How one person can make it a success

After months of preparation Orkney Fencing Club held its first Wheelchair Fencing Taster Session.

Flyers had gone out through the Community Sports Hub and other potentially interested groups, posters had been given to the Sports Centre, and articles had been sent to the local media.

Preloved equipment had been donated by Viv Mills and people had rallied together to get it and the Wheelchair fencing frame(on loan from Scottish Fencing) to Orkney.

What could go wrong?  It seems everything could and did.  The sports centre forgot to put up the posters the local media didn’t run the article and the bus bringing the large group of seniors ended up double booked and they cancelled.

So, it was a slightly subdued me who met my fellow coaches and helpers at the sports centre.

We set everything up and in came the one person I had been hoping for.

A young person with mobility issues turned up despite not feeling well the day before.

A fabulous time was had by all and by the time a second more senior person came for a shot, we were all in high spirits.

The coaches and helpers had multiple bouts with the young person, improving their own wheelchair fencing skills and at the same time having fun with the young person.

Was it a success?

Absolutely, we have one potential wheelchair fencer coming to our next club session and the seniors have requested a session for when they can get their bus.

All we needed was one person and a huge team of willing volunteers.

North Section Training Camp, Shetland, July 2024

Shetland Fencing Club were the hosts of the annual North Section Summer Camp on the 6th and 7th July. They were joined at Clickimin Leisure Complex by fencing clubs from Orkney, Elgin, and Culloden.

The weekend consisted of 2 full days of training, run by Elgin coach Alasdair Urquhart, and a fun competition for fencers of all ages. The competition began with two rounds of poules, where fencers of all experience levels, from complete beginner to ex national fencers, fenced each other. The aim on this recreational format was to allow every fencer the same amount of fencing and to allow experienced fencers to mentor younger fencers and help them to learn refereeing. After this they were seeded into groups of more equal ages and ability, based on the results of the first rounds. Following this, each group had their own round of finals, where fencers took part in direct elimination fights to determine each groups’ winner. Each group was designated a colour instead of a ‘ranking’. Finals took part in a random order in front of the rest of the group cheering on.

The competition set-up allowed for the beginner level fencers to experience a competition format in a friendly environment, and gain valuable experience and support, fencing those of a more senior level.

The Competition structure also allowed, by ranking, the annual Viking Cup to be decided. This is the ‘Inter County’, held between Orkney and Shetland. Shetland Fencing Club won the Intercounty Cup this year. Having given a strong performance throughout the entire competition, Matthew Blance won the top-level group final, claiming his victory as first seed overall out of all thirty-five fencers present.

Both days of fencing were followed by a fun social at the Lerwick Boating Club, where the club had organised a meal, games, and the competition prizegiving.

The Shetland Fencing Club would like to thank Northlink Ferries for sponsoring the weekend, and for bringing fencers from Orkney, Elgin and Culloden to the island safely. They would also like to thank the staff at the Clickimin and the Lerwick Boating Club. A big thanks as well to all parents who volunteered their time at the weekend.

A picture of a group of people in their fencing kit together.

Strategy Update

Thank you to everyone that gave feedback in the last round of engagement. The information you are giving us is proving to be vital in creating a strategic plan for the whole sport.

We also ran our hashtag ‘#’ poll which gave some interesting results and has led to 4 being used. Each area will have it’s own hashtag which will allow communications to be more focused on social media. The full results of the poll can be viewed below.

To complete the final draft of the framework we are looking for your feedback ahead of our investment panel with sportscotland. Following the panel we will find out which parts of our strategy sportscotland will invest in. Generally they will only invest in the parts of the strategy that align with their own outcomes and the Active Scotland framework.

The final version of the strategic plan won’t be due until March next year following the final submission against our current strategy and the final sportscotland investment decisions across all sports. At this point we will be able to share an operational plan.

The final draft of the strategic framework can be viewed here

Please complete our short feedback form here. Feedback will close at 12 noon on Friday 16th August.

Highland Open Update - Entries Now Open

You will hopefully be pleased to know that plans for this years Highland Open are progressing well and entries are now live on Sport80!! Please see some further information about the competition below.

Enter the Highland Open

As always, the event is trying it’s best to keep entries fees as low as possible and are delighted to offer a substantial discount if you wish to enter two weapons. Enter the following discount code on the sport80 payment page when prompted to access this discount:

Highland2discount

 

As with many competitions, the event struggles to attract female sabreurs and the event is delighted to once again offer free entry to the women's sabre if you enter either the foil or epee. This means you can enter all three weapons. Please contact Robin directly on the number below for the 3 weapon discount code.

