Fencing is a great all round sport where there is a great emphasis on sportsmanship.
Fencing is a great form of physical activity that develops all round fitness, both aerobic and anaerobic.
It teaches athletes to be quick with both their feet and mind, develop critical thinking and problem solving skills while dealing with fluctuating emotions as they deal with success and failure.
Most of all fencing is fun. Everyone participates. No one sits on the bench.
Some of the skills fencing teaches are patience; hand / eye coordination; confidence, self-discipline, the ability to think on your feet and sportsmanship.
As the number of fencers in Auckland and nationwide is not overwhelming, those that attend local tournaments build great friendships that span years. On the piste they may be opponents. Once the bout has finished friendships are formed and flourish.
Practising lunges, footwork and hand movements outside of fencing classes will enable your child to improve their ability and technique.
Set up a target board or hanging tennis balls to practise hitting a specific stationary or moving target.
Attending training sessions at other clubs helps too, as it exposes fencers to different styles and different fencers. At your regular club, your child will fence the same fencers’ week in and out and become used to their particular style.
While your child may come away with the odd bruise or two to their arms or legs, fencing is a very safe sport so long as the correct protective gear is worn and fencers treat their weapons and those fencing around them with respect.
All fencers wear a glove and mask while training. Typically they would also wear a plastron, jacket, breeches (or long leggings) and long socks. Females wear a chest protector irrespective of their age.
Shorts should never be worn for safety reasons.
There are three different weapons, each requiring their own set of gear: Epee, Foil and Sabre.
The entire body is the target for epee, whereas the target areas for sabre and foil is determined by the lame. The target area for sabre is the upper body (including sleeves) and mask. The target area for foil is the upper body (excluding sleeves) and groin area.
While a lot of coaches can train fencers in all three weapons, NZ has some coaches who specialise in a specific weapon.
Chest Protectors: Chest protectors are plastic devices used to cover the chest and are part of the kit for all female fencers. A male version is also available.
Plastron: The plastron is worn under the jacket on the foil arm and provides extra protection to the most commonly hit part of the body (target area).
Jacket: The jacket is designed to protect the fencer and is constructed to prevent penetration of sharp objects (e.g. a broken blade) while absorbing the impact of hits of the foils. It has long sleeves and should be large enough to touch the hips and overlap the breeches.
Lamé: Lamés are jackets with metal fibres woven through them to make them conductive and are the targets used for electric bouts to record hits in sabre and foil. Lamés are worn over the plastron and jacket. A foilists’ lame does not have sleeves. Epeeists do not wear lames as the whole body is a target.
Breeches: Breeches have a high waist and go down to below the knee, overlapping the socks. They provide protection for off-target hits. Often track pants can be used instead.
Socks: Long socks should reach above the knee and can be any colour other than black.
Mask: Masks protect the face, sides and top of the head. Most masks are made out of mesh with a Kevlar bib. The bib covers the neck and the lower sides of the head and should cover the neck of the jacket.
Glove: The glove protects the hand and fore arm. Gloves are worn over the jacket and can be any colour other than black. The gloves should have a Velcro cuff which allows the body wire under the sleeve to easily connect to an electric weapon.
Gloves are typically sized as small, medium or large; or in individual glove sizes. Gloves that are individually sized will usually provide a better fit but tend to be more expensive.
Body and Mask Wires: Body and mask wires are required for electronic fencing and competitions. Not all competitions require mask wires to be used.
Grip: A grip is the handle the foil is held by. You can purchase a blade and grip together or both separately. Foil grips can be interchanged with other blades.
Each fencer requires their own glove.
Most clubs have gear for beginners to borrow however it is recommended the second purchase be a mask, so your child (for hygiene reasons).
Most competitions require the fencer to have their own gear. For local competitions your club may have gear that can be borrowed or rented.
Note: Outgrown gear in reasonable condition can be on sold. Check out what is available for purchase.
FIE approved equipment is a higher standard of protection and is expected to last longer than non-FIE equipment, but it is also more expensive. As a general rule if you are competing at regional competitions it is okay to use non-FIE equipment, but if you want to compete at national competitions or internationally you will need some FIE equipment.
