The 2021 Scottish Fencing Annual General Meeting will take place on Monday 13th December 2021 at 6pm via video conference.
It will of course be free to attend for all SF members and we would love to see you all for a pre-Christmas celebration of what has been a “different” but “significant” year for Fencing in Scotland.
You can register to attend (or to note your apologies) using this link.
All my board and staff colleagues hope to see you all there.
George Liston
Chair - Scottish Fencing
Johnston regains British title.
Calum Johnston (Edinburgh FencingClub) is British Epee Champion after defeating Olympic Modern Pentathlon gold medalist Joseph Choong at the Sports Dock this afternoon.
Calum dropped one poule match to be seeded 10th going into the DEs and proceed to cut through his side of the draw 15-10, 15-13, 15-3 and 15-11 to reach the final where he faced off against the Team GB Tokyo medalist Choong, winning 15-11.
Jonathan Woollard (Edinburgh Fencing Club, 8th) had a very productive day making the L8 putting out fellow Scot Campbell Thomson (Brixton, 10th) in the L16, before he fell to British Number 1 Phillip Marsh, who also dispatched Dylan Morrison (Edinburgh Fencing Club, 22nd) in the L32.
Alex Papadopoulos (Edinburgh Fencing Club, 19th), Jamie Firth (Edinburgh Fencing Club, 20th) made the L32 while Isaac McKerr (Edinburgh Fencing Club, 53rd) and Tom Hoffman (Edinburgh Fencing Club 58th) who put out former Olympian Hugh Kernohan (Salle Paul, 71st) in the L128, went out in the L64. Robbie Brown (Edinburgh Fencing Club, 82nd))also made the L128.
In the women’s epee Georgina Usher (Salle Paul) continued her remarkable return to competition by winning a bronze medal. Like Calum she battled her way from being seeded 10th coming out of the poules to the podium.
Alex Stewart (Edinburgh Fencing Club, 29th) made the L32 with Lucy Grant (University of Dundee, 38th), Dana Fielding (West Fife, 53rd), Keira Papadopoulos (Edinburgh Fencing Club, 56th), Voe Counter (Edinburgh Fencing Club, 59th) and Rachel Lever (University of Nottingham, 60th).
In the men’s foil Jaimie Cook (Salle Holyrood) won silver.
The 16 year old had an incredible run to the final of the men’s foil and came within a match of adding to his Junior and U23 British titles.
His poule performance earned him a bye to the L64 where a win over fellow Scotland teammate Alexander Jones (Salle Boston, 61st) started a run of victories that carried him all the way to the silver medal.
Junior international Joe Donaghue (Fencers Club London, 7th) also had a very good day. Again good poule results had earned him a bye to the L64 and he battled through the next 3 DEs to claim a L8. Another fantastic result.
Continuing the theme of youthful success cadet Callum Penman (Salle Holyrood, 9th) blitzed his poule to be second seed going into the DEs, before losing out in the L16.
Elsewhere in the men’s event Keith Cook )Salle Holyrood, 18th) made the L32 with Jonathan Woollard (Edinburgh Fencing Club, 39th), Nye Ulferts-Kilpatrick (Salle Holyrood, 52nd), and Shaun Alderman (Salle Holyrood, 59th) all making the L64.
Mike McKay (Sheffield Buccaneers, 72nd), Michael Ramage (Salle Holyrood, 77th), Dylan Roberts (Salle Boston, 81st), Nick Dootson (Salle Holyrood, 88th) and Iain Fielding (West Fife, 97th) all went out in the L128.
In the women’s event Chloe Dickson (Edinburgh Fencing Club, 7th) was the highest placed Scottish fencer as she clinched a L8 finish. Chloe was seeded 10tth out of the poules and then won impressively 15-1, 15-3 and 15-11 to reach the L8 where she lost 12-7.
Sarah Barrett (West Fife, 14th) and Zoe Sudderick (Edinburgh Fencing Club, 16th) made the L16 with Katie Smith (Edinburgh Fencing Club, 17th), Mhairi McLaughlin (Salle Holyrood 22nd), Hannah Fielding (Edinburgh Fencing Club, 30th) and Chloe Campbell (Forth Valley Fencing, 32nd) all reaching the L32.
Alex Htet-Marshall (Edinburgh Fencing Club, 53rd) and Ellen Buckley (Edinburgh Fencing Club, 54th) both lost out in the L64.
Jessica Corby (Leon Paul Project) collected the fourth Scottish medal of the weekend as she won bronze in the women’s sabre.
