Veterans Home Nations 2023

The Scotland team has been finalised for this year’s Veterans Home Nations match in Dublin on 25 March. The weapon teams are:

Women’s Foil

Sheila Anderson, Ruth Davidson, Louisa Dawson, Helen Pitt

Men’s Foil

Ian Fielding, Mike McKay, Paul Stanbridge

Women’s Epee

Karen Grant, Lorna Smith, Maggie Tait

Men’s Epee

Andrew Brown, Hugh Kernohan, George Liston

Women’s Sabre

Silvia Brown, Viv Frith, Roz Graham, Michele Narey

Men’s Sabre

Keith Davidson, Richard Foster, Mo Mansoori, Kev Milne

Para-Fencing Coach CPD

We will be running a para-fencing coach CPD weekend on 11-12 March. The session will be at Forrester High School, 212 Broomhouse Road, EH12 9AE, Edinburgh.

The weekend is aimed at anyone who is interested in developing their knowledge and confidence to support para-fencers. You don’t have to have a coaching qualification to attend but you must be a member of Scottish Fencing. We welcome fencers who would like to support their club to develop it’s offering to para-fencers.

Attendees can attend both days or just one day, it is not necessary to attend both days but the content will be different on each day so attendance at the two days is recommended.

Timings for the weekend

Saturday 11th March - 11am-5pm

Sunday 12th March - 11am-5pm

Venue

Forrester High School, 212 Broomhouse Road, Edinburgh, EH12 9AE

More information

Places are free, however the number of places are limited so we will require a £10.00 per day deposit to secure your place which will be refunded after the weekend. If anyone has to cancel in advance of the weekend, their deposit will be refunded as long as they inform us by emailing clare.queen@scottish-fencing.com. No shows will not be refunded.

To register, please click here.

BYC - regional qualifiers

There are only qualifiers in East and Central Region. Fencers can check their region; this is shown on your sport80 account. The qualifiying event must match the region listed on sport80 or fencers will not be allowed to fence in the finals in Sheffield.

 Scotland East BYC Qualifiers

The 2023 British Youth Championships are in Sheffield 29 April to 1 May.

Entering the qualifiers is mandatory for participation in the National Finals. Parents of any fencers hoping to take part are invited to contact Don McKenzie on 07732 781464 who is coordinating the qualification process for Scotland (East).

Don will need the fencers' British Fencing membership number, the contact details of a parent or guardian and to know which event (sex, weapon and age-group) is appropriate. The qualifier fee is £11 and the closing date for entering is Wednesday 22nd February.

Information about the Finals can be found at https://www.britishfencing.com/2023-british-youth-championships/

Scotland Central BYC Qualifiers

Entries will be live on sport80 in the coming days.

 

Election of Directors

Three proposals were received to stand for election to the Board. As there are three vacancies no ballot is required. Sam McLellan and Moya Nelson will succeed Sheila Anderson and Adam Szymoszowskyj as Elected Directors, on 24 February and Paul Vaughan will continue to serve for a second term four-year term.

Hugh Kernohan, Electoral Officer

Election of Directors - 2023

Scottish Fencing is seeking nominations for three Elected Director posts, to serve on the Board for four-year terms from March 2023.

The terms of office of Sheila Anderson, Paul Vaughan and Adam Szymoszowskyj come to an end on 23 February 2023. Sheila has completed a second four-year term as a Director and cannot stand for a third consecutive term. Adam has indicated that he will not be standing again. Paul Vaughan does intend to seek re-election.

If you want to help lead Scottish Fencing and you have the time to commit please return a completed Proposal Form by 1800 Friday 3 February 2023. Nominees must be current members of Scottish Fencing.

Click here for the Proposal Form.

Submitted Proposal Forms will be published on the Scottish Fencing website as soon as they are validated. An election will be held if more than three valid nominations are received by the deadline of 1800 Friday 3 February 2023.

The Board’s role is to provide strategic leadership for fencing in Scotland, to oversee the activities of Scottish Fencing's staff and volunteers, to maintain its ethical standards and legal obligations, and to safeguard the mental and physical well-being of everyone fencing here.

If you would like to find out more you can speak to Scottish Fencing’s COO, Clare Queen or any of the current Board – email clare.queen@scottish-fencing.com to arrange a call back. You can read a description of the directors’ roles here.

 You can find Scottish Fencing’s Articles of Association, Bye-Laws and other key documents about the Board's work here https://www.scottish-fencing.com/meeting-minutes-strategies.

As part of our commitment to being an equality driven organisation, we strive to provide equality of opportunity for members, volunteers and staff and we will promote a work culture that values diversity.

If you have a disability or have any difficulty in completing the application process please reach out via email to admin@scottish-fencing.com or telephone on 07803207349.

Hugh Kernohan
Electoral Officer (elections@scottish-fencing.com)

2022 Scottish Fencing Award Winners

Congratulations to all our 2022 Award Winners. Stan Stoodley, President of Scottish Fencing, at the 2022 AGM added that it was very hard to single anyone out as there were so many fantastic performances and improvements made this year. Scottish Fencing will make the award presentations in the coming weeks. Check our social media channels to see the presentations.

Our 2022 winners are:

Crosnier Coaching Award

Phil Carson

Phil’s Nomination

His record this last year speaks  for itself. He had:

·       21 members in Commonwealth teams 

·       9  members in British  teams 

·       gold medallist  in u12  British  championship 

·       British members in the cadets juniors senior and veteran teams

And he kept coaching online during the lockdown and beyond.

