Welcome to the second issue of the new Guildford Fencing Club s Newsletter

Transcription

1 Editor, Julie Schofield Issue Two New Series April 2000 Welcome to the second issue of the new Guildford Fencing Club s Newsletter Firstly, I would like to draw your attention to important news in Tim s Chairman s report on page 4. Please take the time to read this, as it will affect running of the Club from next term. We would like to wish all the best to Martin Cohen who has had to retire from fencing due to ill health. Martin has been a great help in the past, producing the Newsletter for many years and taking charge of Publicity and Sponsorship. We have been active in trying to recruit more Senior members (including an advertisement in the Sword, the official magazine of the BFA). This has resulted in some enquiries from adult fencers but unfortunately, we find that lack of Senior fencers is a common problem for Clubs in Surrey. The number of Junior and Full time Education members has remained at a high level and the splitting of the Junior Club has been a great success.. At the last AGM Sacha Brooks took over as our Match Secretary. Alas, almost immediately Sacha s work caused her to be relocated away from the Southeast (this meant she was unavailable to organise any matches for us). This relocation has now become permanent. She has therefore resigned and we are in urgent need of a new Match Secretary. The position is not a particularly onerous one, the chief duties being to organise competitions against other clubs, to choose fencers to compete from the Club and to make sure that the fencers chosen turn up please see Tim for more details if you are interested. Please note. You do not need to be a member of the Committee. Julie Schofield ATTENTION ALL JUNIORS Junior Foil Competition 5th and 12th May, Don t miss out!! Subscriptions for Summer Term for Juniors : 23 Due on the 28th April. Note: Teenage and adult members paid for spring and summer terms together in January Erratum IMPORTANT, PLEASE NOTE The first night of the Summer Term should have read the 28th April Page 1

2 COMPETITION RESULTS report by Tim Schofield Surrey Epee Individual and Team: 13th February, 2000 The annual Surrey county epee championships were held in Dorking. Women s epee: Meg Schofield finished in first place. The result was never in doubt after Meg defeated Elaine Ball from Wimbledon in the semi-finals. Men s epee: Simon Pearson (7th place). Simon won five bouts in the seeding round and was seeded 6th into the direct elimination. After winning two elimination bouts he was defeated by Martin Chapman of Streatham. Tim Schofield (last 16). Tim had a mediocre seeding round, winning only two out of four bouts, and after winning one elimination fight lost to second seed and eventual winner Neale Thomas (London Thames). In the team epee competition, Guildford were drawn to compete with the Wimbledon A team and Streatham. Wimbledon A, having a strong team with two fencers in the top 40 of the men s national rankings, won the pool. Despite beating Streatham by 45 hits to 18, Guildford had too low a ranking to proceed to the next round. Fencing for Guildford were Tim Schofield, Meg Schofield and Simon Pearson. Guildford Millennium Borough Games: 29th January. Three local fencing clubs Guildford, Spectrum and Farnham participated in the launch of the GMBG in the main sports arena of Guildford Spectrum.. In the spirit of the GMBG, most of the participants were relatively new to the sport of fencing. There were matches for teams in four classifications: Results were: Novice Foil (boys and girls): Guildford beat Farnham by 7 bouts to 2. Under 12 Foil (boys and girls): Guildford beat Farnham by 7 bouts to 2. Guildford s greater competition experience outweighed Farnham s slight age advantage in this group. Under 10 Foil (boys and girls): Guildford beat Farnham by 6 bouts to 3. Many of these fencers were competing against another club for the first time, and are keen to try again as soon as possible. Men s Epee Spectrum beat Guildford by 45 hits to 33. An early lead by Guildford s Tim Schofield was recovered by Simon Cushing s powerful performance against Derick Bowler in the second bout, and Spectrum then led all the way to a solid victory. Editor s Note A short piece about the GMBG appeared on Meridian Television in the evening. There was a section on fencing which included an interview with Michael Mullin. National Veterans Association Championships: 11th and 12th March Guildford Fencing Club had two fencer competing in the National Championships for fencers aged 40 and over. Simon Pearson fenced in both the foil and the epee competitions. He did well at foil, being placed 24th, but could not match his previous form at epee and placed 37th. Tim Schofield fenced only in the epee. In his first year in these championships, he placed 23rd out of the 56 fencers competing. The foil competition was won by Jim Philbin (Barbarians Fencing Club), and the epee by Graham Paul (Salle Paul). The National Veterans Association is the body responsible for organising fencing among veterans (now defined as men or women aged over 40) in the UK. The championships were held in Loughborough. Southeast England Age Groups: 12th March In the Southeast England Age Group Championships, three Guildford fencers competed in the Under-12 girls foil category. Stephanie Ties was placed 5th, Naomi Baker was placed 6th and Natalie Lloyds was placed 10th. This was an excellent result for the three girls, who can all compete again next year at this age level. We undertand from Trevor that Stephanie has qualified for the National Age Groups in Perth later this year. Congratulations! The annual age group championships are an official competition of the British Fencing Association, the governing body for fencing in Britain. The championships were held in Canterbury. National Age Group Championships: 12th February The British Age Group Epee Championships for the 1999/2000 season were held in Cardiff on 12th February, 200. Meg Schofield fenced in the (Continued on page 3) Editor s Note If you have any competition results that you would like to be included in the next Newsletter, please contact me by (two weeks before end of term 16th June). Julie Schofield Page 2

