2022 BYC FINALS UPDATE

Schedule and entry fee announced for the 2022 British Youth Championships.

The British Youth Championships (BYCs) are a 24-event competition, with events in four age groups (U12s, U14s, U16s & U18s) for all three weapons.  Fencers have the opportunity to qualify for the BYCs through Regional Qualifying Events (RQEs) held by each Region. The 2022 British Youth Championships will be held on 30th April – 2nd May 2022 at EIS Sheffield.

The schedule of the 2022 event has been finalised, due to scheduling, the check-in times will not be announced after entries have closed at the end of March 2022.

Following consultation with the Regions and Home Nations, the entry fee for qualifiers to the 2022 British Youth Championships (BYCs) has increased to £45. This is as a result of the additional costs associated with delivering the event.

In previous years, Regions have been responsible for the provision of referees in accordance with a formula, based on the number of entrants per day per region. Where Regions were unable to provide referees, a fee was paid to BF to cover the costs of providing the additional referees required.

The feedback from the Regions ahead of the 2022 BYCs was that in large part due to problems caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Regions would be unable to contribute referees or cover the cost as in previous years. Reasons include the time and cost required to source and supply referees, particularly in light of the referee shortages being experienced, and the financial challenges being faced by the Regions as they support the restart of local fencing.

In addition, and following consultation with the refereeing community, the pilot payment scheme, first introduced for the British Senior Championships in November 2021 will continue for the 2022 BYCs. Referees will be able to claim a day rate of £40 (paid in addition to expenses) for refereeing at the Championships.

Our hope is that this will enable and encourage referees to attend this event and help us deliver a quality experience for all participants. (If you are a referee and available to referee at the BYCs which will be running from 30th April to 2nd May 2022, click here)

BF, the Regions, and the Home Nations are currently working together to address these issues long-term. This will include providing additional training and development opportunities to upskill and grow our community of L1-L3 referees who in turn will be able to support the full return of competitive fencing across the UK. More news will follow on this.

Recognising that this cost increase will create a barrier for some fencers, BF will be offering a limited number of grants to qualified fencers to attend the 2022 BYCs. These will be offered on the basis of financial need, not on ability. Further information will follow, but in the meantime, you can sign up here and we will email you the application forms when they are available.

For more information on the Home Nation Fencing Bodies click here. 40% of BF Membership Fees are passed onto the Home Nations, whose responsibilities include supporting grassroots and Home Nation representative fencing.

For more information on the Regions, click here.