We have nearly completed another year of pathways squad and looking forward we are keen to learn what other groups within the membership would like support with to progress their fencing.
Please take a few minutes to complete our online form and give as much information as you can. We will then use this information to look at new opportunities we can offer.
Pathways online consultation
Our website consultation is still open as well, please give us your thoughts using the form below.
Website online consultation
Swordseat Build Orkney Fencing Club
After much anticipation our Swordseat™ Plans arrived from Rick Rodgers at British Fencing. We had nagged so much that he gave in and said we could test out the plans for a self-build. We were super excited.
Read below Moya’s detailed and insightful documentation of the build handy hints we found along the way.
STAGE ONE
Invite along a fellow fencing coach/ woodworker to work with your woodworking/nonfencing husband
Work out which pattern pieces go where and which pieces need to be cut out times two.
·Adjourn for coffee and cake
Cut out the pattern pieces
STAGE TWO
Move to an enclosed area where you can lay out the 2 sheets of 2440 x 1220 x25mm ply
Draw round the pattern pieces, preserving the pattern pieces as you know you will need more than one Swordseat™ set up
I suggest a garage/shed floor with enough room to work all round and remember to lay down your decorating sheet(old duvet cover) to stop the ply getting dirty.
Doing this indoors is essential in Orkney as the pattern pieces would end up on the neighbouring island if this stage was attempted out of doors.
STAGE THREE
Now is the time to move outdoors and use that wind to your advantage.
Cut out the plywood allowing the wind to take away the dust(only attempt this on a dry day)
Ensure the slots of the base and sides are cut accurately so that the sides touch the ground evenly when fitted into the base. This prevents a slight instability in use.
Useful tools for cutting out were:
Cordless circular saw
Cordless jigsaw
51mm hole cutter is very useful for cutting the large internal corners and saves a lot of refining.
STAGE FOUR
Fit together and trim and sand to ensure the pieces of seat one and seat two are interchangeable and of course able to be change right to left. This makes it easier in use if pieces get in a muddle.
Make sure you do utilise the hole numbering system as this gives you the order of assembly
Useful tip is to drill numbering holes only halfway through then drill through to match from the other side of the piece. This helps avoid blowing out the outer layer of the ply
Preserve. We chose Danish oil as we have plenty of experience using it on hardwood floors
Bind hand rail with Tennis racket handle tape
STAGE FIVE
Assemble and secure with Ratchet straps, as per the instructions, ensuring ratchet mechanism is tucked safely away.
We used 25mm ratchet straps for ease of threading through. We may go heavier once we see what happens when the Swordseat™ is in use)
Put some rubber strips on the bits that come in contact with the floor. Ensure what you use is non-marking
Add cushions, Fencers and Fencing Circuit and give it a go
Final Thoughts:
May need flatter cushion for shorter people
No facility for leg strap supports
Orkney Fencing Club would like to thank British Fencing and Scottish Fencing for the support they have provided in making this happen. Keep your eyes posted for further developments at the club over 2025!
Website Review
Our current website has been in place for several years now and we are keen to explore if it is still fit for purpose and how it is used. We are also keen to hear your thoughts on additional functions we could build into it.
Please take a few minutes to complete the consultation form below.
Website consultation
2025 - Veterans Home Nations
Congratulations to the Scottish Veterans fencing team who were competing at the Veterans Home Nation Quadrangular in Cardiff earlier this month.
The women’s foil team, who were missing their captain Sheila Anderson, met very strong opposition from the other three teams. The women’s epee team fought valiantly achieving a bronze medal after beating the Irish and only narrowly losing to the Welsh.
In the women’s sabre team, Sylvia Brown sustained an injury in the first match, meaning reserve Karen Grant had to rush onto the piste straight from the epee medal ceremony. The Sabre ladies won against the Welsh, lost narrowly by only 3 points to the Irish. The English ladies won all three weapons.
All three of the men’s teams won silver medals. This left Team Scotland in third place overall, one point behind the Welsh hosts. England won, as usual, with the Irish team a couple of points behind Scotland.
Full results for the 2025 Veterans Home Nation are here:
The teams were:
Women’s Foil
Ruth Davidson
Louisa Dawson
Rosalind Graham
Helen Pitt
Women’s Sabre
Silvia Brown
Viven Frith
Rosalind Graham
Michele Narey
Women’s Epee
Karent Grant
Lorna Smith
Maggie Tait
Men’s Foil
Rory Gibson
Mick McKay
Nick Mort
Paul Stanbridge
Men’s Epee
Al Baker
Andrew Brown
Hugh Kernohan
Tim Stephens
Men’s Sabre
Keith Davidson
Richard Foster
Mo Mansoori
Brent Myers
First row Men’s Foil, Men’s Sabre, Women’s Epee, Women’s Epee
Second Row Women’s Foil, Women’s Sabre
Glasgow Open 2025 - Results
That's a wrap on another great Glasgow Open!
This year saw over 160 entries across the six weapons, from as far north as Orkney to as far south as Bristol. This year we also pioneered video review for all six main event finals - to our knowledge this is the first time since the Commonwealths in 2014 that a Scottish event has used video review!
You can see a full livestream of both days at the 2025 Glasgow open here, with focused coverage of the finals at the end of each day.
The medal and trophy winners are listed below (click here for 2025 Glasgow Open Full results):
See you all again next year!
