Friendly Junior Foil Match v Salle Oxon, Friday 3rd February
The under-14 team of Alexander, Ben and Bryan proved too strong for Salle Oxon and cruised to a relatively easy victory of 45-20 over the visitors. Meanwhile the under-12 team of Bella, Gavin and Nathaniel were involved in a much closer match with the advantage between OFC and Salle Oxon changing several times. At the end of the final period the score was 33-34 with Salle Oxon taking a well deserved victory - sharing honours on the night between the two clubs. Thank you to Steven and the Salle Oxon squad for making the journey over and contributing to a fun evening. We plan to arrange a return match later in the year.
Men’s Cadet Sabre, Camden, Saturday 28th January
Nuno Esteves started his first poule fight well leading 4-0 before losing concentration and losing 4-5. Fortunately he then won three of his remaining five bouts to qualify 69th of the 130 fencers present. Nuno was then knocked out 8-15 in his first Direct Elimination fight leaving him 74th overall. Full results
Bristol Premier Foil Championship, 28th January
OFC gained two bronze medals with Paige Tierney gaining 3rd in the under-11 girls and Heloïse Hardie 3rd in the under-14s. Both girls had strong poules, qualifying second and first in their respective age groups. Unfortunately Paige lost out when an opponent she had beaten in the poule fought back strongly in the Direct Elimination and knocked her out of the competition. Meanwhile Heloïse, experiencing DEs scored up to 15 for the first time, had a bye into the Last8, won 15-3 in her Last4 bout and lost 5-6 in extra time of her semi-final.
Paige receives her medal. Heloïse (left) v opponent whose trainers wouldn't have passed our clean floor policy!
Friendly Match v Swindon FC
On 24 January, Swindon Fencing Club came to Rye for a friendly match. Overall honours were shared on a good-spirited evening. The mixed foil team (Lydia, Marion, Ryan) won 45-22 and the beginners' foil team (Craig, Heloïse, Maddie) won 45-28. The epee team (Mark, Martin, Sam and Kate) narrowly lost a poule unique 7 victories to 9. The men's foil team (Dan, Jason, Richard) lost 32-45. The sabre team (Ben, Danny, Hussain) won one match 45-41 but lost a second 28-45. Thanks to the Swindon team for trekking across on a dark, damp night and to Richard for organizing the OFC teams.
Recent Competition Results
On 15 January, Marion Nemitz was placed 8th in the Cambridge Winter Tournament women's foil (results). The previous weekend, Sam Hughes was also placed 8th in the women's epee at the Aldershot Open (results).
Sports Hall Cleanliness - Rules Reminder
To prevent ingress of mud into the sports hall and spillage of food and drink we must rigorously enforce two of the letting rules:-
No outdoor shoes in the sports hall. This rule applies to all fencers and supporters, those from the age of 8 to 88, from raw beginners to international fencers, from first-time visitors to the club chairman. There are NO exceptions. Please remove all outdoor shoes in the entrance lobby.
No food and drink in the sports hall. Only plain water may be consumed in the hall.
Additionally, please can you ensure you put all rubbish in the bins provided. It doesn't have to be your rubbish - if you don't pick it up then it just makes more work for somebody else.
The use of Rye St Antony's sports hall is one of the biggest assets that our club has - we cannot afford to lose it. Please be mindful of this fact and help us keep the sports hall in a good condition.
Picture courtesy Immage
OFC in the Latest Issue of "The Sword"
See the much-missed Ralph Evans' obituary on page 24. A "donate in memory" page has been created for Ralph, link here.
See also a photo and news of Sylvia Brown on pages 31 and 32.
Olympic Fencing Tickets
See the British Fencing website for news of Olympic tickets to be made available to BF members.
Lost Property
Please check this page in case something of yours has turned up!