Your coach may be able to recommend specific retailers and what your child needs to own first. Until they are ready to compete a whole kit is not necessary.
Ensure you are purchasing the correct gear for the level your child is fencing (and competing) at while allowing room for growth and progress, otherwise you will be continually purchasing new gear as they progress.
It is important left handed fencers have a left handed glove, foil, lame, plastron and jacket.
Our New Zealand supplier, Mainland Fencing, attends the majority of Fencing New Zealand competitions (i.e. NZ U15 and U17 championships, North Island, South Island and Nationals) and can assist with finding the best foil/epee/sabre blade for your child. However fencing equipment and clothing can easily be purchased online from the following websites.
New Zealand: Mainland Fencing: http://mlfencing.com
Overseas:
Leon Paul http://www.leonpaul.com Absolute Fencing http://www.absolutefencinggear.com/shopping
PBT http://www.pbtfencing.com Allstar http://www.allstar.de
Note: Depending on the total cost of your order, you may need to pay GST charges before the equipment is released from Customs
A beginner may choose to train once a week at a club. If they wish to improve, learn specific techniques or enter competitions it is likely they will need to increase their training to two times a week and add in a private lesson.
In general training sessions involve the whole group, and includes drills or footwork skills followed by general fencing bouts. A private lesson is an additional cost to the general training sessions and is usually a one-on-one session with the coach.
The duration and frequency of private lessons varies from coach to coach and different fencing clubs have their own approach and cost structure. Ensure you are aware of the costs and duration of the lesson and the goals the fencer and coach are working towards together.
Those interested at competing at a higher level may choose to train three to four times a week. As well as fencing sessions, training at this level is likely to include other types of fitness work.
Competitions should be treated as another opportunity to learn, grow and have fun. Start at an age appropriate level.
In general your coach should let you know when your child is ready to compete. Feel free to ask the coach or trainer or other more senior fencers if you are aware of upcoming competitions that haven’t been mentioned. Fencing Norths’ website lists upcoming competitions on its home page.
Your child should also express an interest in competing. If you force the issue, no one will enjoy it.
Anyone can go along and watch a competition to see how they are run and this approach might suit your child if they are unsure whether they want to compete yet.
Individual Competitions
Competitors are made up of round robin poules and then a series of direct elimination bouts.
Before the tournament starts the Tournament Director will call out the fencers in each poule, the piste number along with the referee. Once completed all competitors head to their paste along with the mask, glove, foils, body wires and drink bottle. Your child will fence every other person in their poule to a total of 5 points (or 3 minutes).
At the conclusion of the poules, the fencers are ranked by their total score (number of victories compared to the number of points they conceded) ready for the Direct Elimination rounds.
In Direct Elimination the fencer who is seeded number 1 will face number 32, number 2 will face 31, so on and so forth. If there are less than 32 fencers then some of the top fencers may get a “bye” and be automatically in the top 16.
Direct Elimination bouts go up to 15 points and can take up to 9 minutes – 3 bouts of minute’s duration each with a 1 minute break between the first and second bout.
The winner progresses to the next Direct Elimination round while the loser gets to socialise and enjoy watching the rest of the competition. This process is followed through the remaining rounds until the semi-finals. The winner of each semi-final progresses to the final while the losers usually place third equal. Occasionally they will have to fence off for third and fourth place.
Unless the numbers are low the competitions are usually gender based.
It is a good idea to start at an age appropriate level and then broaden your child’s horizons. Fencing competitions are lots of fun and as long as competitors have realistic expectations everyone should have a great time.
Local clubs often run their own age group competitions for U9, U11 and U13 fencers. These are fun occasions where the fencer is guided by the coach and referee and the emphasis is on participation. Clothing and affiliation requirements for these competitions often differ from older age group competitions.
As your child progresses ask your coach and check out the Fencing North and Fencing New Zealand websites tournament calendar.