 

Entries will close at midnight on Tuesday 24 September!!

Everyone involved in the event is looking forward to welcoming everyone back to Elgin!

 

Should you have any questions or queries please don’t hesitate to contact Robin using the information below:

Robin Paterson

Elgin Duellist Fencing Club

Tel/text 07745011337

Email robin1andlinda1@yahoo.com

Dunedin Fencers visit Valencia

Four members of Edinburgh’s Dunedin Fencing Club recently paid a visit to Valencia as part of an international exchange with Valencian club La Robera Sala d’Armes.

Both clubs focus strongly on equality, inclusion and the extension of the sport to groups who might not otherwise get to experience fencing. The exchange came about through a meeting, at the Wheelchair Fencing World Cup held in Cardiff in January 2024, between Laura Perez Aguado (head coach of La Robera) and Alex McLeod (head coach of Dunedin).

Between 13 and 18 June, the group took part in the regular classes staged by La Robera, participating in open fencing, as well as coaching sessions with some of the junior and senior fencers from the club. There was also a strong focus on parafencing with para athletes fully integrated into both open fencing and coaching sessions. On Saturday 15 June, the Dunedin fencers also took part in a local competition, staged as part of Pride Month, with Alex McLeod coming second in the seniors section.

It is hoped that the La Robera fencers will visit Edinburgh in early 2025. The Dunedin fencers wish to extend their sincere thanks to all of those who made this trip possible.

Strategy Update

Thank you to everyone that has been part of the process so far. It’s great to hear all the feedback and ideas that you have for the future of fencing in Scotland.

From the feedback we received it was clear that the hashtag in the framework didn’t resonate with everyone. Before we can finalise the framework we are looking for your views on a hashtag. We have a very simple poll setup using some ideas provided by members and also there is space to suggest your own if you prefer.

To complete the poll click here

We are still progressing well against our original timeline and we now know our investment panel meeting with sportscotland will take place early October. Therefore we are aiming to have a first draft of the strategy completed before the end of August.

Youth Membership Consultation

At Scottish Fencing, we believe young people’s views are important to the current and future success of fencing in Scotland.  

Scottish Fencing want to ensure our young athletes’ can share their opinions and are provided with opportunities to improve the sport in Scotland . We would like your thoughts on how you would like to engage with Scottish Fencing and help us to understand the best way to hear your opinions and/or involve young athletes in the decision-making process.  

All surveys are completed anonymously. Scottish Fencing will not share anything you wish to talk about with your club or any coaches. Scottish Fencing will use the views you give to help Scottish Fencing understand how to speak to young people and how we can listen and act on what young people tell Scottish Fencing. 

Please could you complete the survey using the link below. It should only take 5 minutes or less. 

If you are under 16 please ask  your parent or guardian before completing the survey.  

We look forward to reading your opinions and involving you more closely in the future of our sport.  

Complete the Survey

Have Your Say - Strategic Framework

Thank you to everyone who has given feedback through our survey and focus groups, it has helped to shape the framework below. We are now looking for feedback on the framework as well as ideas on some of the projects that can underpin it.

This strategic framework aims to capture the thoughts and views of the members that engaged with the survey and focus groups as well as the thoughts of staff and board.

The strategy is something that aims to bring everyone together and when we talk about Scottish Fencing we mean everyone (not just staff and board). #WeAreScottishFencing refers to everyone working together for the shared purpose of ‘All For One, A Sport For All’.

We welcome feedback on all elements of this document and thank everyone that has contributed so far. Following your feedback, the next stage will be to add in all the details of what we will all do to achieve the objectives. A lot of ideas have already been captured from the initial consultations which is excellent.

Feedback form will close at 12 noon on Monday 8th July.

Strategic Framework (draft)

Feedback form

Have Your Say

As part of our ongoing engagement around the new strategic plan we are offering a final chance to give us your thoughts as part of this first stage of engagement.

Please complete the form below if you would like to have your say.

Member Engagement Form

The information provided will go alongside the insights we already have from the survey and focus group sessions. The next step is for the staff and board to carry out a similar exercise and combine all the data so we have a diverse as possible view to influence the framework for the new strategy.

There will be further opportunities to engage and give your thoughts as the plan develops.

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