Entries for the next open tournament (the McLeavy) are now open.  It is on Sunday, 27 June 2021 at Trusts Arena, Henderson.

You can enter via the link below.  

https://www.registernow.com.au/secure/Register.aspx?E=43853

Please read all of the information in the registration information carefully.  Then click the green 'Continue' button to enter and pay.  If you do not know your FENZ registration number, use the non-registered option, although you will need to be a Fencing North member to participate.  Note Fencing North Membership is free!

Please register on or before 17 June 2021.  All entries after that date will be at the discretion of the Tournament Organiser.  We need to know entry numbers early so that we can plan properly.  

Please note that open tournaments are open to all levels of fencer.  We would like to see more school aged fencers participate.  We had, for example, 40 boys fence at the recent schools tournaments.  If you got into the top 16 of that tournament, you should feel that you are at a level to fence at the open events.  We want to see more entries at this tournament level.  

Any questions about this tournament, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Tournament entry is now open for the first secondary schools tournament of the season.

Follow this link, and read the instructions carefully.

https://www.registernow.com.au/secure/Register.aspx?E=43504

Registrations close on 20 May 2021.  Acceptance of any late entries after that date will be at the discretion of the tournament organiser.

Late enties are not welcome because the organisers need to know numbers etc. so that they can plan ahead, get the number of referrees / volunteers etc organised and confirm the venue size.

Congratulations to all the Fencing North Juniors who fenced over the weekend in Wellington at the National U15 and U17 Tournament.

Particularly the medal winners:

Reminder that the Fenton Open Tournament (all weapons) is open for registration until Thursday, 29 April 2021.   

Here is the link for entries:  https://www.registernow.com.au/secure/Register.aspx?E=43373

Please read the entry information in the link carefully, and press the green button at the end of the first page to start enrolling.

If you do not yet know your FENZ membership number, use the non-member option.

LATE ENTRIES ARE AT THE DISCRETION OF THE TOURNAMENT ORGANISERS - WE DON'T LIKE LATE ENTRIES AS IT MAKES PLANNING (INCLUDING WHETHER TO HOLD A PARTICULAR EVENT OR NOT) HARD.

Fencing North Inc. Committee Meeting – 29.03.2021

 Meeting Opened:  7:00pm (In person – Simpson Grierson offices.  By phone – Dial in)

Present: David Elder (President), Ben Upton (Secretary), Maja Saran (Head of Tournaments), Judit Fliszar, Sunnie Sun (Vice President, Massey University), Peter Butler (Auckland Swords), Mary Black (Tuatahi), Amanda Hopkins (Treasurer)

Apologies:  Rhys Greensill (Fund Raising), Matt Stanley (Whangarei Swords),

Confirmation of the Previous Minutes:  Minutes approved.

Matters Arising – No matters arising.   

Competitions

Maja Saran presented her report.  Late fees not working.  More than a third of entries are late.  Need to incentivise early entry (Suggestion - Early bird rate - $25, Standard - $35, Late - $45).  Would like to pay referees.  This was discussed.

There was discussion about raising fees generally, to ensure tournaments do not run at a loss.

Dave Elder proposed to raise fees to $50 standard to alleviate this problem.

There was opposition to this and the motion was not passed.

There is nonetheless an issue around late enrolment which causes problems around whether to proceed or not and with the organisation of the event. 

There is a concern about U14 being left unsupervised.  There needs to be a direction that this cannot happen.  U14s must be under supervision of a parent or guardian.

 There is a preference for Courts 5 and 6 at Trusts.

Some data is being collated about tournaments and participation.  This will assist in the future as more data is gathered.

There is a view that there should be no refunds, subject to discretion based on common sense.

Maja presented a fulsome report about the current state of play around tournaments.  This report was well received.  There needs to be greater support and a better attitude towards the DT. 

Mary to draft up an information sheet with guidelines for fencers, parents and coaches to outline where they can help and assist.  There will also be effort to ensure the DT is not disturbed during the organisation of the tournament.   

There was brief discussion around gender separation.  There is a feeling that the current approach is working appropriately, albeit this is driven by lack of entries.  The preference is to run separate gender events when this is possible.  The threshold is currently 6.

Treasurer’s Report

There current position is positive.  Payment for $4,000 is due from FENZ.  Payment to Oliver Agnew is still due, but he is yet to invoice for the website.

The purchase of pistes (2) is under way.  There is an option of ribbons instead of medals.  Ben Upton to inquire around this.

Report was approved.

Permanent Venue

Peter Butler reported.  FN is in a process about how to take this forward.  Rhys and Peter have received some club feedback (5) which is being processed.  Thanks were extended to those who have reported in.  A discussion document will be produced and this will be presented to the FN executive.  A proposal will then be presented to the wider club membership.  The key issues will be the governing structure and the funding model.

Hoping to be in a position to report more fully in June.

Health and Safety

Nothing to report.  FN is still looking for a welfare officer.

FeNZ News

FENZ AGM took place and was reported on.  There was an outline of FIE events.

School Sponsorship

There is an offer from Daniel Chan at Mainland Fencing for equipment prizes at school tournaments.  He would set up a stall.  There is potentially a scoring box on offer (or equivalent) for the top school.  That proposal was accepted.   

Coaching Report

There is a coaching course coming up which is a trial.  A coaching database needs to be established which records FN accepted coaches so they can be supported.

There needs to be some place on the FN website for coaches.  Judith to provide a list of currently registered fencers.

Equipment

Of the 9 there are 7 working boxes.  There is one box missing – This needs to be found.  Another is under repair – Permission given to progress this.    

Confirmation of next meeting date – Tuesday, 27 April 2021.

Other Business:  No other business.

Meeting Closed:   9:26 pm

Live results as they happen.

FN U15-U17 Champs 2021 Results

The Fencing North U15 and U17 Champs is coming up on Saturday, 17th April 2021.  It will be at Trusts Arena, Henderson.

It will go ahead assuming Auckland is at Level 1, which at this stage looks good.  Entry fees will be refunded if the event has to be cancelled.

All of the details for the tournament and the link for registration can be found here:

https://www.registernow.com.au/secure/Register.aspx?E=43157

https://www.fencingtimelive.com/tournaments/eventSchedule/543980539E964D9383AAAA29B35050BB#today

The dates and event details for the Oceanic / NZ Championship Junior (10 - 12 September 201) and Senior (23 - 25 October 2021) have been confirmed by the New Zealand and the Oceanic Fencing governing bodies.

See all the event details by going to the tournament links in the Fencing North Tournament Calendar.

NB The Oceanic status of these events will only apply if travel between Oceania member countries is allowed. This will be determined closer to the date of each Championship.

Whether the National (New Zealand) aspect of these championships can proceed will then depend on the Covid alert levels that apply, and will be decided upon by Fencing New Zealand.