After a difficult start in the poule Jessica rallied to progress 15-9, 15-13 and 15-14 through her DEs to reach the semi final where she lost out to eventual winner Caitlin Maxwell.
Lucy Higham (Salle Ossian, 12th) and Elsie Llewellyn (Sancroft Blades, 13th) reached the L16 while Rosalind Graham (Sancroft Blades, 20th) made the L32.
In the men’s event Rory McLellan (Salle Ossian, 19th) and Ethan Llewellyn (Sancroft Blades, 22nd) progressed as far as the L32.
Running alongside the Senior British Championship was a very well attended Cadet Sabre BRC.
In the women’s event all the Scottish fencers hailed from that sabre hotbed in Perth, Salle Ossian Fencing Club.
Honor Paul (9th) and Sophia Mline (15) were the best placed with L16 finishes. Lucia Paul (19th), Rosie Shaw (20th) and Eve Symons (23rd) made the L32.
In the men’s event 5 Scottish fencers made the L32, Joshua Bryden (Salle Ossian, 18th), Oisin Lindsay-Dorward (Salle Ossian, 26th), Miller Hetherington (Salle Ossian, 27th), Griffin Manning (Edinburgh Fencing Club, 30th) and Calum Kettles (Salle Ossian, 31st).
Hugo Shaw (Salle Ossian, 37th), Brodie MacDonald (West Lothian, 38th) and Guy Lumsden (West Lothian, 40th) all made the L64.
Scottish Fencing would to thank all the fencers, clubs, coaches and parents for all their amazing hard work and dedication. To have over 70 fencers competing in London over the weekend is remarkable.
#ForgingTheFuture
PS - please forgive any errors or omissions and let is know if you spot any. Thank you!
More Medals mined in Manchester!
We come to the end of a very busy fencing weekend with the British Veterans Championship Sabre events and the British Fencing Men’s u23 Epee.
At the veterans event more than a dozen Scottish fencers took to the piste.
Vivien Frith (Shakespeare Swords) claimed a hard fought bronze medal and a gold for her category in the women’s sabre.
Michele Narey (Bath Sword, 6th) and Rosalind Graham (Sancroft Blades, 8th) both made the top 8 with Rosalind also winning the gold in her category.
Yvonne Walls (Salle Ossian, 15th) made the L16 with Lorna Smith (Strathclyde University, 19th) making the L32.
In the men’s event Nick Fletcher (House of Sabre, 5th) and Mo Mansoori (Kingston, 6th) we’re the highest finishers both making the L8.
Steven Ferguson (Salle Ossian, 14th), Richard Foster (Exeter City, 15th) and Kevin Mline (West Lothian, 16th) all made the L16, while Keith Davidson (Glasgow West End, 21st), Alex Pearson (Salle Ossian, 22nd), Brent Myers (Edinburgh Fencing Club, 30th) and Alan Stewart (West Lothian, 32nd) went out in the L32. Tom Jarosz-Cromie (Salle Ossian, 33rd) and Sam McCarlie (West Fife, 43rd) made the L64.
In Hendon at the men’s u23 epee championship Isaac McKerr (Edinburgh Fencing Club 7th) narrowly missed out on a medal losing his L8 to the eventual winner 14-15 to finish 7th. On route he had put out fellow scot, and former Dunblane clubmate Fraser O’Brien (University of Bristol, 51st) in the L64. Dylan Morrison (Edinburgh Fencing Club, 21st) made the L32.
Next weekend promises to be equally as busy as a legion of Scots head to London for the Senior nation championships at the Sports Doc. Hopefully it will bring as many medals back north. “
#ForgingTheFuture
North West Gold Rush!
The Scottish invasion of north west England returned 3 gold medals today.
At the British Veterans Championship at the Manchester Fencing Centre Georgina Usher (Salle Paul) claimed gold in the women’s epee. Georgina dominated all day, winning all her poule fights to be 1st seed going into the DEs. A position she never gave up, winning the final 10-4.
Elsewhere in the women’s epee frequent travel companions and friends Karen Grant (West Fife, 20th) and Maggie Tait (Orkney, 22nd) both made the L32.
Down the road in Liverpool at the British Fencing foil BRC, Ann-Emma Hu (Edinburgh Fencing Club) and Nye Ulferts-Kilpatrick (Salle Holyrood) made it a Scottish gold double.
Nye emerged from two rounds of poules undefeated and proceeded to battle through his DEs to win an exciting final 15-13.
Ann-Emma was seeded 4th after the poules before winning her DEs 15-3, 15-9, 15-5 and 15-8 to reach the final which she won 15-11.
