Fencing North Committee Meeting – 26^th October 2020

Meeting Opened: 7:10pm

Present: David Elder, Sunnie Sun, Katie Logan, Maja Saran, Rhys Greensill, Mary Black, Peter Butler.

Apologies: Matt Stanley.

Confirmation of the Previous Minutes: David noted a correction to the minutes from September: the FeNZ committee agreed that each region would hold a regional competition on Labour weekend, not necessarily a regional championship.

David moved that the minutes for September be accepted with this correction. Maja seconded. Motion carried.

Matters Arising: There has not been any news on the Mediaeval Madness event as of yet.

Treasurer’s Report: Amanda was not present to give the treasurer’s report. The report will be received at the next committee meeting.  

Competitions: There is one event remaining on our calendar: the Christmas tournament scheduled for the 5^th of December. David expressed that the aim for the event was to celebrate fencing and bring the community together, with as much participation as possible. However, there was disagreement over the form the event would take, and issues around affiliation were raised.

A subcommittee consisting of Maja, Katie, Peter and Mary was created to organise the tournament. They committed to have a proposal before the committee before the end of the week.

Health and Safety: This month there were no reported incidents at Fencing North competitions. Action point to David: check whether FeNZ requires long pants to be worn at club trainings.

Fundraising: Rhys reported the status of our fundraising activities.

We currently have three applications outstanding:

• Aktive Auckland: $28,570 for aluminium pistes and community outreach. The status of this application is unclear.
• Four Winds: $17,500 for aluminium pistes. Rhys will contact them to ascertain the status of the application.
• Lion Foundation: $16,00 for coaching development. The results of this application should be announced soon.

Of the money we have received, $1000 is earmarked for first aid training for coaches. $4700 from Aktive Auckland is discretionary, some of which will likely go towards to first aid course and some to outreach. In addition, the funding for fabric pistes which we have received requires that we use these for community outreach and building the sport.

David moved the following proposal: Fencing North aims to work with clubs to develop strategies for taking fencing to the wider community. To that end, Fencing North encourages all clubs to conduct demonstrations at at least two schools or other community venues in the next 6 months, using Fencing North supplied boxes and fabric pistes. Fencing North will pay expenses of $100 per demonstration to the club, provided that we receive a list of names and (optionally) contacts of those who attended, and photographs of the demonstration. These payments will go to a maximum of $1500 in total.

Note: A list of participants in the outreach demonstrations is a requirement of our funding agreement with the Auckland Council.

Rhys seconded this proposal. Passed with all in favour.

FeNZ News: David reported the news from Fencing New Zealand.

David has put together a report for FeNZ about funding opportunities. The other regions have been invited to contact him for advice on seeking funding.

A subcommittee is working on the national event calendar for 2021. In addition, there will soon be a formal review of the affiliation system.

FeNZ is looking for a committee member for the Athletes Commission.

Other Business:

Equipment: One of our metal pistes is bent from a incident where some of the sections fell off the trolley. Mary has contact details for a place that should be able to straighten the sections. Action point for Peter and Mary: Get a quote and organise fixing the piste.

Permanent: Rhys and Peter reported on their progress in looking for a permanent venue. There is a good opportunity coming up in Glenn Innes in the next 6 months, with a building around 24m by 40m. We would need to put in the wooden floor. Another opportunity is a building next to the university cricket club, of 17m x 40m, which could be converted into a gym. Some issues were raised around the location, as both Fencing North and Swords would want to secure a venue as central as possible.

Annual General Meeting: The AGM will be held on Sunday, 22^nd November, at 6:30pm. The venue will be the Saran family home at 50A Godden Crescent, Mission Bay. Katie will send out the formal notice of the meeting.

Volunteer Recognition: Sunnie suggested that we find a way to recognise our volunteers at the end of this year. Katie will encourage our club contacts to send contact details for volunteers to Sunnie so their contribution can be formally acknowledged.

Meeting Closed: 9:12pm

Location: Level Two / 76 Anzac Avenue, Auckland 1010

Weapons: Foil, Sabre

Training Times: Monday-Thursday  6-9.30pm

Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 021648072

Website: pulsefencing.co.nz

Facebook: facebook.com/pulsefencing

If you cannot see the results below, try this link.

If you cannot see the results below, try this link.