If your child feels comfortable let them participate in appropriate older age group competitions so that they gain experience, grow their fencing skills and make a great new set of friends.
During the school terms two and three Fencing North runs an Auckland Secondary Schools competition which is open to any fencer attending primary or secondary school in the Auckland region. This competition has fencers participating at all levels and is a great way to start getting involved in competitions.
Your child can fence two age group levels above their age. The official age groups are U13, U15, U17, U20, U23, Open and Veteran. (Note some clubs may hold U9 and U11 competitions.)
The age of the fencer is determined by their age on January the first of that year. Therefore if a competition is in April, and your child turned 15 in March, they are still eligible for an U15 competition that year.
If your child is a competent fencer, they can ask for permission to fence one level above the recommended age group. Their coach must also agree to this. To fencer at higher level the fencer will need their coach’s agreement and special dispensation from the tournaments organisers.
When competing overseas the rules of the tournament govern the age group that can compete. Local competitions may have different rules than FIE or Asian Championship competitions.
The number of entrants for each gender often determines whether the competition will be mixed of gender specific. Generally a minimum of 6 competitors is required for each gender to make it a gender specific competition.
Mixed competitions are fun and can challenge and improve a fencers abilities.
Yes.
Fencing New Zealand regularly posts information about upcoming overseas competitions and advises whether the competition is open to any fencer or a specific number of fencers that qualify for that competition.
They also recommend you google overseas clubs and national fencing bodies and follow their competition dates. Often your coach can recommend suitable competitions to attend overseas.
Some competitions require competitors to be submitted by Fencing New Zealand while others have open entries. The entry form or associated information usually contains this information.
Australia holds the Koala Champs, a friendly competition for U9, U11 and U13 competitors and while the entries have to go through Fencing New Zealand, the competition is open to anyone who wants to compete. At a higher level Australia hosts the Australian U15 and U17 competitions to which a number of New Zealanders enter.
Note: Make sure you have the correct gear for the competitions you are entering.
Yes. Some clubs offer adult lessons and training sessions. For more information contact a club near you.
It might seem weird that this is big news for us - but we have kicked out paper and finally have a completely online affiliation system!
Fencing New Zealand requires all fencers to be affiliated, and we try to make this as easy as possible for fencers. Our new system makes it easier than ever before for fencers and supporters to join Fencing North and Fencing New Zealand, all through an online form with payment through paypal or by credit/debit card. When you sign up you will create a login to this site that lets you manage your membership information and easily renew each year with as little hassle as possible - and if you're logged in and entering events, some of your basic information will be autopopulated in the entry forms!
Memberships are open for the year and due by 31st March or before your first competition - you can sign up on our memberships page: https://www.fencingnorth.com/membership
Lame Care Guide
- Hanging up a lame after use will help air dry it and ensure it lasts longer
- When packing your lame, try not to fold it as this can break the metallic threads causing the lame to loose conductivity, instead lay it on a towel and roll it up.
- Washing the lame can help make it last longer:
- Check the label on the lame to make sure it can be washed; sometimes they will have symbols indicating this.
- If the lame label gives instructions on how to wash then always follow those, as the manufacturers probably know best.
- Hand wash the lame in the sink with some detergent, but make sure the detergent does not contain bleach as this will ruin the conductivity of the lame.
- Rinse thoroughly to get all of the detergent out, try not to ring it as this will break the metallic threads.
- Hang on a coat hanger to dry.
Jacket, Plastron, and Breeches Care Guide
- After training or a competition hanging out your whites to dry.
- To wash:
- If you have your name printed on the back, or country printed on the breeches turn it inside out to avoid fading over time.
- Machine wash on cold using a detergent that doesn’t contain bleach.
- Hang on a coat hanger to dry, avoiding the sun.
Mask Care Guide
- After training and competitions taking your mask out of you bag to air out will help to reduce the smell.
- Using an old pillow case or material bag to put your mask in in your bag will reduce sweat transferring from the rest of your gear onto your mask.
- To wash your mask:
- If it has removable padding, remove this and wash.
