This article forms part of a series of reports accompanying the 2023-24 BF Annual Report.
In this report:
The work to support our GBR athletes to international success forms part of the GBR Pathway Programme. This six-weapon programme, based on the BF Fencer Pathway Model, exists to support athletes in achieving GBR Olympic success and inspiring others. It now covers athletes aged 14 to 35 (and beyond for those performing at the Olympic level) who are moving through a defined development pathway to success at the highest level of fencing.
In 2023-24, there were 1579 individual entries to the EFC and FIE Cadet (U17), Junior (U20), and Senior competitions (a slight increase on the 1529 entries in 2022-23). There was an increase on the amount of individual fencers participating in the season, 389 compared to 337 in 2022-23. The average number of participants in each event remained at 4.0, compared to 4.0 in 2022-23.
Performances were sustained, yielding 34 medals in the season-ending July 2024, including 28 individual and 6 team medals across Cadet, Junior, U23s, and Senior age categories, (an increase of one from the 33 medals attained in 2022-23).
Notable Performances
In July 2024, Carolina Stutchbury achieved a Bronze Medal in the Senior Europeans.
End of Season FIE Ranking
Funding sources to support our GBR athletes included: Sport England ‘Talent‘, UK Sport Progression (includes ‘National Teams) UK Sport Podium (one named athlete), The BF Charity, The Epee Club, although the majority of the cost of competing on the international circuit continues to lie with the athletes (and/or their families).
Medal Table
(reflecting 2023-24 season-ending July 2024, bracketed numbers are the totals for that age group)
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Last Year | |
| Cadet – Non- Nominated | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Cadet – Nominated | 5 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 13 |
| Cadet – Major Championship | 1 | 1 | 2 (15) | 3 (18) | |
| Junior – Non- Nominated | 2 | ||||
| Junior – Nominated | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| Junior – Major Championship | 1 | 2 | 3 (6) | 1 (7) | |
| EFC U23 Event | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| FIE Satellite Event | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 4 |
| FIE Senior Event | 1 | 2 (13) | 1 (8) | ||
| Total | 9 | 11 | 15 | 34 | 33 |
Note: This report covers competitions from February 2023 to July 2024. While some fall outside the Financial year, from a fencing perspective, this is considered the period of Major Championships across all the age groups: Cadets, Juniors, U23s, and Seniors.
Cadet and Junior European Championships Naples, Italy:
Full squads were selected across the six weapons, with several athletes fencing, both cadets and juniors.
Other notable performances:
Cadet (U17) and Junior (U20) World Championships Riyadh, Saudi Arabia:
Full junior and cadet squads across the six weapons were selected. There is no cadet team event, and only cadets meeting qualification standards were selected. With positive performances this year a full cadet squad was selected.
Other Notable Performances
U23 European Games, Antalya Turkey
BF sent a six-weapon squad to the 2024 U23 European Championships with several athletes who identified the U23 Europeans as their milestone event, meeting the qualification standard.
The event’s strategic objective is to provide the right competitive experiences for athletes transitioning from Junior to Senior levels to boost their performances. The overall results were slightly better than the previous seasons.
Senior European Games, Basel, Switzerland
A reduced squad competed at the Senior Europeans, reflecting the drive to increase standards across the weapons. A number of younger athletes gained their first Senior Major Champions experience.
Carolina Stutchbury achieved British Fencing’s first Senior European Championships medal in Women’s Foil – Full Report Here
Other Notable Performances:
Zonal Championships, Differdange Luxembourg
A squad of six athletes attended the event with the expectation that several athletes would gain experience for future events.
Full Report Here
Official Retirement
In April 2024, the 2014 European Champion, James-Andrew Davis announced his retirement from international competition. Best wishes to him in all his future endeavours.
Full News Report Here
Alongside the major event results, performance across weapons and multiple age groups shows an improvement for some weapons and consistency in performances for others. This data is taken from the live performance data published on the BF website and shows all the percentage finishes that meet the minimum performance standards (top 40% finish) from the 2023-24 season.
Weapon Performances – Sabre
There is an improvement in the performances in sabre, with more fencers achieving 8% finishes (gold) compared to 2022-23.
Notable Performances :
Weapon Performances – Epee 2022- 24
Building on the increase from 2021-22 into 2022-23, there has been an increase in fencers hitting the 8-16% performance levels with a consistency held from 2022-23 into 2023-24.
Notable Performances
Weapon Performances – Foil 2022-24
The foil space has a strong cohort with an experienced group moving through the age groups. As stronger fencers transition to higher levels, they will do less Junior competitions and will be more focused on Senior/higher level fencing. The shift through the age groups can be seen as the fencers continue their journeys.
Notable Performances:
BF would like to thank:
And finally, we would like to thank all the athletes who continue to dedicate themselves to developing and achieving excellence in and through fencing.
Click here for the full 2023-24 Annual Report.
Don’t miss the latest news. Subscribe to our weekly summary email, The Fencing Digest, featuring the previous week’s latest news and announcements. Sign up here.
Sign up to receive regular highlights from the exciting world of fencing - celebrating the best of our unique and inspiring community
