. MOUAZIZ Kamilia-Amel [NEWHAM]
2. MOND Amanda [FINCHLEY]
EPEE – HO ME
BEXLEY OPEN: 11.6.11
Men (59)
1.
2.
3=
3=
5.
TREDGER Dudley (CRAWLEY)
HARDING Tim (REDHILL & REIGATE)
BRYAN Wayne (CADS)
ORGE Alp (LTFC)
EDWARDS Tom (REDHILL &
REIGATE)
6. WEST Howard (LTFC)
7. NICHOLS Harrison (REDHILL &
REIGATE)
8. LINDGREN Carl (SWE)
9. NORRIS Andrew (CHICHESTER]
10. DAVENPORT Robin
(SCARAMOUCHE)
11. ASH Tom (BATH)
12. CHARMAN Joe (GRAVESHAM)
13. GIBBS Matthew (BEXLEY)
14. LEITHES Alex (LTFC)
15. JORDAN Philip (U/A)
16. LOWE David (STREATHAM)
17. FOLKES-MILLER Caine (CADS)
18. NICHOLLS Taran (REDHILL &
REIGATE)
19. BEASLEY Paul (EASTBOURNE)
20. LOWE Tom (STREATHAM)
21. HARKER Mike (CRAWLEY)
22. SMITH Oliver (CRAWLEY)
23. MILLER Will (EASTBOURNE)
24. WALKER Paul (STREATHAM)
25. BEADLE Peter (CHICHESTER)
26. PINK Simon (TUNBRIDGE WELLS)
27. BROADBENT Dale (MAIDSTONE)
28. CHRISP Tom (WINGERWORTH)
29. STUART Josh (REDHILL & REIGATE]
30. KARLIN David (FRENCH FENCING
FACTORY)
31. EDWARDS Alex (REDHILL &
REIGATE)
32. GIDDINGS Steven (WIMBLEDON)
Women (13)
1.
2.
3=
3=
5.
6.
7.
8.
HENSON Julie (NORFOLK)
ELYS Laycy (CITY)
GLOGOWSKI Maribel (U/A)
EARL Silvia (HUNTINGDON)
CLARKE Heather (WICKFORD)
EASTER Helen (MAIDSTONE)
CRANK Tara (TIGER)
CLEMENTS Maxine
(EASTBOURNE)
BILL HOSKYNS OPEN:
2/3.7.11
Men (78)
1. BURKHALTER Marc [OXFORD UNI]
2. THOMAS Gareth [TIGER
SWORDS]
3= HARRIS James [PLYMOUTH]
3= HENDERSON Matthew
[EDINBURGH]
5. HAY Chris [WELLINGTON]
6. FARMER Alex [NEWCASTLE]
7. RIDLEY Sam [NEWCASTLE]
8. SCRIMSHAW Jason [LTFC]
9. EDWARDS Tom [REDHILL &
REIGATE]
10. NORTHAM Stephen
[BIRMINGHAM]
11. HARRINGTON James [CARDIFF]
12. GORDON Adam [EDINBURGH]
13= EDGAR Matt [BATH]
13= PINKERTON Stephen [TRURO]
15. RIAHI Farhad [HAVERSTOCK]
16. HORNBY Edgar [EGHAM]
17. BEAUMONT Edward [READING]
18. MONYARD Alexander [MELIA]
19. FROMONT Georges [BEL]
20. MILLER Daniel [RAVEN]
21. GUNPUT Satya [OXFORD UNI]
22. GALTREY Robert [HARROGATE]
23. NICHOLLS Taran [REDHILL &
REIGATE]
24. BULLWARD Alistair [U/A]
25. SANCHEZ-LETHEM Paul
[BRIXTON]
26. GREALEY William [TIGER]
27. ROWE-HAYNES Max
[APOCALYPSE]
28. BARNES Jahmal [BRIXTON]
29. DOMEK Stephen [HAVERSTOCK]
30. ROWLAND Matt [STOURPORT]
31. HOULIHAN Jonathon [WARWICK]
32. FOLKES-MILLER Caine
[HAVERSTOCK]
Women (32)
1. McGEEVER Jenny [WELLINGTON]
2. POWELL Elisabeth [MELIA]
3= BARRINGTON Georgina
[PLYMOUTH]
3= MACKINNON Leonora [MALVERN]
5. BOWERS Jacquelynne [LTFC]
6. HARVEY Abigail [NEWCASTLE]
7. DENHAM Toni [WELLINGTON]
8. RADFORD Amy [U/A]
9. MAYLE Rebecca [MALVERN]
10. GREETHAM Sadie [HARROGATE]
11. DACK Helen [NORTHUMBRIA]
12. GALTREY Jodie [HARROGATE]
13. SUMMERS Francesca [MALVERN]
14. KETTLE Gabby [MELIA]
15. GOODLASS Molly [YORKSHIRE
PENTATHLON]
16. WIVELL Madeleine [HARROGATE]
Boys (21)
1.
2.
3=
3=
5=
5=
7.
8.
JORDAN Owen [FRISBY]
WHITELAW Adam [ELTHAM COL]
LUCAS Tyler [U/A]
MORRIS George [CHESTER]
DULAC Joseph [ESCRIME]
STEVENS Joshua [GLASTONBURY]
DICKSON Thomas [NEWCASTLE]
HARDWICK Nathan [BIRCHFIELD]
Results
Girls (11)
1.