- If your mask does not have padding that cannot be removed hand wash with detergent, work the soap into the padding with your hands. Make sure to rinse all of the soap out.
- Let air-dry.
Weapon Care Guide
- There are three different types of weapons; foil, epee, and sabre.
- Whenever putting your weapons in your bag always try to keep separate from other gear as rust could transfer from the blade onto your whites (which is impossible to get off) and keep the sweat off the blades.
- If you don’t have a bag that has a separate weapon pocket you can use thin pvc pipes with some elastic on one end to protect your blades. (This is also helpful to protect your weapons during travel.)
- A good guide for troubleshooting problems that may occur with your weapons:
FENCING NORTH UNDER 15 CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday 31st October 2015
Book the date, this will be the last foil competition of the season.
We will have some fencers coming up from Wellington, so it will be a good opportunity to mix with the rest of the fencing stars out there and have some fencing fun.
A competition not to be missed for the young fencers heading to Australia in November for Under 15 and under 13.
Venue: Massey High School Hall, 274 Don Buck Rd, Massey West
Date: 31st October 2015
Start Time: Registration at 9.30am for a 9.45am start
What event? Individual Boys’ Foil and Individual Girls’ Foil
Who can enter? Any fencer fully affiliated with Fencing New Zealand and born after 1st January 2000
Entry Fee: $20 first weapon
Over the past weekend serveral of our fencers competed at President's Cup and National Under 23 Sabre Champs in Christchurch.
Congratulations to the following fencers on their results:
Fencer | Club | Event | Placing |
---|---|---|---|
Hamish Chan | NZAF | President's Cup Men's Foil | 1st |
Chris Bell | NZAF | President's Cup Men's Foil | 2nd |
Andre Chou | Auckland Uni | President's Cup Men's Foil | 20th |
Andi Liu | Auckland Uni | President's Cup Men's Foil | 22nd |
Nicola Buisman | NZAF | President's Cup Women's Foil | 3rd |
Hamish Bulmer | Auckland Uni | President's Cup Men's Sabre | 3rd |
Johann Ryu | Auckland Uni | President's Cup Men's Sabre | 5th |
Andre Chou | Auckland Uni | President's Cup Men's Sabre | 7th |
Anna Chalton | Auckland Swords | President's Cup Women's Sabre | 3rd |
Johann Ryu | Auckland Uni | President's Cup Men's Epee | 7th |
Andi Liu | Auckland Uni | President's Cup Men's Epee | 15th |
Anna Chalton | Auckland Swords | President's Cup Women's Epee | 2nd |
Mary Black | Auckland Swords | President's Cup Women's Epee | 5th |
Hamish Chan | NZAF | National U23 Mixed Sabre | 1st |
Johann Ryu | Auckland Uni | National U23 Mixed Sabre | 3rd |
Andre Chou | Auckland Uni | National U23 Mixed Sabre | 5th |
Full results from the event are available on the Fencing Midsouth Website
Final placings from the Fencing North Secondary School Finals 2015
Boy's Foil
Boy's Epee
Girl's Foil
Girl's Epee
Mixed Sabre
Boy's Foil:
Place | Name | School |
1 | Ng, Bruce | Auckland Grammar School |
2 | Davies, Rhys | Kristin School |
3= | Gregory, Alexander | Wentworth College |
3= | Grimwade, Cameron | Kristin School |
5 | Oosthuizen, Stefan | Orewa College |
6 | Purcell, Michael | Macleans College |
7 | Monk, Alexander | Saint Kentigern Colege |
8 | Dyson, Cesar | Sacred Heart College |
9 | Bruce, Joshua | Macleans College |
10 | Fish, Ethan | Auckland Grammar School |
