The Senior 5 Nations will return to the fencing calendar this year and will take place on Saturday 18th November at the National Sports Centre, Inverclyde. To read the selection policy please click here.
Derek Titheradge
Derek was born in Oakham in Rutland but it was whilst at school in London that he met Prof Simmonds. After attending an introduction session Derek decided fencing was for him and went on to represent England on a number of occasions.
He later came to Scotland to take up post of Assistant National Coach. Derek regularly coached Scotland Schools and senior squads in Home International matches and on weekend training camps in Largs.
As part of that role he also established several clubs outside the Edinburgh area though a number of schools based initiatives.
One such scheme was in Fife - which provided opportunities for primary school children who had never experienced fencing before to come along during school time - much like Derek himself had done. This lead to the establishment of Glenrothes Fencing Club - where Derek went on to produced a number of British Youth medalists.
Living in Menstrie at the time he also coached at the Stirling club and Strathallan school (amongst others).
In the late 1980s SAFU underwent a significant governance restructure - which saw Derek move into a new post of National Development Officer. In this role he unexpectedly became a driving force behind the creation of the first Scotland Ladies Epee team (a Sabruer at heart he therefore had a dislike for Epee - particularly ladies Epee!)
It was following the first Commonwealth Championships to feature individual Ladies Epee in 1986, that Annette managed to convince him to train the squad and form the team for the introduction of the team event in 1990 in Manchester - this certainly paid off and Scotland went on to win the silver medal.
In the same year Derek also coached two members of the team who represented GB in the World Youth Championships.
Derek and Annette married in 1994 and shortly after they moved to Shetland where he continued to coach at Shetland Fencing Club.
I remember he was a keen angler - Shetland it seems was the perfect place and Derek regularly fished and competed as part of the Shetland Angling Association.
He always had a great love of music. In his earlier days his record collection and stereo system where his pride and joy - once having to reinforce the floor of his Menstrie home to support the weight of some new speakers.
Derek travelled extensively with fencers around the country and beyond, Tyneside being probably his favourite annual trip. Whilst we were always very grateful for the lift - we did often complain to him about having to listen to his classical music all the way there and back.
Latterly Derek also took up many instruments including the mandolin and was a regular on the Shetland music scene playing in groups and sessions.
It was Derek who introduced me to fencing all these years ago and encouraged me to take up Epee just in time for the 1990 Commonwealths and the World Student games the following year.
I am forever grateful for all his coaching, support and driving (I would probably appreciate his music choice more now though).
Thoughts and love to his wife Annette, Louise, Steve, Kevin and his 2 grandsons.
Val Cramb
Derek Titheradge Funeral Details
Scottish Fencing received the sad news that Derek Titheradge had passed away after a short illness. Derek was assistant National Coach for many years.
The funeral will take place on Tuesday 11th at 2pm in Lerwick Methodist Church. For the live stream go to YouTube and search for Lerwick Methodist Church.
All our thoughts are with Derek’s friends and family at this sad time.
Level 2 Sabre Referee Course
Salle Ossian are running a Level 2 Sabre Refereeing course this summer. The details are below.
Wednesday 19th July, 10am: Theory Seminar and Exam
Thursday 20th July, 10am: Practical Seminar and Exam at the Salle Ossian competition.
The cost for Scottish Fencing members is £15 per person.
Both will be held in-person at Salle Ossian: Unit 4, Riverview Business Park, Friarton Road, Perth, PH2 8DF.
For more information and to register, please click here.
Derek Titheradge
Scottish Fencing has just received the sad news that Derek Titheradge has passed away after a short illness. Derek was assistant National Coach for many years. We will share more news when we can.
In the meantime Scottish Fencing sends condolences to Derek’s friends and family.
Sportscotland Coaching, Officiating and Volunteering Awards 2023
Sportscotland have just opened nominations for their annual Coaching, Officiating and Volunteering Awards.
This is a fantastic opportunity to recognise and thank the incredible Coaches, Officials and Volunteers who are involved in fencing. If you know someone who's made a positive impact in fencing through a club, school or community in one of these roles, the COV Awards are a chance to recognise their invaluable contribution.
All nominees will be contacted by Sportscotland and thanked for their contribution. The winners will be recognised within their local setting and will also receive an invite to the COV awards ceremony in November.
