SYC 2024 Results

Congratulations to all the fencers who took part in this years 2024 Scottish Youth Championships.

For some this was their first event so well done in taking that first step in competitive fencing.

Before we list the results a big thank you to all the volunteers from Sancroft Blades who supported the event. to all the volunteer referees and to the parents who cheered on their fencers. Thanks also to Leon Paul Scotland for bringing their equipment stand.

You can find full results for the 2024 SYCs here

Andrew Kettles

Scottish Fencing is sad to announce the loss of another member of the fencing community. Andrew Kettles passed away on Saturday 2 March.

For those that knew Andy there is a Celebration of his life at Stirling Crematorium 22 March at 11am followed by a reception at Tillicoultry Golf Club. Mandy and Calum, Clair and Eilidh have asked for this to be shared so that those who knew Andy as a fencer and who have maybe lost touch can join the family in remembering and celebrating Andy’s life. All are welcome.

Club & Coach Conference 2024

In partnership with Scottish Archery, a Club & Coach Conference will take place on Saturday 20th April and Sunday 21st April 2024 at the Stirling Court Hotel.

Our Club & Coach Conference aims to give coaches, club volunteers and sport enthusiasts the opportunity to come together to learn, share ideas, network, feel inspired and more knowledgeable & confident across various topics.

We are teaming up with Scottish Archery to deliver a multi-sport event to encourage cross-sport connections and learning.  We believe that there is significant value in this approach and looking forward to welcoming and bringing people together from across the sporting sector.

On the Saturday, there will be workshops delivered on Funding for Clubs & Coachesby Alex Johnston from Spirit of 2012 & Pam Dewar from Sportscotland and Creative Solutions delivered by Victoria Clark and Adrienne Hunter from Active Advantage.

Then on the Sunday it will be over the the wonderful Scottish Sporting Futures (SSF) taking attendees through 3 workshops focusing on: Putting the Person First, Mental Health Informed Practice and Goal Setting.

Further information can be found on the link below, along with the ticket prices which for SF members are £45 for a 1 day ticket and £65 for the weekend ticket - get them quick before they go!! Note: to complete the purchase of your ticket, you will need to create an account on the Scottish Archery Just Go Membership system but this can all be done in less than 5 minutes.

BOOK HERE

If you have any questions get in touch with Daniel Baker, the Club & Community Development Manager at Scottish Fencing on daniel.baker@scottish-fencing.com

Chief Operating Officer and Head of Pathways

Following a competitive recruitment process, Scottish Fencing is very pleased to confirm the appointment of Alan Martin as Chief Operating Officer and Head of Pathways.  Alan joins us from Scottish Archery, where he was Head of Pathways, and will take post on 1 April .  Alan has gained many years of experience across a range of sports including football, hockey – and a previous stint with Scottish Fencing.

A picture of Alan Martin smartly dressed in a black shirt

Alan commented on his appointment: 

“I’m looking forward to engaging with the Fencing community and seeing all the great work that is happening across the country, it will also be good to reconnect with those that are still involved from my previous time with Scottish Fencing. We are about to enter a really critical period of setting the strategy for the next 4 years and beyond so working with the members to shape this is really important. I’m excited about the role and the potential the sport of fencing has within Scotland.”

 

 We look forward to welcoming Alan into the Staff Team.

Roberto Simeone Workshops - March 2024

Forth Valley and Braveheart fencing clubs are pleased to once again welcome Italian Epee Maestro Roberto Simeone to Scotland on the weekend 9/10 of March. Roberto will be visiting the clubs to deliver a workshop on the theme of attacking. The workshop is open to epeeists from all clubs, though will be most suitable for those who are cadets (U17) and older.

 

Here is a brief outline on what Roberto is planning to cover:

 

One time attack:

- Feint and désengagement

- attack au fer 

- attack on time

 Two time attack:

- First time on hand second on…

- counter time

The session will be as interactive as possible and is kindly offered on a pay what you can basis. If you wish to gain additional benefit then you are able to book a private lesson with Roberto after the workshop for £30.

 

On the 9th the session will be delivered from 2pm at Forth Valley Fencing Club in Stirling and on the 10th from 3pm at Braveheart Fencing Club in Glasgow and there will be plenty of time after the session for open bouting so we can put what we learn into practice.

 

To learn a bit more about Roberto and to secure your spot at the workshop and book a lesson slot please visit Robertos website here: Roberto Simeone

 

We are looking forward to seeing you all soon.

2024 BYCs Regional Qualifying Event - East

The 2024 British Youth Championships (BYCs) will take place in the EIS, Sheffield on the 4th-6th May. Qualification is through the Regional Qualifying Event (RQE), which for Scotland East will be run by Don McKenzie.