11 | Coughey, Scott | Papamoa College |
12 | McAsey, Thomas | Auckland Grammar School |
13 | Reynolds, Leon | Orewa College |
14 | Jacks, Oliver | Auckland Grammar School |
15 | Lu, Edward | Auckland Grammar School |
16 | Harder-Barfoot, Linus | Kings College |
17 | Hopkins, Freddy | Saint Kentigern Colege |
18 | Monk, James | Saint Kentigern Colege |
19 | Craib, Julian | Bethlehem College |
20 | Urquhart, Miles | Saint Kentigern Colege |
21 | Wood, Bailey | Papamoa College |
22 | King, Ryan | Saint Kentigern Colege |
23 | McGuire-Barnes, Alex | Macleans College |
24 | Holt, Finn | Macleans College |
25 | Beal, Jacob | Macleans College |
26 | Greig, George | Auckland Grammar School |
27 | Harms, Thomas | Macleans College |
28 | McGuire-Barnes, Nick | Macleans College |
29 | Siriphone, Christopher | Massey High School |
30 | Grieve, Finnbar | Auckland Grammar School |
31 | Lim, Zachary | Rangitoto College |
32 | Barker, Charlie | Auckland Grammar School |
33 | Ngoi, Jon | Macleans College |
34 | Mills, Henry | Saint Kentigern Colege |
35 | Bostic, Caden | Selwyn College |
Boy's Epee:
Place | Name | School |
1 | Grimwade, Cameron | Kristin School |
2 | Sea, Sean | Mount Albert Grammar School |
3= | Buckman, Jonathan | Mount Albert Grammar School |
3= | Valkenburg, Matthew | Mount Albert Grammar School |
5 | Jacks, Oliver | Auckland Grammar School |
6 | Benson, Zak | Mount Albert Grammar School |
7 | Grieve, Finnbar | Auckland Grammar School |
8 | Cockin, David | Mount Albert Grammar School |
9 | Long, Long | Mount Albert Grammar School |
Girl's Foil:
Girl's Epee:
Place | Name | School |
1 | Gracie, Jessica | Epsom Girls Grammar |
2 | Gutierrez Guerrero, Valentina | Diocesan School |
3= | Wilkie, Megan | Westlake Girls School |
3= | Zen, Anriena | Kristin School |
5 | Malak, Nour | Mount Albert Grammar School |
6 | An, Yerin | Epsom Girls Grammar |
7 | Holden, Zoe | Mount Albert Grammar School |
8 | Hoole, Shannon | Mount Albert Grammar School |
9 | Zhang, Jean | Epsom Girls Grammar |
10 | Aguilar, Arielle | Mount Albert Grammar School |
11 | Gatland, Sarah | Epsom Girls Grammar |
12 | Lesiak, Sarah | Epsom Girls Grammar |
13 | Siegers, Annika | Epsom Girls Grammar |
14 | Patel, Manisha | Mount Albert Grammar School |
Mixed Sabre:
Place | Name | School |
1 | Thomson, Sean | Auckland Grammar School |
2 | Jacks, Laura | Epsom Girls Grammar |
3= | Guo, Andrew | Auckland Grammar School |
3= | Monk, James | Saint Kentigern Colege |
5 | Panszczyk, Daniel | Saint Kentigern Colege |
6 | Gabriel, Hunter | Auckland Grammar School |
7 | Monk, Alexander | Saint Kentigern Colege |
8 | Wilson, Alex | Auckland Grammar School |
9 | Tait, Sam | Saint Kentigern Colege |
10 | Blyth, Nathan | Auckland Grammar School |
11 | Boyd, James | Saint Kentigern Colege |
12 | Baillie, Sacha | Epsom Girls Grammar |
13 | Chen, Christine | Epsom Girls Grammar |
14 | Tait, Nick | Saint Kentigern Colege |
Fencing North Committee Meeting
Wednesday 6th June 2015, 7.30pm
Meadowbank Community Centre, Meadowbank
Present:
John Garelja (President)
Linda Boyd (Treasurer)
Oliver Agnew (Secretary) – holds proxy for Hamish Bulmer
Nelly Dyson – holds proxy for Gaylene Ongley
Jeremy Dyson
Laura Harvey – holds proxy for Chris Lear
Apologies:
Eric Buisman (Vice-President)
Judit Fliszar
Anya Kamynina
Hamish Bulmer
Gaylene Ongley
Meeting starts 7.30pm:
Minutes from previous meeting:
John Garelja moves that we accept the minutes, Jeremy Dyson seconds. All in favour.