2.
3=
3=
SIMMS-LYMN Tia [PLYMOUTH]
JEAL Anna [HARROGATE]
HIDE Victoria [HARROGATE]
LAWSON Danielle [RGS
WORCESTER]
CAMBRIDGE OPEN AIR:
Men (47)
1. JANCA Michal (N/A)
2. PETRAITIS Vaidotas
(HAVERSTOCK)
3= BULLWARD Alistair (YORK)
3= DOMEK Stephen (CAMBRIDGE)
5. NORRIS Paul (CAMBRIDGE)
6. TOOLIS Thomas (HAVERSTOCK)
7. TOWNSON Paul (CADS)
8. KRANZ Mike (CAMBRIDGE)
9. LOWE Tom (STREATHAM)
10. IQBAL Adeel (GADASKI)
11. STEINER Adam (GADASKI)
12. BRYAN Wayne (CADS)
13. HARDING Tim (REDHILL)
14. LEITHES Alexander (LTFC)
15. PAGE Andrew (CADS)
16. NORRIS Andrew (CHICHESTER)
Women (12)
1.
2.
3=
3=
5.
50
The
SWORD
SPINLOVE Eryn (BIRMINGHAM)
STEINER Christine (GADASKI)
JANCOVA Jitka (N/A)
JARROLD Heather (CADS)
ELYS Laycy (CITY)
6. CLARKE Heather (WICKFORD)
7. GLOGOWSKI Maribel (LTFC)
8. ROVESTI Elena (MAIDSTONE)
ARNOLD LPJS: 10.7.11
Boys U17 (3)
1. GROVER Elliott (Eltham Col]
2. GALTREY Robert (Harrogate)
Boys U15 (7)
1.
2.
3=
3=
STEED Oliver (SKIPTON)
ANDREWS Tim (PLYMOUTH]
SWINBANK Felix (FRISBY)
PRIOR Cameron (GRAVESHAM)
Boys U13 (13)
1.
2.
3=
3=
5.
6.
7.
8.
JORDAN Owen (FRISBY)
MORRIS George (CHESTER)
WHITELAW Adam (ELTHAM COL)
LUCAS Tyler (GRAVESHAM)
HUGHES Andrew (ELTHAM COL)
DULAC Joseph (ESCRIME)
DICKSON Thomas (NEWCASTLE)
RUSSELL James (ALDERSHOT)
Boys U11 (7)
1. ANDREWS Benjamin (PLYMOUTH)
2. PAUL Dominic (STOCKPORT &
DIDSBURY)
3= BELL Jack (NEWCASTLE)
3= GARWOOD-WATKINS Joshua
(BRIXTON)
Girls U17 (2)
1. GREETHAM Sadie (HARROGATE)
2. RUSSELL Charlotte (ALDERSHOT)
Girls U15 (6)
1. BOYLE Hannah (SHEFFIELD
BUCANEERS)
2. SHEEHAN Zoe (SWINDON)
3= DULAC Emma (ESCRIME)
3= BLACKWOOD Eleanor (ACTIV8)
Girls U13 (6)
1.
2.
3=
3=
LAWSON Danielle (RGS WORCESTER)
HIDE Victoria (HARROGATE)
HIDE Amelia (HARROGATE)
VINCENT Hannah (STOCKPORT &
DIDSBURY)
Girls U11 (6)
1. HEAPS Jasmine (BLACKPOOL)
2. ANDREWS Emma (PLYMOUTH)
3= GRIMSHAW Grace (STOCKPORT
& DIDSBURY)
3= JEAL Laura (HARROGATE)
SABRE – HO ME
HERTFORDSHIRE OPEN:
12.6.11
Men (45)
1. GANN Henry (BRENTWOOD)
2. CRUTCHETT Anthony
(BRENTWOOD)
3= AIYENURO Soji (CAMDEN)
3= SLANKARD Kirk (CITY)
5. RATNESWARAN Maiyuran
(IMPERIAL)
6. CLARKE Michael (TRURO)
7. WILLIAMS Nick (NLSC)
8. NICKEL Joe (CITY)
9. FOTHERBY Will (XIPHOI)
10. NICHOLLS Thomas (CHILWELL)
11. BALES Michael (CADS)
12. MILLER Curtis (CAMDEN)
13. DONALD Simon (BRENTWOOD)
14. WEBB Jonathan (CAMDEN)
15. AMSALEM Rubin (CAMDEN)
16. LAWRENCE Chris (BEDFORD)
Women (31)
1.
2.
3=
3=
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
ITZKOWITZ Aliya (CAMDEN)
CARSON Victoria (CITY)
COLLIER Ellie (LAZLOS)
SOSNOWSKA Izabela (CAMDEN)
HUTCHISON Jane (BATH)
CREECHAN Louise (TRURO)
McWILLIAMS Maggie (TRURO)
RIDGEON Verity (SCIMITAR)
MORRIS Jenny (PORTSMOUTH &
SOUTHSEA)
10. McMILLAN Jennifer (ROLLO)
11. HOOLE Lisa (CHILWELL)
12. POTTER Emma (BIRMINGHAM
CITY UNI)
13. GLADDISH Laura (MX)
14. HOBDAY Tina (NLSC)
15. LASANCE Rachel (TAMESIDE)
16. JELFS Beth (IMPERIAL)
Results
The
SWORD
51