3 (Continued from page 2) Under 18 girls epee and came third. Meg showed she has recovered from illness earlier this year by reaching the semi-finals in this, her last year in the competition. After an exhausting day, with two seeding rounds followed by elimination fights, she was eventually defeated by Katie Dedman from Brentwood. The competition was won by Lucy Pearson from Millfield. The British Age Group Championships, sponsored by the British Fencing Association to encourage youth fencing throughout the country, are held each year in different towns in Britain. There are separate competitions for each weapon and for boys and girls (not all on the same day). There are preliminary regional championships (Surrey is part of the Southeast region), which act as qualifying competitions for the national championships. The age groups are: under-12, under-14, under-16 and under-18. The Surrey fencing area still follows pre-war county boundaries, and includes much of what is now south-west London. The county championships are open to all fencers who live or train in the Surrey area. Eton Leon Paul 24th and 25th March Under 11 Girls Stephanie Ties was placed 2nd in the Eton Foil U11 Girls competition. (25 fencers took part.) Under 13 Girls Cassie Tickner Smith was placed 24th. Under 9 Boys Harry Ketley came 35th. Under 11 Boys Edmund Hartland reached the last 16. (35 fencers took part.) Hector Ketley came 18th. Under 13 Boys T w o Guildford fencers had the misfortune to meet each other in the direct elimination round of the Under 13 Boys competition. Simon Rowling beat Simon Williams but was then himself beaten by Ryan Law of Canterbury in the last 16. Simon Rowling was placed 16th and Simon Williams was placed 17th. The Eton Foil is part of the Leon Paul series of competitions, held to encourage young fencers throughout Britain, and to provide them with additional opportunities to compete against other fencers of their own age and a national standard. Ipswich International Epee 1st and 2nd April Meg qualifies for World Ranking! Meg qualified for the first time for a world ranking at senior level by reaching the last 64 of the Ipswich International Epee competition. Meg beat Bird, (GB), Pereira, (Portugal) and Wahl, (Sweden) but lost to Haswell, (Australia), Ruiz (Spain) and Leszko, (USA), - these three being all world ranking fencers. Meg then met South African, Natalia Tyshier in the first round of direct elimination. After an exciting match, Meg won by On the Sunday, Meg met Helena Torricilla (Spain s highest ranking competitor and the No. 11 seed). Meg scored some good hits but, after a gruelling fight lasting nearly the full nine minutes, Meg lost Meg was eventually ranked 54th in the competition. The competition was won by Tatiana Logounova of Russia. Joke Section Some squawks sent to me from an American Cousin. Squawks are problem listings that pilots generally leave for maintenance crews to fix before the next flight. Problem: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear Number three engine missing Something loose in cockpit Aircraft handles funny Solution: Evidence removed Engine found on right wing after brief search Something tightened in cockpit Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right and be serious Please do not forget to check the Noticeboard for latest news on results, events and competitions. The Noticeboard is located on top of the tea cupboard, to the right of both gyms as you enter the building. Page 3