Imogen Cook (Salle Holyrood, 7th) made an excellent L8 while, Thomas Walton (Salle Holyrood 9th), Zoe Wagstaff (Salle Holyrood 9th), Lev-Jac Hu (Edinburgh Fencing Club, 12th), Abigael McVinnie (Salle Holyrood ,14th), David Kelly (Salle Holyrood, 14th) and Soohie Schofield (Firth Valley Fencing, 16th) all made the L16.
In the L32 we had Lauren Byrne (19th), Merryn Ulferts-Kilpatrick (25th), Michael Ramage (25th), Marco Scully (28th) and James Harvey (31st) and then in the L64 there was Euan Drummond Murray (35th) and Joseph Cox (37th) all of whom fence at Salle Holyrood. What an effort!!!
Joseph and Euan went home with gold and silver medals respectively from the secondary competition to take more bling north up the M6.
Before we leave the north west and head south for the sabre action there are still three events at the British Veterans Championship to report on.
First off Paul Stanbridge (Salle Holyrood)won a bronze medal in a highly competitive men’s foil event on Friday.
Shelia Anderson (Glasgow West End, 6th) and Nick Mort (Saxon, 8th) both finished in the L8, with Mike McKay (Sheffield Buccaneers, 9th) making the L16 and Kevin Mline (West Lothian, 30th) falling in the L32.
The men’s epee was very well attended with a L128 being required! Hugh Kernohan (Salle Paul) was the highest placed scot claiming a L16 place to finish 12th.
Niall Campbell finished 31st in what is a rare epee credit for Salle Ossian, fabulous to see.
Malcom Donnie (Glasgow West End, 48th), Andrew Munley (55th) and Brent Myers (Edinburgh Fencing Club, 62nd) made the L64 with Sam McCarlie (West Fife Fencing, 69th) and Alan Stewart (West Lothian Fencing, 72nd) succumbing in the L128.
Leaving the north west for the evening the next of the days results come from the Senior Hamlet Sabre event, which again was very well attended.
Kate Daykin (Salle Ossian) won bronze, narrowly missing out on the final 15-12. A great result.
Jessica Corby (5th) and Elsie Llewellyn (Sancroft Blades, 7th) finished in the top 8.
Rory McLellan (Edinburgh University Fencing Club, 15th) reached the L16, while Giulia Gasparin (Edinburgh Fencing Club, 17th), Rosalind Graham (Sancroft Blades, 21st) and Caitlin Quinn (Salle Ossian, 31st) made the L32.
Hannah Toy (Sancroft Blades, 34th), Julian Ghosh (Camden Fencing Club, 34th), Cerys Manning (University of Glasgow, 35th) and Ethan Llewellyn (Sancroft Blades, 42nd) all went out in the L64. Jack Geddes (Salle Ossian, 72nd) and Andy Pearson (Sancroft Blades, 79th) bowed out in the L128.
The final event of the day was the British Fencing U23 Women’s Epee Championship at the Leon Paul centre in Hendon.
There were only two Scottish competitors (although some more are based in Scotland) taking part.
Rachel Lever (University of Nottingham) reached the L16 to finish 10th and Dana Fielding (West Fife Fencing) went out in the L64 to finish 46th.
What a weekend - talk about #ForgingTheFuture…
Scottish Fencing is delighted to confirm the appointment of Clare Queen as the Organisation’s first ever Head of Pathways and Community Change.
Clare joins Scottish Fencing from Scottish Golf where she was Head of Performance for 3 years, having joined in 2014. Previously a Professional Golfer on the Women’s European Tour for more than 7 years, Clare brings a wealth of experience and expertise to Scottish Fencing.
Clare will join Scottish Fencing on November 29th and had this to say about her appointment.
“I am really delighted to be joining the team at Scottish fencing and excited about the challenge of working in a new sport.I am looking forward to meeting the fencing community and working with them to continue the development of fencing in Scotland.
Scottish Fencing CEO Vincent Bryson was delighted to confirm Clare’s appointment. “It’s great to have someone of Clare’s calibre join the organisation. She has so much experience from being a Pro Golfer, developing talent at Scottish Golf and as an Active Schools Coordinator. I am looking forward to having her pick up both the Pathways element of her role alongside the Community Change and Inclusion work we are committed to. It’s set to be an exciting time. I’m certain the Fencing community will look forward to speaking and engaging with Clare when she joins us at the end of November”.
