After a pleasant trip up to Worksop and a lovely overnight stay, Sofia was all set for her bouts in the GB Cup, in Sheffield on Sunday 14th July 2024. With the rest of Gravesham Fencing Club supporting from afar, via Whatsapp, we were lucky enough to have a running commentary via James. With just two poules running, one with seven fencers and one with six, Sofia found herself in the larger group. With two outstanding victories and four very close losses (2 matches at 5 v 4 loss and 2 matches at 5 v 3 loss) the percent of matches won and indicator scores just didn’t show how well Sofia fenced. The sixth poule match, against a regular winner of these events, saw Sofia finish scoreless, which pushed her seeding much lower than her fencing gave credit for. Going into the Direct Elimination as the eleventh seed, Sofia fenced her heart out producing a fantastic 14 v 14 score against a formidable opponent, with the other lady just managing to score the final, and winning hit. The lady who beat Sofia 5 v 0 in the poules made the final, and the lady who narrowly edged Sofia out in the DE won her semi-final match 15 v 14 against the number three seed, just showing the calibre of the competition that Sofia was up against – and matched. Well done Sofia, a great experience for you and really well done for representing the club with such effort and attainment. Onwards and upwards for the next competition!