Matters arising from previous meeting:
None
President’s Report:
John Garelja moves that we accept the President’s report, Oliver Agnew seconds. All in favour.
Treasurer’s Report:
Oliver Agnew moves that we accept the treasurer’s report, John Garelja seconds. All in favour.
Competitions Report:
Tournament sub committee provided reports on Ongley Open and Regional u20 Champs.
Event: Secondary School #1
Foil: 30 boys / 25 girls
Epee: 6 boys / 12 girls
Sabre: 10 (8 boys / 2 girls)
Total number of fencers: 71
Entry vouchers: 8 issued
Event: Macleavy Champs
Foil: 26
Epee: 14
Sabre: 8
Total number of fencers: 45
Entry vouchers: 5 redeemed
Event: Secondary School #2
Foil: 41 boys / 26 girls
Epee: 10 boys / 12 girls
Sabre: 12 (10 boys / 2 girls)
Total number of fencers: 87
Entry vouchers: 6 issued
Payments:
Jeremy Dyson moves we pay outstanding affiliations to Fencing New Zealand, ($3690.00) Laura Harvey seconds. All in favour. This brings the total paid so far to $6240.00 for 118 full members and 17 associate members.
Laura Harvey moves that we pay her $94 to cover prizes, Oliver Agnew seconds this. All in favour.
Laura Harvey moves that we pay Eric Buisman $217.71 to cover prizes, Linda Boyd seconds. All in favour.
Oliver Agnew moves that we pay John Garelja $460.00 to cover the cupboards he purchased to store equipment in. Jeremy Dyson seconds. All in favour.
Oliver Agnew moves that we pay Jess Gracie $225.50 for Fencing North’s canteen expenses at SS1 & SS2. Laura Harvey seconds. All in favour.
New Zealand Teams Competition:
We haven’t received any firm expressions of intent to enter a National Teams competition. We were hoping for at least 8 teams for any of the six events to go ahead, but unfortunately this didn't happen. We have called off the event and let the other regions know.
Assistance to Fencing North Fencers Competing Abroad:
We have decided to pay for the most expensive entry fee for each of our fencers competing overseas in June/July this year at Asian Champs/World Champs/Commonwealth Junior/Cadet Championships/World University Games. We expect that this will cost us $530, and we will need fencers to provide a receipt for their entry fee before we pay them back for this. Fencers benefiting from this are Alice Boyd, Chris Bell, Hamish Chan, Daniel Garelja, Darya Kharitonova, and Stephanie Wyllie. The motion to do this was moved by Jeremy Dyson and seconded by Oliver Agnew - John Garelja and Linda Boyd abstained, all others were in favour.
Catering for NZ Secondary Schools and U20 Championships:
Catering services at this event will be provided by Auckland High Performance Fencing.
July Fencing North Meeting:
We have cancelled the July Meeting. Our next meeting will be held on the 5th August.
Meeting closed at 9.10pm
Thanks to everyone who competed at SS3 - it was really awesome! Results can be found here: http://www.fencingnorth.com/competitions-and-results/results/results-2015/298/secondary-schools-3-2015-results
The final event in the individual secondary school circuit will be on Saturday 20th June - this event is an elimination event where you fence off to your final placing (so if you lose your first match you still get plenty more fencing!). There will be medals for the top 4 placed fencers in each event, and we will be presenting the overall winning schools with a gear voucher - there is also a shield up for grabs for the school that shows the best sportsmanship.
Rankings for this round are based on your results at the first three events. Fencers who have competed in all of the first three events in the circuit you don't have to pay an entry fee (if you didn't fence at all SS1/SS2/SS3 the fee is $20).
It will be heaps of fun, and there will be lots of spot prizes and free food from midday onwards.
If the results are too cramped on your screen, click this link to see the fullscreen version
If the results are too cramped on your screen, click this link to see the fullscreen version