Scottish Fencing Director of HR Sheila Anderson coordinated the recruitment process. “We were pleased to interview four strong applicants for the role. With a small staff team, we look to recruit people who have the skills to take our strategy forward and the flexibility to work on a broad range of projects at one time. Clare’s work in the small team at Women’s Golf and on performance pathways with Scottish Golf brings us the skills and adaptability we require. I am delighted she is joining and am confident she will be a strong addition to our current team.”
Scottish Fencing Chair George Liston said “I am delighted that Clare is joining us and her personal experience across the performance spectrum from an elite athlete to developing and leading Performance programmes will be a great addition to our staff team as we embark on an ambitious programme of work to both develop young athletes who sought out our sport and to make fencing accessible to communities across Scotland who may not otherwise engage with sport. I look forward to working with Clare through exciting times ahead.”
This weekend saw senior action for men’s foil and epee.
At the Elite Epee Series, Campbell Thomson (Brixton) was highest placed Scottish fencer battling through 4 DEs to narrowly miss out on a medal finishing 5th.
Calum Johnston (Edinburgh Fencing Club) was the top seed coming out of the poules before bowing out in the L32 to finish 17th. Tom Hoffman (Edinburgh Fencing) also made the L32 to finish 24th.
Callum Sutherland (35th, Elgin Duelist), Jamie Firth (38th, Edinburgh Fencing Club) and Hugh Kernohan (41st, Salle Paul) all made the L64.
Two Scottish fencers were representing Great Britain at the Senior Foil FIE Satellite in Zagreb.
Joe Donaghue (Fencers Club London) finished a very good 35th. He won all his Poule fights and got a bye to L64 where he unfortunately lost out. Alexander Jones (Salle Boston) just missed the cut after the poules to finish 115th.
Next weekend the Special Correspondent is going to be very busy. Tournaments for Veterans, Cadet, u23s galore. Please tag us on your socials so we can re-share and of course, enjoy your Fencing!
#ForgingTheFuture
Champion!
Jaimie Cook (Salle Holyrood) added the British U23 Foil title to his British U20 title in Hendon this afternoon.
Jaimie went the entire day undefeated…
Seeded 3rd coming out of the poules, he battled through to the final where he fenced fellow Scot Joe Donaghue (Fencers Club London). Joe had also went unbeaten in the poules and then won a succession of tight DEs (15-13, 15-14, 15-14, 15-14) to reach the final. In the final Jaimie claimed a 15-7 victory to become a double British Champion.
Alexander Jones (Salle Boston) made the L16 to finish 15th after defeating Callum Penman (Salle Holyrood) in the L32, who finished 19th. Nye Ulferts-Kilpatrick (Salle Holyrood) also made the L32 to finish 22nd.
Dylan Roberts (41st, Salle Boston), Michael Ramage (45th, Salle Holyrood) and Alexander Brincklow (51st, Salle Holyrood) all made the L64.
This Saturdays action saw a legion of 15 young sabeurers in action at the Stratford Cadet Sabre event and 2 foilists at the women’s British U23 Championships.
In Shakespeare country, Salle Ossian’s Honor Paul (5th) and Joshua Bryden (7th) both battled through two rounds of poules and several tough DEs to make the L8. A great performance from both young fencers.
Lucia Paul (12th) and Sophia Milne (16th), both Salle Ossian, finished in the L16, while Rosie Shaw (19th, Salle Ossian), Eve Symons (21st, Salle Ossain), Oisin Lindsay-Dorward (23rd, Salle Ossain) and Thea Todd (25th, West Lothian Fencing Club) made the L32.
Miller Hetherington (34th, Salle Ossain), Hugo Shaw (36th, Salle Ossain), Guy Lumsden (37th, West Lothian West Club), Brodie MacDonald (47th, West Lothian Fencing Club), Griffin Manning (52nd, Edinburgh Fencing Club), Calum Kettles (56th, Salle Ossain) and Dara Gristwood (58th, West Lothian Fencing Club) all made the L64.
Scottish Fencing would to applaud all the fencers, parents and coaches for all their commitment, hard work and dedication.
In Hendon at the British Fencing u23 women’s foil Mhairi McLaughlin (18th, Salle Holyrood) and Hannah Fielding (20th, Edinburgh Fencing Club) both lost out in the L32. Mhairi was v3 d3 in the poules before bowing out 15-7 while Hannah was v2 d4 in the poules before being edged out 15-12 in the L32.
Our friends at SportsAid Scotland have supported many young fencers over the years with grant applications and funding, and we are asking the Fencing community to get behind SportsAid as they compete for the Persimmon Homes Building Futures fund.
