Sam McLellan has won the Sportscotland Young Official of the Year award. The award is part of the annual Sportscotland Coaching, Officiating and Volunteering awards which aim to celebrate the incredible coaches, officials and volunteers who are making a difference across all sports in Scotland.
In 2022 Sam became, at 22, the youngest FIE certified sabre fencing referee in the world. One of only four current referees at this level in the UK, in his first season as a full international referee Sam was selected to referee the final bouts at U20 and U17 World Cup events in Germany, Spain and Hungary, and at the 2022 Senior Commonwealth Championships and European Veterans Championships. He was invited to join the senior officials team at the 2023 USA National Championships, the biggest fencing event in the world, refereeing across all events for ten days. He has refereed finals at all the major Open events in the UK and at the Senior British Championships.
Sam also volunteers his time as a referee at age group events, working long days to support young fencers. He runs referee education to support the development of officials in Scotland and has been a key member of the Scottish Fencing Referees Advisory Group. Sam joined the Scottish Fencing Board of Directors in 2023.
Sam's dedication to continuous improvement led to his success in gaining FIE certification, passing a rigorous written and practical exam after multiple assessments at international events. The opportunity to sit this exam is limited to a handful of candidates per year, and only open to those identified by NGBs as high potential officials. Sam is now working towards a second FIE certification in Foil.
The award winners received their awards at an evening in Glasgow City Chambers on Thursday 2nd November. This was the first time that fencing has been recognised at the awards. Scottish Fencing would like to congratulate Sam on this fantastic achievement. Across the various categories, Fencing received ten nominations. Scottish Fencing would like to thank the community for their engagement