4 Chairman s Report! " # " $ % & Chairman, Tim Schofield, 3 Oak Tree Close, Burpham, Guildford, GU4 7JQ Tel: th April 2000 For as long as I can remember, the club has had the benefit of heavily subsidised prices when hiring school premises. The subsidy has been arranged through Surrey Youth Service, and has been available because we have a substantial proportion of Youth members. As you may have heard, the way we get the subsidy is changing. Instead of the money going to the school, it will be given to the club; and we will pay the full hire price to the school. We have had to run something of a bureaucratic obstacle-race to get this service agreement ; but I am pleased to report that we have been successful. However, there is a serious problem. Now we have the figures, we can see that the new grant only covers about 70% of the increase in hire charges. This would leave the club about 1000 per year out of pocket. The committee has decided to respond in the short term by hiring only one gym, instead of two. This will nearly offset the shortfall, and on recent trends will not affect the fencing classes much, especially since they are traditionally smaller in the summer term. The last session will be a little shorter, starting after 8:15. We will need to propose a longer-term solution at the AGM in July, and would welcome your views on what that should be! NEW FENCING DATES FOR THE SPRING TERM, 2000 Fencing starts next term on 28 th April, and the last fencing day is 30 th June. (These dates have not changed). There are three days with no fencing: 26 th May, 9 th June and 16 th June. This is because the school has so far refused to let us hire the gyms this year during the GCSE examinations we are working on this. However, we are not stopping for half-term (2nd June). Class times will be 6:30-7:30, 7:15-8:15 and 8:15-10:00. The overlap between junior classes starts at 7:15. Please try not to arrive until well after 7:00 as, with only one gym, there will be nowhere fun to Tim Schofield wait. Page 4

5 External Competitions - The Kit You ve decided you want to start fencing competitively outside the Club. Fantastic! I thought it would be helpful to provide some details here of what equipment you will need. The Club strongly advise that you become a member of the BFA (see details above), and indeed this is often compulsory for competition entry. The next step is to make sure you have all the equipment you will need to compete. The Club does of course have equipment for hire but we are unable to supply everything. For external competitions, it is sadly necessary for fencers to start to buy their own kit. This is because you will need equipment and clothing that the Club is not able to provide. For example, most competitions insist for safety reasons that proper fencing breaches are worn. I have asked Trevor to give some guidelines on what equipment a beginner would need to begin fencing in external competitions and I give below his suggestions on the urgency you will need to have them. Trevor has suggested three stages, but, of course, the order you purchase is up to you.. * First Stage Breeches Junior Senior Fencing Socks 7.11 Glove Electric Foil Second Stage Mask Jacket Junior Senior Third Stage Electric Jacket Junior Senior Bodywire approx. 15 Spare foil Plastron Junior Senior Ladies chest protectors 9.40 to 28 depending on style. Tim would also suggest that you think about a bag to carry all this equipment in. Cases come in various sizes. A case for two foils would cost but it is probably worth getting a bag with room for all your kit, from about 80. Finally, Tim would like to point out that many of the Club s lame jackets may not pass a weapons check at competition. Please check the jacket you borrow, and make sure one of you has a spare! Julie Schofield (in conjunction with Tim and Trevor) This does not include friendly matches organised by the Club. * The prices quoted are given only as a guideline and are based on the Leon Paul price list for I give the lowest price where at all possible. Blades or Duellist also supply kit and some kit may, on occasion, be ordered through the Club see Derick Bowler. (ask!) I have based the prices on Leon Paul simply because it was easy for me to pick up their latest price list. You may find it best to go to the most convenient shop, so you can try different sizes before you buy. You will need to hire a second electric foil from the Club as a spare, as two foils are a necessity. You will also need to borrow a jacket, mask, lame jacket, plastron and bodywires (you will need two). Club electrical equipment, lame jacket, bodywire and foil can be hired for 2. Non-electric equipment is free of charge. Membership of the British Amateur Fencing Association Guildford is an affiliated Club of the BFA. We strongly advise our fencers to take out individual membership of the BFA. Full details of Membership can be found on the BFA web site at htm. If you do not have access to the web, please contact me and I will send/give you a copy of this webpage. Junior Membership (under 18s) costs 15 and Musketeer Membership (under 14s) costs 8.50 per annum. Membership form available on the webpage. Julie Schofield Page 5

