Huntingdonshire Fencing Club

Just wanted to wish the very best of luck to Eric Lauga and Richard Sage who are off to Belgium this week for the Veterans European Championships.

Eric has also been selected to be part of the GB mens epee team.

Richard Sage has also been selected as the men`s team foil non fencing captain.

Good luck to both our club members.

The club nights continue to go from strength to strength with members of all ages taking part across the 3 badminton courts and all three weapons being fenced.

There was an AGM and a BBQ celebrating 45 years of the club.

The afternoon and evening was a great success and all that attended the BBQ (some 30+), I feel sure enjoyed themselves.

Mike Robinson worked hard on the BBQ and so did Francis in the kitchen. Between them they produced a great array of food. Also thanks to those who brought various types of salads.

A very big thank you to Mike and Francis to open their house and wonderful garden to HFC members for this event, THANK YOU.

This year also marks the club's 45th Anniversary and we plan on celebrating! Over the years we have had a range of events at big milestones. Everything from meals cruising down the river to a midsummer ball with a string quartet followed by a rock band. If anyone has any ideas for an event this year please post it on our fb group here (members have to be over 18 to join the group)

It is great to see the club doing so well. We recently decided to take the opportunity to add a 4th badminton court and last Thursday saw around 40 fencers at the club with all 3 weapons active on the pistes. The extra space allows plenty of fencing alongside the usual coaching.

Following the pandemic the future of all clubs was uncertain so it is great to see the club thriving, with many visitors alongside our growing membership.

The club continues to see a good number of members attending across all three weapons most weeks which is great to see.

Thank you to all members who have chosen to continue to support the club!

About British Veteran Fencing

British Veterans Fencing (BVF) promotes and supports fencing for people over 40 years old.

Veterans fencing is split into age categories: Cat 1 (40-49 years old); Cat 2 (50-59 years old); Cat 3 (60-69 years old) and Cat 4 (70+).

Throughout the year BVF holds competitions, either divided into individual age groups or open to all fencers over 40. Certain competitions are used to select fencers to represent Great Britain but there are also smaller open competitions and team events. One thing common to all veteran events is a spirit of camaraderie and inclusivity

The Veterans Winton Cup

The Veterans Winton Cup was offered to BVF in 2008 by Bobby and Sir Nicholas Winton. Their wish was to have a competition between regional teams which is a social event as well as having a high standard of fencing. Ten regional teams compete in all three weapons at both men’s and women’s events.

• Are you forty or over?

• Would you like to fence in the Winton Cup team for the Eastern Region?

This year, 2022, this fun, friendly and competitive team event is planned for the weekend of 24th and 25th September at RAF Cosford near Wolverhampton. There’s a gala dinner on Saturday 24th to look forward to too!

If you are forty or over and you’d like to fence in the Eastern Region team please drop an email to Richard Sage, the Eastern Region Veterans Captain on richard_a_sage@hotmail.com to express your interest.

If you’re new to veterans fencing or if you’d like to discuss veterans fencing then please get in touch with Richard who’d be pleased to share his experience of veterans training camps, competitions and camaraderie to encourage all eligible fencers to engage in what for him has been and continues to be a rewarding and enjoyable fencing journey.

For more on British Veterans Fencing please visit https://www.veterans-fencing.co.uk

We are very please and proud to tell you that Richard Sage has been selected to represent England in the Veterans Four Nations Home International.

This is being held on Saturday 9th April in Bristol.

This will be Richard’s 7th Home International fencing for England.

In addition, Richard has also been selected as Captain and reserve for GB Grand Veterans team (60`s to 70`s) in the European Veterans Team Championships.

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This is being held on Saturday 28th May in Hamburg Germany.

This will be Richard`s 4th European Championships (Skopje Macedonia, Kalmar Sweden, Porec Croatia) and second as Captain (He was captain in Porec in 2013).

I am sure the whole club wishes great success for Richard in these International competitions.

Good Luck Richard.

HFC club members took part in a friendly foil match at Cambridge fencing club on Thursday 2nd December. Ten club members attended making 3 teams, a relay format was used with the score being taken on to the next 5 hit mark by each successive team member with the aim to reach 45 hits.

It was an enjoyable evening with some close-fought bouts. The chance to socialise and fence some different fencers was appreciated by all and we finished the night with a drink in a local pub.

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Epee and Sabre matches are being planned, as well as a reciprocal visit of Cambridge fencing club to HFC.

HFC club members took part in the Veterans Winter Tournament held at RAF Cosford 25th/26th September 2021. Representing Eastern Region and led Richard Sage, the fencers fenced matches against the other regions at each weapon.

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Club members involved included:

• Richard Sage (Team Leader and Men's Foil),

• Tracey Coates (Women's Foil),

• Ian Coates (Men's Saber)

• Jacques Portal (Men's Foil)

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The fencing was competitive but fun and all the team members enjoyed the weekend’s fencing. The event was all the more special as it’s the first time Covid restrictions have allowed a major national team event, it was so nice to see old and new friends on and off the piste!

Richard Sage, one of the veteran fencers at Huntingdon Fencing Club, is also a keen squash player at Hunts County Squash Club at the Pavilion in Hemingford Grey, St Ives. Hunts County Squash Club run a very successful cadet training scheme for their young squash players and in August 2021 Rob Dadds, Head Coach at Hunts County Squash Club, asked Richard if he could arrange a fencing demo and ‘have-a-go-at-fencing’ sessions for the Hunts County Squash cadets. Richard asked fellow fencers Mike Ellis, Tracey Coates and Fiona Turnbull if they’d help.

Head squash coach Rob Dadds said after the sessions “It was fantastic to once again have Huntingdon Fencing Club attend two afternoons of our summer squash camps and introduce our youngsters to Fencing. Having had such a positive response from the previous Fencing demo a few years back, it was great to be able to have Richard and the team at Hunts County Squash Club again to expose a new group of young squash players to the sport! Both sessions went excellently, with Mike's captivating explanation and coaching, an interactive and thrilling demonstration of a Fencing match, and of course, the juniors then got to put on the gear and try for themselves! It was great to watch them all get stuck in and enjoying the session, while putting into practice the different tactical and technical elements they'd learnt over the session. There were also some parallels between the two sports that hopefully they will be able use the help with their squash. Thank you to Richard, Mike, Fiona and Tracey for such a great session. We look forward to organising another Fencing session for the juniors in future!”

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Full report can be found here

 At this year's AGM some important changes were decided including to fee's and appointment of Ian Warburton as club secretary.

Further details can be seen here  

This year's AGM will be held via Zoom on August 15th at 3pm.

Further details can be seen here