If you cannot see the results below, try this link.

If you cannot view the results below, use this link.

Sponsor through the Community Resilience Fund (from Sport NZ)
September 2020

Sponsor through the Regional Sport and Recreation Grants Programme
August 2020

Sponsor through the Quick Response Fund
September 2020

Fencing North Committee Meeting – 28^th September 2020

Meeting Opened: 7:05pm

Present: David Elder, Sunnie Sun, Amanda Hopkins, Katie Logan, Rhys Greensill, Maja Saran, Neil Young, Vicky Fan, James Harwood, Matt Houtman, Matt Stanley.

Apologies: Rory Ogg

Confirmation of the Previous Minutes: Katie moved that the minutes for August be accepted as correct. Rhys seconded. Motion carried.

Treasurer’s Report: Amanda gave the Treasurer’s Report. The Society has around $40,000 in the account and $6,800 currently owing.
She reported that we have not yet received our grant money from Auckland Council, which is subject to Rhys sending in the final agreed outputs for the grant.
Amanda moved that her report be accepted. Sunnie seconded. Motion carried.

Competitions: There are two regional tournaments in the upcoming month: the Secondary School Sabre and Epee Teams (17^th October) and the Fencing North Open Championship (24^th October).

Health and Safety at Events: Under Covid Alert Level 2, Fencing North can still hold competitions. We are following the regulations required by Trusts, which include: registration of all entrants, volunteers and spectators for contact tracing; social distancing of non-competitors; reserved toilets and entries for this event; sanitiser and masks available if required; and ensuring that anyone who is symptomatic does not attend.  

National Events: Earlier this month, Fencing New Zealand announced that all remaining National events this year would be cancelled, as the situation was too uncertain to guarantee that they could be held. Instead, each region will hold their regional open event on Labour weekend.

Fundraising: Rhys reported that we have received $1000 from the Albert Edent board to go towards a first aid course for developing coaches. This is roughly enough to cover 10 people, but we will likely put in additional funds to increase that number.
We have received $4,700 from Aktive Auckland from the Sport NZ funding round. This can be spent on any expenses that are required. Rhys has also put in an application to Aktive Auckland for $23,000 to purchase aluminium pistes and fund coaching/promotional events at schools to increase participation.
He has also put in an application to Four Winds of $18,000 for four aluminium pistes. An application for funds for the coaching development course went into the Lion Foundation 6 weeks ago.
Rhys noted that there is still a lot of funding available, and perhaps fewer organisations are applying for it. Since the National event has been cancelled, it is no longer a funding priority for this year. David will work on providing a new list of funding priorities for applications.

FeNZ News: David and Amanda reported the news from Fencing New Zealand.
Anya Kamynina has been appointed to the FIE Referee Master List as a second reserve for foil refereeing. Congratulations to Anya for this impressive achievement.
FeNZ has decided that all members who fully affiliated this year would receive a $20 discount for affiliating in 2021.
It was decided that national rankings would take into account the previous two years of results, since some regions have not held many tournaments this year.
The FIE has announced that there will not be any more international tournaments held until 2021.

Other Business:

Mediaeval Madness: Matt Stanley discussed the Mediaeval Madness event which is held in Whangarei each year. He requested Fencing North’s help to create a demonstration as a recruitment event.

Administration: There was some discussion about whether it would be feasible for Fencing North to hire a part-time administrator. Rhys noted that it might be possible to apply for funding to employ an administrator, which would free up volunteer time to grow the sport further. The administrator’s time could also be offered to FeNZ to improve the administration of the sport in general.

Permanent Venue: Rhys reported that, together with Peter Butler from Auckland Swords, he has begun looking at options for a permanent venue for fencing. There are two main options: venues that are available immediately, which are largely commercial leases, and longer term Council-funded options. The latter would require a long-term strategic plan for the sport, which will take time and money to create. At the moment, Rhys and Peter will focus on short-term opportunities which are available within the shared budget of Fencing North and Auckland Swords.

Auckland Special Needs Christmas Party: David discussed this event, which will be held on 5^th December at the Greenlane Events Centre. He would like bring the plastic equipment and  a few fencers to do a demonstration. The committee agreed that this would be a good thing to do, even though it does clash with our planned Christmas tournament.

Meeting Closed: 8:37pm.