Please have a read below and cast your vote!
VOTING NOW OPEN TO BOOST SPORTSAID SCOTLAND’S CHANCE OF WINNING SHARE OF HOUSEBUILDER’S £1MILLION CHARITY GIVEAWAY
Edinburgh-based charity SportsAid Scotland is in the running to win a share of a £1million Persimmon Homes Building Futures fund aimed at supporting under-18s across the UK but first they need online votes to win.
Persimmon Homes East Scotland is backing SportsAid Scotland to be a prize winner at a special event later this year, where cash awards of £100,000, £50,000 or £20,000 will be made to those with the most online votes.
“We’re so proud to be chosen as a regional finalist and it’s given everyone a massive boost. The last 18 months or so have been extremely challenging for charities across the UK, including ourselves, so we’d really appreciate if people would get behind us and start voting,” chief executive Roddy Mackenzie.
“If we could win any of the top three cash awards then it would make a massive difference to the young athletes and para-athletes we support. We have backed the likes of Sir Chris Hoy in the past and we find athletes can hugely benefit from our annual awards.
“Voting could not be simpler. Just visit www.persimmonhomes.com/building-futures/ and select SportsAid Scotland, it would mean the world to us if we could have your support.”
Building Futures is delivered through the Persimmon Charitable Foundation in partnership with Team GB, the British Olympic Association.
Through Building Futures, a total of 128 grants of £1,000 have been awarded to groups supporting sport, education & arts and health across Persimmon’s 31 regional businessesand its head office.
As well as the £100,000 first prize, there will be a £50,000 second prize and a £20,000 third prize in each category, while a further 87 shortlisted projects will each receive £5,000.
Online voting opened on Monday 11 October and runs until midnight on November 19.
To support SportsAid Scotland please visit www.persimmonhomes.com/building-futures/. or https://bit.ly/3oGLC2Q
Winning!!
Calum Penman claimed victory at today’s British Fencing cadet foil event at the Leon Paul Centre.
The podium had a very tartan feel as he needed to battle past fellow scots and Salle Holyrood club mates Thomas Walton (L4 15-9) and Nye Ulferts-Kilpatrick (Final 15-4) to win gold. 🥇🥈🥉
Making it a Scottish 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Well done lads!!
There were two other Scottish fencers in the field, David Kelly who finished 17th and Michale Ramage who finished 24th.
In women’s cadet event Ann-Emma Hu (Edinburgh fencing club) posted the best result finishing 5th after reaching the L8.
Hannah Fielding (Edinburgh Fencing Club) and Abigael McVinnie (Salle Holyrood) made the L16 to finish 9th and 14th respectively.
Three other Scottish Fencers made the L32. Imogen Cook (Salle Holyrood) finished 18th,
Lev-Jac Hu (Edinburgh Fencing Club) 20th and Merryn Ulferts-Kilpatrick 21st.
Sticking with foil at the Senior Satellite in Copenhagen, Scottish Fencing Director of Equalites, Mhairi McLaughlin was representing GB losing narrowly in the L64 after going 4v 2d in her poule. A return to international competition after almost a two year break.
More Winning…
In Manchester, 5 Scottish fencers took the piste for the British Fencing BRC but it was Isaac McKerr (Edinburgh fencing club) who stole the show!
Battling his way back from a shaky start in the poules, being 26th ranked going into the DEs, all the way to the final in which he won 15-11!!!!
Congratulations Isaac!!!!🥇
On what was a good day for Scottish fencers Rachael Lever (University of Nottingham) also claimed a bronze medal :) - well done Rachael 👍🥉
Adam Howie (Edinburgh Fencing Club) continued his good work from yesterday making the L16 to finish 15th.
Lucas McKerr (Edinburgh Fencing Club) made the L32 to finish 28th while Calum MCGhee (Wallace fencing academy) finished 40th losing an all Scottish L64 to Isaac who was on route to a medal.
At the Senior Sabre Open at the Paul Davis Fencing Academy, Kate Daykin (Salle Ossian fencing club) earned a fantastic bronze. She won all her Poule fights to be seeded 2nd before finally falling in the L4 15-11. Well done Kate! 🥉
Lucy Higham 12th (Salle Ossian Fencing Club) and Vivien Frith (@Shakespeares Swords) were the other scots in the field.
In the men’s event Julian Ghosh (@camden fencing club) made the L32 finishing 31st.
A great weekend all round - congrats to everyone who is back competing.
#ForgingTheFuture
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