There is competition for Girls and Boys in Foil, Epée and Sabre at four age-groups (U12, U14, U16 & U18), so 24 categories. Sometimes qualification includes a regional competition but often the number of entries does not support this and qualification is automatic. The entry fee is £11 (most of which goes straight to British Fencing) and must be paid before the closing date of Thursday 22nd February.

To enter, please contact Don McKenzie on 07732 781464 or don.a.mckenzie@btinternet.com with the following information:

  • Fencer’s name

  • Club

  • BF number 

  • Contact details (parent/guardian with contact number)

  • Sex

  • Age-group

  • Weapon

Don will provide details of how to pay the qualifier entry fee on contact.

Please note that it is the responsibility of the fencer or parent/guardian to ensure that the fencer has the appropriate BF membership. Once the details of qualifiers have been sent to British Fencing, they will invite qualifiers to enter the Finals (BYCs) via Sport80.

There is no option to fence out of age-group, and fencers who have qualified for a bye still have to enter the RQE and pay the entry fee.

Details of the BYCs can be found here https://www.britishfencing.com/2024-british-youth-championships/

Cadet and Junior Commonwealth Fencing Championships 2024 - Support team

The Cadet and Junior Commonwealth Fencing Championships are taking place between the 12-19 July 2024 in Christchurch, New Zealand. 

Scottish Fencing are waiting for confirmation of plans for the event from the organisers. At this stage we are asking for applications from anyone who may wish to take on one of the following roles;
- Team Coach
- Team Manager 
- Welfare Officer 

For further information on the requirements of each role, please click on the links below.

Team Coach

Welfare Officer

To apply please return the application via email along with the equality monitoring form to admin@scottish-fencing.com.

The closing date for applications is Noon 12 February 2024.

George F Smith 1938 - 2023 Obituary

A black and white picture of George Smith holding a mask and foil

    

George Smith, who died aged  85 just before Christmas 2023, was a man of many and varied interests and accomplishments. He did his National Service in the Argylls, seeing action in Cyprus during the civil unrest there, and becoming a champion shot with the Bren gun. After the army he continued his love of shooting at the local Rifle and Pistol Club, owning a small armoury of firearms until it was all  shut down in the aftermath of the Dunblane massacre. George enjoyed travel, cooking and entertaining, telling stories, and generally fixing things – he may not have been able to mend a broken blade but he could certainly make a trophy out of it, and not just one either. In short if you wanted anything done George would be more than helpful.

  But it is as a stalwart of Scottish Fencing, or more properly, of the Scottish Amateur Fencing Union, its predecessor, that he will be best remembered. George was a very neat left-handed fencer, technically precise and, in his prime, fast and inventive enough to defeat many opponents. His true metier, however, was in coaching.

He had learned his craft at the hands of the redoubtable Christine Tolland in Glasgow, a teacher who would accept nothing less than perfection. Full of enthusiasm, George was able to start a beginners' class in fencing in his home town of Stirling, albeit with a very limited supply of kit and restricted to foil. The class grew to the point where the members decided to promote the class to being a SAFU registered club. Word spread and a small, but select, number of existing fencers who had recently moved to Stirling joined the club. Soon all 3 weapons were being practised and taught;  teachers brought their pupils along; members were entering, and occasionally winning, competitions. The Junior Championships, Section Championships and school pupils' competitions proved valuable avenues for development.  As the club prospered it attracted more and more members, both beginners and experienced fencers several of whom proceded to take coaching qualifications themselves, always encouraged by George who himself contined to coach both in the Stirling club and further afield. After he retired from work as Scottish manager for Semperit Tyres he joined the British Academy of Fencing, the professional body for fencing coaches, and extended his coaching over a wider field, both geographically and socially – including young offenders, pentathletes, university students – pupils of all ages and levels of skill. Stirling Fencing Club remained his base and became one of the premier clubs in Scotland. Many of George’s pupils went on to fence for Scotland at school/youth, junior and senior levels, and at all weapons. 

Club members found that their talents were in demand for administration, from positions within the club to ones at Section, Schools and National level. George himself was recognised by the sport, being awarded the Crosnier Coaching award in 1987 and more recently the Sword of Merit for services to fencing in Scotland.

The very existence of the Stirling club, albeit under a new name to reflect its expansion, is testament to George's enthusiasm and his enduring legacy.

 by Neil Melville

Wheelchair Fencing Coach CPD

In partnership with British Fencing, we will be hosting a Wheelchair Fencing Coach CPD session on Saturday 23rd March.

If you are a coach who has an interest in coaching wheelchair fencing, or if you would like to support your club to welcome wheelchair and seated fencers this session will be valuable. 

The details of the session are

Date - Saturday 23rd March 2024

Venue - West Fife Fencing Club, Main Street, Wellwood, Dunfermline, KY12 0NR

Timings - 10am - 4.30pm

Cost - SF members £10 per person, Non SF members £15 per person

To register, please click here.