6 ' ( ) * + ), -. / - Fencers Celebrate Daily Advertiser, October 28-20, 1975 Guildford Fencing Club celebrated their 25th Anniversary with a successful dinner and dance at the Worplesdon Place Hotel on Friday. Speakers included two past mayors of Guildford Mr E. Barrie Nicklin, club president and Councillor Bill Bellerby. Among those welcomed by Mr Francis E. Romano, were several founder members; Mr Ted Tait, the District Youth & Community Officer; officials and representatives of clubs and organisations throughout the south east section; distinguished national and international fencers, and the club s popular professional coach, Mr W. H. Bill Jones. During the evening a bouquet was presented to Mrs E. B. Nicklin by Mrs Sandra Billinge, club treasurer. The club continues to meet each Friday at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, where new members will be welcome. The next social event on the Club calendar is the Christmas Party, to be held at the Harrow Inn, Compton, on December 19th. Thanks to Jon Woodrow for providing this article. Results of Guildford Competitions report by Simon Pearson Club Foil Good entry of 13 fencers, two rounds with a final pool of eight fencers Club Epee 4 Entries Handicap 1. Simon Pearson 2. Steve Pope 3. Tim Schofield Best All Rounder After all three qualifying competitions, the results are 1st Equal 3rd 1. Philip Fenn 2. Tim Schofield 3. Simon Pearson Philip Fenn and Simon Pearson Tim Schofield 1. Tim Schofield* 2. John Cryer 3. Cassie Tickner Smith * after a barrage 17 points 11 points To resolve the tie for first place the two fencers involved have suggested a gala fight-off over all three weapons to be held on a night to be agreed. This has received Committee approval. The format would be three bouts over either 10 or 15 hits at each of sabre, epee and foil, the order of the weapons to be decided by drawing lots. If a clear winner is obtained after the first two bouts, the third need not be fenced unless both fencers agree. Editor This should be fun to watch! All fencers, parents, etc. are invited to spectate. Look out for further details on the Notice Board. Look out for the anagram quiz on the back page. Large box of chocolates/bottle of wine for the winner. Very good odds of winning! Competition open to all fencers and their families. Page 6

7 COMPETITION CALENDAR Please Note. Due to lack of space, only brief details can be given in this Newsletter. For further details, please see the Noticeboard or contact the Club Secretary, Julie Schofield (details on front page ). Junior Competitions Foil Saturday, 6th May Premier Junior Foil Series, Bristol Sunday, 14th May Exeter Junior Foil Saturday, 24th June Leon Paul Junior Foil Bristol Saturday, 27th and Sunday, 28th May Brentwood Youth Event (Foil) Novices and Intermediates Sunday, 16th April (am) Surrey Novices, (maximum 3 years fencing experience), Epsom College Sunday, 16th April (pm) Surrey Intermediates (at least 3 years experience, other limitations) Epsom College Senior Competitions Sunday, 9th April Surrey Foil Individual and Teams, Ewell College 22 and 23rd April Birmingham International (6 weapons) Sunday, 7th May Edinburgh Open 6W 13th and 14th May Isle of Wight Open MF, WF, ME, WE and Team 27th and 28th May North West ( North Ireland) Open 5W York Open (MF, WF, ME, WE, Mixed Sabre) Saturday, 10th June British Men s Epee Open Sunday, 11th June South East Men's and Ladies Foil. Chessington Community College Saturday, 17th June Watford Sabre Mary Hawdon Open Sunday, 18th June Cauchard Cup One Hit Epee, Redhill 1st and 2nd July 8th July 15th July Millennium British Championships all weapons limited entry Crystal Team Open Sunday Planned quadrangular match, run by Guildford Norfolk Open 5W Other Coming Events We are hoping to hold an invitation evening for Wimbledon senior fencers sometime in the summer term. Anyone interested in further details should contact Tim or Julie. Tim is organising a team from Guildford to fence at the Wimbledon Invitation Team Challenge on 30th April. Page 7

