Mixed fortunes for Swords

Six members of Wellington Swords made the trip to the English institute of Sport in Sheffield for the British National Championships. 

In the Individual Women's Epee both Sarah and Sophie Townsend made it through to the last 64 however Bryony Wedge-Thomas had a tough pool and was unable to secure sufficient victories to make the cut into the direct elimination.

In the Individual Men's Epee Ben Hodgson met Bath University fencer, Matt Edgar, in the first round of the direct elimination. It was a close fight which was eventually won by Matt.

Meanwhile Chris Hay fought well in the pools and secured a seeding which gave him a bye into the second round of the direct elimination. 

He continued with wins against Daniel Wood of Tameside and James Hogarth of Haverstock before losing out 14/15 to Philip Marsh of Bath Swords to settle for 12th place. This result has moved Chris to 30th on the Senior National Rankings.

Ben and Chris were joined on the following day by Luke Edbrook and together they competed in the British Men's Epee Team Championships finishing a creditable 13th.

Photo:  Wellington Swords Men's Epee Team. L to R. Luke Edbrook, Chris Hay, Ben Hodgson.

Staff changes at the PRSC

The new academic year will also herald some changes at the Princess Royal Sports Complex.

After seven and a half years as manager of the Sports Complex, JJ Rowland, is moving on to a fresh challenge overseas.

From the beginning of September JJ is to join the marketing arm of the European Handball Federation based in Vienna, Austria.

Mark Vaughan, current assistant manager, will step up to be acting manager, while Wellington School consider recruitment options.

For further information, contact Mark Vaughan at vaughan@wellington-sport.org.uk.

Gundry wins English youth championship

Four of the younger members of Wellington Swords travelled to Hatfield last weekend for the English Youth Fencing Championships. 

The team were young and inexperienced, the venue was huge and there were 600 competitors. They returned with fantastic results:  1 champion and 3 in the last 16.  

Jessica Gundry won the 2009 English Youth Girls under 13 Epee. Her performance in the poules gave her a head start into the direct elimination phase. 

She maintained this through the next four fights, beating her previous nemesis, Francesca Summers of Redhill and Reigate, to take the epee title. 

In the Foil competitions the youngest team member, Robson Alexander, overcame his initial nerves to finish a very creditable 11th in U11 Boys Foil.

Jade Clarke achieved 10th, with Jess Gundry 16th in the girls U13 foil. Daniel Willson's 21st place in the U15's Boys foil was a disappointment for him but not unexpected after a year of ill health.