Picture By D Bryden, Phil Carson coaching Josh Bryden at the side of the piste

picture by d bryden

“I’d like to thank Stephen Rennie for nominating me for this award in what has been a challenging but rewarding year.  We have an amazing coach community in Scotland and I’m delighted to accept the award on behalf of all our coaches at Salle Ossian and across the coaching community who work tirelessly to give people the opportunity to participate in our amazing sport"

Crosnier Quaich – Performance

Callum Penman

Callum’s Nomination

Callum Penman for his continued stellar attitude, sportsmanship, and hard work. His achievements this year have been outstanding. Domestically he is the current Men’s Foil Scottish Open Champion. Internationally he won multiple medals including: 2022 commonwealth silver senior team, silver junior individual, and gold cadet team events. On the European circuit he won the Cadet event in Manchester and team Silver at the European Championships. Most recently he was selected to compete in his first Senior World Cup in Bonn, making it out of the pools and placing 149th. Peter Pan has nothing on this guy!

Callum Penman wearing his Scottish Fencing tracksuit top

“I would like to thank Scottish fencing very much for this award and I’m very happy to receive it. Also would like to thank Paul Stanbridge for nominating me and would really like to show my appreciation to my coach Keith Cook who’s been coaching me since I was 6 years old and who’s helped me get to where I am today. Lastly I would like express my gratitude to Salle Holyrood for being the sort of club that encourages me and other fencers to reach their full potential.”

Sword of Merit

Sean Walton

Sean’s Nomination:

Sean has been a stalwart of Scottish Fencing for at least 40 years, as fencer, team member, coach to a variety of high achieving fencers, selector and founding member of Salle Holyrood.

In recent years he has been recognised by BF for his innovative work on the Fencing podcast and is well known from commentating on fencing competitions worldwide, with his own personal style. It has been an impressive contribution.

It has culminated this year, in his creation of the Commonwealth Experience Video.  As I look at how we will celebrate 100 years of SF next year, the video offers me a personal memory of this years’ Commonwealth competition and SF a historical record. Thank you

Sean Walton in his coaching plastron

“Delighted to win this award. Like an early Christmas present but much bigger and more difficult to wrap.”

Scottish Fencing Pathways Squad 2023 - Registration extended until 8th January

Applications are now open for the 2023 Scottish Fencing Pathways Squad!

 

What is the Scottish Fencing Pathways Squad?

 

The Scottish Fencing Pathways Squad brings together the most committed young fencers from across Scotland to practice together regularly through the 2023 season, as well as providing in-person and online educational opportunities for the athletes and their parents.

The squad provides fencers the opportunity for fencers to come together with other like minded fencers to learn and try new things in a safe environment. There is no selection criteria, all that is required is a commitment and motivation to improve.

 

What is the purpose of the Scottish Fencing Pathways Squad?

 

We support the fantastic work being done by fencing coaches and clubs across Scotland, by providing additional practice opportunities for the most committed young fencers.

 

The focus of the Scottish Fencing Pathways Squad is on fun, learning through games / play, developing curiosity, and connecting with others. We believe this focus is vital to fostering a long-term, positive engagement with our sport. The programme will include in-person support from the True Athlete Project and Strength & Conditioning input from S&C Coach, Gil Stevenson. There will be some additional parent support running alongside the programme.

 

Who is the Scottish Fencing Pathways Squad for?

 

For U15 athletes (born in 2008 and after) who are committed to the sport and want to be competitive fencers.

 

Age categories:

  • Under-15: born 2008-09

  • Under-13: born 2010-11

  • Under-11: born 2012 and after

 

Reasons to join the Scottish Fencing Pathways Squad

  • Additional opportunities to practice fencing, with other like-minded and committed athletes.

  • Build on the great work already being done with your coach within your club.

  • Improve your understanding of how best to prepare for the challenges of competition.

  • Get to know and make new friends with other fencers from all around Scotland.

Training Information

8 Sessions - 5 x in-person training days and 3 x online sessions.

 

Dates

29th January - Salle Ossian FC

19th February - Forth Valley FC

19th March - Salle Ossian FC

2nd April - Forth Valley FC

16th April - Venue TBC

In-person training days will be 10am - 3pm (approx)

Scottish Fencing Pathways Squad Staff

  • Team Manager & Welfare Officer – Liz Anderson

  • Lead Weapon Coach (Epee) – Rob Blackburne

  • Lead Weapon Coach (Foil) – Stan Stoodley

  • Lead Weapon Coach (Sabre) – Naomi Farmer

  • COO/Head of Pathways – Clare Queen

Cost

£150 for the 2023 Pathways season.

 

Payment Methods:

a)      In full on sign up to squad, or

b)      Monthly payment plan agreed with SF.

SIGN UP FOR THE 2023 SCOTTISH FENCING PATHWAYS SQUAD

To sign up for the Pathways Squad 2023 please click here.

We have maximum 30 spaces available on the programme.

Registration closes at midnight on Sunday 8th January.

 

If you have any questions, contact Clare Queen, COO/Head of Pathways clare.queen@scottish-fencing.com

Annual General Meeting - papers

The Scottish Fencing 2022 Annual General Meeting will take place on 7 December at 17.30 via Zoom

You can register your attendance or apologies here

The agenda and links to the papers are below. There is still time to vote for the Award Nominees, this is link for voting and this is the link to read the full list of nominees.

We look forward to seeing you next week.

Annual General Meeting of Scottish Fencing Ltd 

To be held via Zoom 

1730 on 7 December 2022 

 

Agenda 

1.        Welcome

2.        Minutes of 2021 AGM 

3.        Presentation of accounts for period 01/04/2021 – 31/03/2022 followed by general questions on accounts.

4.        Approval of appointment of Colleen Walker as Finance Director.

5.        Report on Scottish Fencing activity 2021-2022.

6.        Any other business. 

7.        Presentation of Awards.