There are 12 award categories, listed below.
Categories
Young Coach of the Year
School Sport Volunteer of the Year
Community Coach of the Year
Disability Sport Coach of the Year
Performance Pathway Coach of the Year
Coach Developer of the Year
High Performance Coach of the Year
Young Official of the Year
Official of the Year
Young Volunteer of the Year
Volunteer of the Year
Lifetime Contribution Award
Click the links below for further information and to nominate.
Scottish Schools Championship 2023
The Scottish Schools Championship took place last weekend at Salle Holyrood Fencing Club. Over the weekend 80 fencers took part across the three weapons with 31 schools represented.
The Best School overall for 2023 was Erskine Stewart's Melville School.
Many of the fencers joined in the fun element of the event and took part in the three weapon trophy. The winners of the three weapon trophies were:
U14 Men - Rio Wan
U14 Women - Alexia Hardie
U16 Men - David Kelly
U16 Women - Abigael McVinnie
O16 Women - Zoe Wagstaff
For full individual results from the event, please click here.
Scottish Fencing would like to thank all of the volunteers who helped out in a variety of roles and helped to make the event a success for the fencers. We really appreciate the support. Congratulations to all of the fencers who took part over the two days and to the families and friends who were there to support.
European Veteran Individual Championships 2023
The European Veteran Individual Championships took place recently in Thionville, France. Scotland were well represented across all weapons and categories. Some highlights of the event for Scottish fencers were Gold medals for Georgina Usher in the Women’s Epee V2 and Vivien Frith in the Women’s Sabre V4, and Bronze medals for Hugh Kernohan in Men’s Epee V3, Silvia Brown in Women’s Sabre V4 and Michele Narey in Women’s Sabre V2.
Congratulations to all of the medal winners and everyone who made the journey to France to compete.
To view full results from the event, click here.
Scottish School Championships 2023
Scottish Fencing can confirm the check-in and start times for the upcoming Scottish Secondary School Championships are:
Saturday - 9-9.15 Foil (all age groups) 9.30 start
Sunday - 9-9.15 Epee (all age groups) 9.30 start
Sunday - 12.30-12.45 Sabre (all age groups) 1.00 start
We need epee referees and sabre referees for Sunday so if you can spare half a day to help our Junior fencers have a memorable event please email us at admin@scottish-fencing.com
UK Anti-Doping Clean Sport week 2023
We’re part of the team, are you? Scottish Fencing is ready to support UKAD’s Clean Sport Week
We all have a role to play in keeping sport fair and clean. Scottish Fencing is proud to reaffirm our commitment to clean sport by backing UK Anti-Doping’s (UKAD’s) Clean Sport Week campaign.
Clean Sport Week is UKAD’s national awareness week championing clean sport, education and anti-doping initiatives with sports across the UK.
This year’s Clean Sport Week takes place on 22 – 26 May 2023. The theme is “Teamwork in Clean Sport”.
Athletes are central to the team, responsible for making sure they compete clean – it's their body, their responsibility. Coaches, doctors, medical staff, parents, and us as the National Governing Body for [insert sport]. We are all part of the team and play a vital role in supporting athletes. Collectively, we need to stay educated, inform athletes of their responsibilities, and create a positive culture that gives athletes confidence to win well, without doping.
In support of UKAD, we’re getting behind Clean Sport Week. We challenge all athletes, coaches, and athlete support personnel to show your team player credentials and work together with athletes to fulfil their anti-doping responsibilities.
We are also proud to be working with UKAD on the Assurance Framework, which National Governing Bodies must complete to show they are meeting their anti-doping responsibilities. As part of this, we’ve been creating an Education Strategy to support athletes early on in their career.
To kick off Clean Sport Week, don’t miss UKAD’s Clean Sport Week webinar on Monday 22 May, which is being broadcast live from Loughborough University and is open to all. The webinar will look at important anti-doping topics and provide advice for all roles in clean sport on being a team player and supporting athletes.
We also encourage anyone in our sporting community that would like to learn more about anti-doping to sign up to UKAD’s Clean Sport Hub where there are free education courses for athletes, students, coaches and practitioners.
Follow @ukantidoping on social media to see a range of educational and exciting content throughout the week.
To find out more about UKAD’s Clean Sport Week initiative click here.
