2020-2021 BF Standing Committee Reports

Reports from Rules, Safety & Honours Committees. This article forms part of a series of reports which accompanies the 2020-21 BF Annual Report.

Rules Committee

There has been no significant Committee activity to report for 2020-21: the Covid pandemic has effectively prevented all the events which usually generate questions and situations which might prompt proposed changes to the Rules. And since there were no proposals to be discussed at a Congress in 2020 there was no need to convene meetings.

Steve Higginson, Chair

More information on the Rules Committee can be found here.

Safety Committee

Throughout 2020-21 the Committee continued to discharge it’s responsibilities which include:

• Advising BF on safety issues.
• Responding to members’ queries.
• Reminding membership of specific safety related requirements and rules when considered necessary.
• Monitoring and investigating incidents and accidents and assess the risks facing those involved in our sport.

The Committee met by Zoom on 25th January 2021, at which time it was decided not to make any changes to the BF Safety Guidelines.

Due to the lock-downs and restrictions on fencing activities since the previous meeting, few safety issues had arisen that required discussing.

The Committee reviewed the FIE’s introduction of the mandatory use of Maraging blades at sabre, which had been pushed back a year due to COVID; blades stamped M now to be required from season start autumn 2021, full FIE markings required for season 2022-23. The committee’s view was  that the situation needed to be monitored once fencing resumed.

The Committee decided to ask BF HQ to email all the referees on the register to ask them to be continually vigilant for badly fitting masks and also to include the issue of the danger of fencers wearing long socks not fully pulled up in forthcoming safety publicity.

The Committee agreed to provide a statement confirming that plastic weapon fencing sessions specifically held under the licensed BF Partner Programme do not need to be restricted to 12 pupils per coach.

The Safety Committee would like to take this opportunity to remind all members to fence in a safe way and with equipment and clothes that fully protect themselves and their opponents. In particular, we would remind you again of the danger of badly fitted masks, and the requirement for sabre gloves.

To help ensure that Fencing continues to have one of the best safety records across Olympic sports, the membership is strongly encouraged to report all incidents, accidents and near misses to the Safety Committee. Forms can be found on the BF website: https://www.britishfencing.com/policy-zone/medical/.

Peter Jacobs, Chair

More information on the Safety Committee can be found here.

Honours Committee

The process for proposing 2020 honours by the membership closed on May 29th 2020, and the Honours Committee met on 4th June. The awards, which are listed in full at the end of this Annual Report, were announced at the 2020 AGM. Proposals for the next round of BF honours, for the 2021 AGM, were solicited from the membership from the beginning of January 2021.

Peter Jacobs, Chair

More information on the Honours Committee can be found here.

Honours presented at 2020 AGM

Vice President: John Troiano

For longstanding services to British Fencing in areas of governance and finance

Silver Medal: Jon Salfield

For services to Truro Fencing Club and British Sabre fencing

Tankards:

Silvia Brown – Vets World Championships Cat C Sabre – Gold

Brian Causton – Vets World Championships Cat C Foil – Gold

Dimitri Coutya – World Epee Champion Cat A – Gold and World Sabre Championship Bronze

Carolina Stutchbury – 2020 Cadet Europeans – Bronze

Paul Wedge – Vets World Championships Cat B Foil – Gold