What are the BYC Regional Qualifiers? The BYC Regional Qualifiers determine who will be invited to the British Youth Championships Finals, which run from the 2 to 4 May 2026 at the English Institute of Sport. As yet, British Fencing have not released a schedule of events.
What are the BYCs? The British Youth Championships are competitions at under 12, 14, 16 and 18 held every year in Sheffield (English Institute of Sport, S9 5DA), to identify British Champions.
Who can compete? Eligibility is through Regional Qualifying Events (RQEs) – typically, each region is invited send a minimum of 8 for each event.
What is our region and how does qualification work? Fencers who train in Edinburgh Fencing Club, Edinburgh Sabre Club, Dunedin Fencing Club, George Watsons Fencing Club, Livingston Fencing Club, Salle Holyrood, Sancroft Blades and West Lothian Fencing Club are in Scotland East (this list is not exhaustive). There will not be an actual event because running a competition is expensive (venue, referees and so on.) and there are not usually enough entrants for each event to justify a competition. Previously, regions could send a minimum of 8 fencers for each event so it’s usually automatic qualification if you enter. Should a category have more entrants than usual, we can organise an event in one of the clubs.
British Fencing impose a levy on regions for everyone who enters the qualification event, so we have to charge £12.50 entry fee even though there is no competition – British Fencing will take most or all of this! It is also possible that the BF levy will be higher, and an addition charged for qualification.
What happens if I qualify? The organiser sends the contact details of all the Scotland East qualifiers to British Fencing, and at some stage British Fencing invite the qualifiers to enter the National Finals (there is another entry fee). The event involves travel to the venue and probably a night in a hotel.
What will the event be like? It’s a huge collection of 24 competitions (boys (mixed)/girls, foil/epée/sabre, U12/U14/U16/U18), there are many entries and the standard varies from near beginner to some very experienced athletes!
What should I do if I want to take part? It’s easy! Contact Don McKenzie and pay the £12.50 entry fee then wait until British Fencing get in touch with an invitation to enter the finals on Sport80.
The closing date for entries is Midnight on Saturday 28th February.
Then you go to the event, fence your best and have fun!
Enter/Any questions? Contact Don on 07732 781464 or don.a.mckenzie@btinternet.com
