Dave and Steve at the Kent Open

Sofia and Steve with the trophy table at the Kent Open

On a quiet Sunday morning in April, fencers from across Kent, made their way to Canterbury for the Kent Senior Fencing Championships.  Gravesham Fencing had three competitors, competing in three events. 

In the men’s senior epee there were 35 competitors, with many familiar faces and names amongst those competing.  Following the usual format, there were poules followed by Direct Elimination (DE). With a nice, even five poules of seven fencer, there was plenty of fencing to be done.  Steve found himself in poule 2 fencing some familiar and formidable opponents and, securing two wins out of six, he managed to score in three of the remaining four duels.  His only nemesis was Raymond Miles, however, this was of no surprise given that the opponent won all of his poule fights and, managed to keep clean sheets in three of them and only getting hit once in two of the other remaining match ups – quite the feat for any fencer.

Dave found himself in poule number 4 and fared slightly better winning three of his six duels and scoring well in his other three, which still gave him a +4 indicator, despite only a 50% match win rate. 

Following the poules, Dave found himself seeded 19^th and was given a bye in the first round of DE and, Steve was seeded 26^th, also claiming a bye.  The longer break didn’t fare well for Dave and he found himself knocked out of the final 32 by the 14^th seed in a 15-9 scoreline.  Steve, on the other hand, took full advantage of the extra rest and was up against 7^th seed, Henry Fazakerley.  In a very tight fought match Henry just about managed a one hit lead and Steve was eventually gazumped 15-14 by the indomitable double hit.  The final result saw Dave finish 22^nd and Steve in 26^th place.

Later in the day and, some would argue ‘a glutton for punishment’, Steve also took on the foil competition.  With 22 fencers present, there were two poules of 5 fencers and two poules of 6 fencers. With one win from four fights, but with good scoring on the remainder of his matches, Steve found himself as the 16^th seed.  Despite missing a bye in the first round of DE, Steve managed a strong 15-4 victory, taking him through to the final sixteen.  However, this paired him against the number one seed, to whom he succumbed 15-2 to be knocked out of the competition.  The final placings saw Steve move up to 15^th overall.

In the women’s epee, Sofia was the sole Gravesham representation on the day.  There were twelve fencers, giving two poules of 6.  Sofia was in poule 2 against some old foes. Despite a rusty beginning in the poules, which saw her win only one of the duels, she pulled it together to win a very good match against the number 11 seed, with a thrilling 15-14 scoreline.  This match placed her against the 3^rd seed in the next DE round.  The close scoreline of the previous match had, unfortunately, taken its toll and she lost the quarter final 15-7.  Overall, this placed Sofia in a very credible 8^th spot. 

A very well done to our fencers, at what was a very tough local competition.  There was some great fencing by all of our competitors and now we must make sure that consistency is key.  Well done to all – a great showing for what our club can achieve.