Good afternoon everyone
I hope those of you aged 18 and over have enjoyed your first few days back fencing indoor. I understand this has been a frustrating time but we remain ever hopeful things are on an upwards trajectory and we are now back on the piste permanently.
As the fencing landscape opens up there are always new things to talk about and hopefully new points of interest for all of the fencing community in Scotland.
A couple of weeks back we held the first domestic competition of 2022 in Scotland where athletes from as young as 11 through to 17 were competing in a (slightly truncated) Scottish Youth Championships (SYC). You can watch back the finals of each weapon on the SF Instagram channel but the great news is we have a provisional date for the U20 events as well.
Thanks to the work of President Stan Stoodley and Operations Manager Liz Anderson we are securing Bathgate Academy on Saturday March 19th for the U20 SYC’s. As ever, if you would like to volunteer as a referee, social media crew or event crew please do contact Liz on admin@scottish-fencing.com
It was also a great week for the many Scottish Athletes named as part of the GBR teams for the upcoming Cadet & Junior European Championships in Serbia. You can see the British Team announcements here and all the athletes go with our best wishes for success - a huge congratulations to all the young athletes and their clubmates and coaches who helped put them on a GBR team.
Last week, we also released the first of a number of roles related to the upcoming Commonwealth Championships. These roles will be remunerated and the Performance Consultant role is live here – In the next few days we will also release the role profiles and application process for those interested in coaching roles within the Scottish Team heading to London in August.
We all hope everyone enjoys the Stirling Sword this weekend, a great event for those young and “senior”! There is also the Foundation for Scottish Fencing YDS event on 6th February and then the Scottish Open (enter here) on 26/27 at Inverclyde. Lots of fencing coming up and hopefully a chance for all our members to get back on the piste.
Also, a final reminder to all members to please complete the British Fencing equality survey issued by email recently. We are keen to have as high a representation from Scotland complete the survey as it directly influences the number of equality and inclusion projects we can deliver nationwide. Please do check the email inbox all your BF comms go to and fill the form in if you can.
Finally, thank you again to everyone for your patience during the restrictions. We know it was tough but it would be great to see images from your own fencing or your clubs as to how much members are enjoying their fencing again. Please do tag us on our social media channels directly or use the hashtag #ForgingTheFuture and we can find you.
George
George Liston
Chair – Scottish Fencing
