Fencing

The fencing team has had a great season and enjoyed many achievements. The main event this year was the Public Schools Fencing Competition against hundreds of fencers from different schools over Greater London. It was an exciting but also highly competitive event. Altan Mardin led the way in the Junior Epée category and came 3rd out of 122, while Julian Amore placed 19th in the Senior Foil category. The thrill and incredible mix of accomplishment, exhaustion, and determination you feel during those high stakes bouts will never be matched: often, winning or losing would come down to a single point gained in a fraction of a second. Immersed in the moment and tracking your opponent’s weapon intensely as if in slow motion, hours and hours of training come down to a split second decision such as whether to parry or counter an attack.

During the spring term, we came second in the quadrangular event against Eton, St Benedict’s, and Latymer. We played many more matches: winning, for example, against Westminster. It was rewarding to compete in both relay match formats (for example against our close rivals St Benedict’s, where we had to work tactically and collectively as a team in order to win) and pool matches (for example against Harrow). At the highly anticipated SPS school championships, Julian Amore won Foil, Altan Mardin won epée and Charles Amsellem won sabre; it was good to see everyone participating and enjoying the competitive atmosphere. There was a strong team spirit and sportsmanship in both friendly and competitive matches as well as during training. Lastly, fencing would not be what it is without Lance and Oksana’s energy and incredible coaching. ❚ Charles Amsellem