8 SOCIAL EVENTS PUB LUNCH AND GOOD WALK It is a well known fact that in order to maintain high standards of fencing, we all need to remain in tip top conditions of fitness!! Wolfing down large quantities of Easter goodies and lolling about in front of the holiday films and all the other treats that the television companies spoil us with over the holiday season, may not exactly be conducive to our fitness levels of excellence. So how about a good five mile walk and a hearty lunch in Cobham? This outing will be for anyone in the Guildford Fencing Club, including family and friends who may wish to join in. Details as follows: Times: Meet at The Cricketers car park, Cobham, 10 a.m. Lunch at The Cricketers approx. 1 p.m. Dress: Wellies/walking boots. If you would like to join in, please telephone me, Dordie Ketley on to enable me to warn the Cricketers in advance of numbers. Dordie Ketley A further report on the Golden Swords event at the Globe. A group of fencers and their families went to see a performance of Golden Swords at the Globe Theatre in London last autumn. It was a performance to celebrate the golden anniversary of the reformation of the British Fencing Association after World War II. The cast of over one hundred traced the history of sword fighting in England from 1540 to the present day, with clear explanations of it all from the ghost of Henry VIII who was highly amusing. There was even live music and splendid performances of Dragonsfire and the Can Can. At the end, there was a most exciting demonstration of fencing by Olympic fencers, including Pierre and Laurent Harper. The Globe Theatre is a most interesting building; it is a replica of a real Shakespearean theatre as it would have been in Elizabethan times. It is very small so you are never far from the stage but it is exposed to the elements. Thankfully, the Guildford Fencing Club party did not get rained on, despite threatening weather earlier on that day Whilst in London, a few people took the opportunity to view the Millennium Ferris Wheel which was almost upright at this stage. It is staggeringly high and will, no doubt, provide a terrifying experience with fabulous views. It was generally agreed that an outing was a good idea for people to spend some time together; hopefully, there will be more in future. Dordie Ketley Isle of Wight Open 13th and 14th May, Savoy Hotel, Yarmouth This has always been a fun event to enter, being one of the smaller Open competitions. It is usually overshadowed by the National Epee Competition but this has been replaced this year by the Millennium event later in the summer. This could lead to a large entry this year. Trevor has suggested going as a group. Is anyone interested? I have looked up the details on the BFA site and it appears to be only an Epee and Foil competition no sabre mentioned. Men and Women s Foil takes place on the Saturday and Men and Women s Epee on the Sunday. Latest report time on both days is 10 a.m. Entry fee is 8.50 per weapon, or 15 for both. Contact either Tim or Julie, if you are interested in going in a group, or Julie if you want to go separately and just want the contact details. Julie Schofield Page 8

9 C R O S S W O R D Across Down 1. The art of swordplay (7) 1. A popular US comedy foursome on Channel 4 (7) 5. The opposite of out (3) 2. Negative (2) 7. Either (2) 3. Neutral third person (2) 8. Feline animal (3) 4. Plural of the word for where you put your car! (7) 9. Nota bene (2) 6. Where 8 across used to sit? (3) 10. For example (2) 11. The opposite of from (2) 13. April is famous for these (7) 12. The plural of I (2) Can you find all the answers? Again big box of chocolates/bottle of wine for first out of the hat. Name Tel No. Closing Date for Entries June 30th Box for entries will be left next to Noticeboard on Friday nights or send your solution direct to Julie at 3 Oak Tree Close, Burpham, Guildford, GU4 7JQ. Solution to Issue One Quiz Winner of the Issue One Quiz: Cassie Tickner Smith G G T R E V N F I N C G H U L L E B E S A T I N M I I X U F D F L C B U U D D L Y X L I E R P T I F C D D G O L S E R O N P O S T F G E W I S R N G E E P E O M O N S O E R R T I N R R R D W V L L B S G C D F D F F E L S A I N I N N D F R R I S S P A N P P R T S T M L A F G G A M E S X W Page 9