Scottish Fencing would like to extend our congratulations to Sam McLellan, who recently passed his FIE Sabre referring exam in Budapest.
After a lengthy process, the qualification will enable Sam to referee Sabre at everything from Junior World Cups to Senior Grand Prix’s. Sam is an active an passionate member of the Scottish Fencing referees Advisory group and is keen to use his experience to help develop and mentor other aspiring referees in Scotland.
Sam said:
“I am very pleased to have passed the exam, and do it alongside my close pal, Euan. The long process to the licence requires a lot of mentorship and support. I am particularly grateful to the EFC mentor, Vasil Milenchev; British Fencing’s pathway led by Adrian Speakman; Patrick Jennings for his Sabristic support; the (legendary) referee manager Nickie Bailey for her unwavering help; colleagues at Scottish fencing for their strong strategic focus on officiating and referee development; and the fairly awesome people who mentor me quietly and privately from the sidelines. They know who they are. I accept this licence as an invitation to officially keep learning and progressing in international refereeing: not as an end in itself. It merely marks, in my view, the end of the beginning.”