Mixed Sabre
1st: Miller Hetherington (Salle Ossian)
2nd: Oisin Lindsay-Dorward (Salle Ossian)
3rd: Patrick Moorehead (University of Aberdeen)
3rd: Lachlan Grant (University of St Andrews)
Women's Sabre
1st: Rosalind Graham (Sancroft Blades)
2nd: Nicole Saunders (Premier Sabre Academy)
3rd: Amelie Geens (University of St Andrews)
3rd: Lucy Higham (Salle Ossian)
Mixed Epee
1st: Isaac McKerr (Edinburgh Fencing Club)
2nd: Archie Tyler (Forth Valley Fencing Club)
3rd: Rob Blackburne (Forth Valley Fencing Club)
3rd: Duncan Readle (University of Dundee)
Women's Epee
1st: Mhairi Gifford (Shetland Fencing Club)
2nd: Lucy Grant (Edinburgh Fencing Club)
3rd: Marie Gerardin (University of Edinburgh)
3rd: Maria Lebedeva (Knightsbridge Fencing Club)
Women's Foil
1st: Ao Feng (University of Edinburgh)
2nd: Chloe Campbell (Forth Valley Fencing Club)
3rd: Angeline Costello (University of St Andrews)
3rd: Lily Graham (Edinburgh Fencing Club)
Mixed Foil
1st: Lachlan Grant (University of St Andrews)
2nd: Euan Drummond-Murray (Salle Holyrood)
3rd: Vinson Wong (Salle Holyrood)
3rd: James Havard (Salle Holyrood)
And our overall weekend trophies:
Best veteran: Rosalind Graham (Sancroft Blades)
Best student: Lachlan Grant (University of St Andrews)
Dusty Memorial Prize (Best Club): Edinburgh Fencing Club
Mandy Kettles
Scottish Fencing is sad to announce the passing of Mandy Kettles who died 4 April.
Mandy volunteered for many years, running DT at the Scottish Open and the Scottish Schools amongst some of the events she supported. She will be missed by many in the fencing community and Scottish Fencing send condolences to her family Eilidh, Calum and Clair.
Mandy’s funeral is at Stirling Crematorium on Wednesday 30 April at 11am.
BYC qualifiers
If you wish to enter the BYCs in May here is how to enter the qualifier events for Central and East region. Remember even if you have a bye from last year’s competition you still need to enter the regional qualifier.
Central Section enter on Sport80 - entries close 16 March 2025
East Section Regional Qualifiers- -- entries close 14 March
Anyone interested in taking on the organising of West or North section entries please email admin@scottish-fencing.com and we will forward your details to British Fencing.
Coaching Conference 2025
We are delighted to share with you that tickets for our Coaching Conference 2025 are now available.
Partnering up with Scottish Archery again, this one day Coaching Conference will take place on Saturday 26th April 2025 at the Stirling Court Hotel from 9am to 5pm.
The price also includes a 2 course lunch, tea and coffee intervals during the day!
There is 4 workshops planned for the day covering a range of different topics that will hopefully peak your interest as a coach. The overviews of the workshops can be found below.
To book your ticket to the Coaching Conference, you can do this by clicking the link below, completing the form and submitting payment.
Register for the Coaching Conference 2025
If you have any questions please reach out to daniel.baker@scottish-fencing.com
Workshop Title: Enhancing Coaching Through Effective Questioning and Listening Skills
Description: This interactive workshop is designed to help archery and fencing coaches refine their questioning and listening skills to elevate their coaching techniques and better support their athletes' development. Coaches will explore how to ask questions to encourage critical thinking, self-reflection, and problem-solving in their athletes. Emphasis will be placed on active listening and how it fosters trust, enhances communication, and builds stronger coach-athlete relationships
Delivered by: Victoria & Adrienne from Active Advantage
Workshop Title: Using Psychology to Improve Your Coaching
Brad Fullarton is a HCPC Licensed Sport and Exercise Psychologist based in Ayrshire, and the owner of Ambition Sport Psychology. Brad currently works with various national governing bodies for sport in Scotland, including Scottish Archery, Tennis Scotland and Bowls Scotland, in both individual and team contexts. Brad supports his clients to optimise the relationship with their mind by utilising his 'Triple A Framework' (awareness, acceptance, accountability) to achieve increased well-being and performance. Through the consideration of psychology, Brad aims to offer a different perspective and hopes coaches leave the session with tangible takeaways to improve their coaching and the relationship with their athletes.
Delivered by: Brad Fullarton from Ambition Sport Psychology
Workshop Title: Introduction to Mentoring
This interactive workshop will support participants to explore the role of a mentor and within sport. Through a combination of practical exercises and discussions, participants will gain insight into what makes a successful mentor, and the tools they can use to foster meaningful relationships that contribute to the growth and success of athletes and/or volunteers.
Delivered by: Victoria & Adrienne from Active Advantage
Workshop Title: Sport Conundrums – Adapting as a Coach
This interactive workshop is a discussion led by participants. With different types of scenarios, coaches will discuss and share their ideas on the topic presented to provide and opportunity for networking and discussing how their coaching sessions can be adapted and developed to be accessible for a different range of people trying the sport.
Delivered by: Scottish Archery & Scottish Fencing Team
Election of Directors
Four valid proposals were received to stand for election to the Board as Directors. No proposals were received and rejected as invalid. As there are four vacancies, no ballot is required.
Therfore John Bryden (proposal form), Peter Drummond (proposal form), Robin Paterson (proposal form) and Gregor MacCallum (proposal form) will replace Hugh Kernohan, George Liston, Mhairi McLaughlin and Stan Stoodley as Elected Directors, to serve for four-year terms from 19 March 2025.
Hugh Kernohan, Electoral Officer
Election of Directors - update of proposals received
A proposal for election as a Director has been received from Robin Paterson (proposal form), in addition to those already received from John Bryden (proposal form) and Gregor MacCallum (proposal form) .
Further proposals must be submitted before 1800 on Thursday 13 February and will be published here once validated.
Members are reminded to check that the e-mail address listed on their SF membership profile on Sport80 is an address they currently use. In the event of an election for Directors, this is the address which will be used for electronic voting.
