October 1996 |
Contents: |
Welcome! Welcome to the first edition of Irish
Fencing News. Irish Fencing News is designed to keep
Irish Fencers informed of what is going on in the world
of fencing, both at home and internationally. It will
keep you updated with the activities of the FIE and the
IAFF so that you are aware of the decisions that may
affect you and your sport. It is also a vehicle for the
exchange of views and opinions of Irish fencers. In
future editions, it is hoped to have a ‘Club News’
and a Letters section, but this is dependent on your
input. So please, help make Irish Fencing News a success;
put pen to paper. All submissions will be welcome and
considered for publication. However space is limited and
material may be edited. |
Through late July, Irish fencers scoured the TV listings to see what time their sport would get some coverage. Eurosport did us proud. There was more fencing coverage in July 1996 than has ever been before on television in Ireland. Of course, there were some gripes about the times it was on or the quality of the commentary, but no matter how good it was, people would have found something to complain about and would have had all the answers as to how they could have done it better. Nonetheless, we must all be agreed that it was better than anything we have seen before and hope that it will have raised some awareness of the sport I, for one, overheard people who knew nothing about the sport talking about it, even if only briefly, in Dublin hostelries. This year saw the introduction of Ladies Epee into the Olympics -won by Laura Flessel of France, who only began fencing five years ago. |
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The 1996 AGM was held in Ballinteer on the 12th June 1996. The committee for the 1996-1997 year was elected: Tom Rafter, Chairman, Nuala McGarrity, Hon. Secretary; Anne-Lise Mion, Hon. Treasurer; Deirdre Donegan, Yvonne Murphy, Fiona Delamere, John Ryan, Tim Bouchier-Hayes, Ed Condren and Máire O’Reilly, Committee Members. Aideen Neary stepped down as Treasurer after many years of hard work in that position. Nuala McGarrity reported that two copper pistes had been ordered (they have now been delivered, ready for the new season). A change in the IAFF year has been set, so that licences are now valid for the fencing year from September to the following August, rather than the calendar year. 1997 licence fees fall due in September 1996 and will be valid until August 1997. |
Plans were also set to bring Irish fencing more in line with international safety standards: FIE masks (800 Newton bibs) will be compulsory from the Irish Open 1996; 350 Newton Jackets and 800 Newton plastrons will be compulsory from the Irish National Championships 1997; 800 Newton jacket and plastron compulsory from the Irish Open 1998 and 800 Newton Breeches from the Irish Open 1997. A limited number of regulation masks will be available for hire at the Irish Open, on a first come, first served basis. |
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The issue of fund raising was also discussed and it is hoped to run a race night early in the New Year. |
George Kolombatovich, who presided the Men’s Epee team final among other events at the Olympics in Atlanta, was kind enough to interrupt his Irish holiday in June this year to present a very informative seminar. Although attendance was low due to short notice, all who were there agreed that they had learnt much. The seminar went on longer than expected, and in the end the group had to adjourn to a local hostelry. |
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Elections for the new FIE committee were held in Atlanta just before the Olympic games got underway. The big surprise was the return of the chairman, Mr. Rene Roch. It had been thought that his financial record over the past two years would have seen him ousted from the position, but he defeated the only other candidate, Mr. Jeno Kamuti by a very narrow margin of only 1 vote. The count was 44 to 43 with one abstention. |
Great fencer’s names are often bantered about knowingly in clubs (and pubs) by a small number of individuals who seem to know all sorts of facts about these people. Through the Who’s Who column, all of us can be in the position of those knowing few. In this issue, we profile one Olympic champion and one well-known Irish fencer. Badea : -Ladies Foil Olympic Champion Badea won her first Olympic individual gold medal this year in Atlanta, beating the Italian, Vazzali, in the final. The twenty-six year old from Romania has had a successful track record, winning the world championships in 1995. Her job as a PE teacher helps her to keep the fitness level required to fence at this level and like many of Atlanta’s finalists, she is left-handed. Twomey, John - Irish Men’s Epee National Champion From a fencing background, John took up the sport in 1980, at ten years of age, in Ballinteer Fencing Club. He is currently Irish National Epee champion. Although primarily an epeeist, John has also won national foil titles. In 1991, the same year he achieved his first FIE ranking, John moved to Estonia, where he has spent the last five years studying and training with the Estonian National team. In the past, he has also trained in Germany and Spain. John is now living in London and so we hope to see more of him at Irish competitions in future. |
At Home The Trinity Cup The year’s fencing calendar kicked off on the 12th October with the Trinity Cup. This is the first year of the event which honours Red Skelton and his many years of contribution to Irish fencing. Red has been the Honorary President of Dublin University Fencing Club from 1984 to 1995. The format of the competition is unique in Ireland - a five weapon relay competition to 25 hits. The weapon order is selected randomly at the beginning of each match, adding an extra element of suspense to the competition. The format stimulated fencers to review their team tactics for every match. A splendid perpetual trophy was presented for the event by Mr. Red Skelton. Fittingly, the inaugural competition was won by the team from Trinity College.
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Obituaries Stephen Costello Stephen will be missed by his parents and family, as well as the Irish fencing community. As a mark of respect to Stephen, a minutes silence was observed during the prize giving ceremony at the Trinity Cup. Sue
Wojchiechowska As well as winning many British youth championships, she was the four times winner of the international Under 20 Perigal cup and was 5th in the World Youth Championships in Chicago in 1970. At senior level, she represented Great Britain many times. Her last World Championship appearance was in 1985, where the British ladies foil team reached the last eight. Several Irish fencers will remember her particularly from this competition, where the Irish and British teams shared the same hotel. Later that year she married the British National coach, Ziemek Wojciechowski. Sue will be missed by her friends and family and by fencers in her own country and internationally. |
The level of technical knowledge among fencers is somewhat varied, some people know all there is to know, some people know just enough to get by and some people are completely lost. For instance, when a foil won’t register, or an epee just ‘dies’, how many people can correctly identify the fault? So, for our less technically-informed fencers: The Broken Epee For those who do not understand the workings of the epee and the foil, just remember that when the point is depressed, the circuit is made in epee, but broken in foil. There is generally less to go wrong with epee than with foil, but many would argue that it seems to give more trouble. This is due to the two springs in an epee point, the larger having to support a weight of 750 grams and the smaller having to be set for the correct travel of the point (not less than 1mm) using special gauges. These springs often go out of adjustment in an epee competition, and it is not unusual to see a number of epeeists on hands and knees adjusting weapons. It is essential that the guard and blade be kept free from rust, as this is an insulator, and can cause a hit to be registered against you. If you cannot reproduce the fault, the hit will stand. It is also important to have a point that fits into the barrel without any slack. If there is slack, a hit made at an angle can cause the small spring to miss the contacts at the end of the wire, and will not register. Finally, one should make certain that the bodywire socket is clean and free from oxidisation, and that the earth screw, which is the wide pin hole that holds the socket assembly together, is tight. |
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