2023 BRITISH SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

Last Updated: 12th April 2023

EVENT INFORMATION

Dates: 15th – 16th April 2023

Venue: Lee Valley Athletics Centre, 61 Meridian Way, London, N9 0AR

Schedule:

Saturday 15th April – Individual Events

Men’s Epee – Present on Piste 11:00 – Start Time 11:15

Men’s Foil – Present on Piste 08:45 – Start Time 09:00

Men’s Sabre – Present on Piste 12:30 – Start Time 12:45

Women’s Epee – Present on Piste 08:45 – Start Time 09:00

Women’s Foil – Present on Piste 11:00 – Start Time 11:15

Women’s Sabre- Present on Piste 13:45 – Start Time 14:00

• Fencers must report to the referee on their piste, ready to fence, 15 mins before the scheduled start time (Present on Piste time)
• Poules will be drawn and displayed online at 6pm the day before the competition.  Information will also be displayed at the venue.
• Fencing can start a maximum of 10 mins before the official start time if all fencers for the competition are present at their piste.

Sunday 16th April – Team Events

Men’s Team Epee – Team Draw 09:30 – Start Time 10:00

Men’s Team  Foil – Team Draw 09:00 – Start Time 09:30

Men’s Team Sabre – Team Draw 10:00 – Start Time 10:30

Women’s Team Epee – Team Draw 09:30 – Start Time 10:00

Women’s Team Foil – Team Draw 09:00 – Start Time 09:30

Women’s Team Sabre – Team Draw 10:00 –  Start Time 10:30

Entry Process

Information on Entry Process and Timeline can be found here

Entry for the Eligible Fencers within the Top 50 has now opened.

Entry Timeline:

• 2nd March 2023 – Entry opens (via invitation only) for those eligible fencers within the Top 50 (Individual events) and Team Events
• 8th March 2023 – Wildcard form closes
• 15th March 2023 – Invitations to enter sent for successful wildcard applications
• 22nd March 2023 – Entry Closes for Individual Events (for eligible fencers within the top 50) and Team Events at 5pm
• 24th March 2023 – Entries re-open  at 10am for open entry for individual events where the limit of 56 has not been reached on a first-come-first-serve basis. Team Event entries may reopen, removing the limit of 2 teams per club if the overall entry limit has not been reached

Updates on entries after 24th March can be found here

Individual Event Entry Fee: £95

Team Event Entry Fee: £150

Ranking Information

Information on Ranking Points can be found here

Team Events

• This is restricted to teams from BF Affiliated clubs, strict criteria for representing the club (no ‘scratch’ teams). Limited to 2 teams per Club in each weapon. It is limited to one club member per team who is not eligible to compete for GBR (Under the eligibility criteria stated here)
• Winning club qualifies for the European Cup – the EFC European Club Championships.

Event Welfare Officer: Liz Behnke – Contact Number: 07717740125

Please note this number is for event safeguarding matters only. 

Eligibility and Membership Level: British Championships at Junior, Under 23 and Senior levels will be open only to those holding British Nationality, including those holding multiple nationalities, provided the fencer does not hold an FIE licence issued for a country other than Great Britain. More information on eligibility can be found here.

For the British Team Championships, each team may have a maximum of 1 fencer who does not hold British Nationality or holds an FIE licence for another federation other than British Fencing.

All fencers for both the individual and team events must hold a British Fencing Compete Membership. 

Video Refereeing: We anticipate that video refereeing will be in place from the semi finals of individual events, which will take place on the two ‘finals’ pistes.

Call Room: Call room will be in operation from the semi finals onwards for the individual events only (Saturday 15th April).

The call room will be managed by experienced members of staff and volunteers, who have experience of running call rooms at international events and major championships.

Live Streaming: We are continuing our commitment to live streaming at BF events,

The 2023 British Senior Championships will see high quality fencing streamed on our recast platform from the semi finals onwards. Gala finals will be streamed from 5.30pm. With an action packed schedule of back to back semi-finals and finals, we invite the fencing community to join in the action, which will start from 5.30pm either online, or at the venue.

Equipment: All fencers must wear the correct kit as per British Fencing rules. This will include FIE chest protectors (m.25 4(c) ) and 800N sabre gloves (as per the rule at https://www.britishfencing.com/urgent-safety-notice-sabre-gloves/)

Masks with 2 rear safety systems are required -see further information here

Weapons control: Weapons control will be in operation for the Individual Foil and Sabre events, focussing on conductivity testing.

The following items ONLY will be required to be presented to weapons control:

• Foil lame
• Foil mask bib
• Sabre glove
• Sabre lame
• Sabre mask

For Foil and Epee, masks, gloves, weights and gauges will be checked on the piste by referees.

Please note that the weapons control is not intended to act as a full safety check. The primary purpose of the check is to ensure equipment meets the conductivity requirements – i.e. scoring hits are registered. However, equipment may still fail due to safety reasons.

It remains the fencer’s responsibility to ensure that personal fencing kit meets safety standards.

Weapons Control Opening Times:

Friday 14th April – 6-8pm

Saturday 15th April – 8am -1.30pm

We recommend that Sabre Fencers use the Saturday weapons control slot prior to the start of their competition, as due to the earlier Foil start time, it is likely that the majority of Foil Fencers will use the Friday and first few hours of the Saturday Slot.

Accreditation: Accreditation will be in place for access to the Field of Play (FoP) at the event. There will be no access to the Field of Play without an accreditation.

The application process for accreditation has now closed.

Withdrawals: For individual events where a start time is listed, Fencers can withdraw up to 12noon the day before their competition using the online form here

Any fencer who has entered and does not present themselves to fence, except in a case of properly authenticated ‘force majeure’, will be penalised with a £250 fine with their British Fencing membership suspended until the payment of fine is received.

On the day withdrawals can be done via phone using Event team contact number which is available via Sport80

Rule Changes: The new passivity rule introduced on the 1st January 2023 by the FIE will be implemented at the event.

Refreshments: Cafe and vending machines available.

Parking: Parking is available at the venue.

Medical: SportEM will be providing medical cover for the event.

Shop: Leon Paul Stand will be at the venue throughout the weekend.

Welfare: There will be a dedicated welfare officer at the event who will be clearly visible throughout. All welfare issues that arise at the event must be reported to the welfare officer present.

Entry Fee Support Scheme: BF is mindful of the rising costs of attending fencing events and the potential barrier to participation this creates for some members of our community. As a result, BF is offering a limited number of free entries. These will be offered based on financial need, not on ability.  This scheme will cover 100% of the entry fee cost.

To apply and for further information, please complete the Entry Fee Support Scheme Application Form.

Applications for the Entry Fee Support Scheme have now closed

Volunteering: If you are interested in signing up to volunteer at this event , please complete the sign up form here

Media:  Please note there will be filming and photography including live streaming at this event for BF purposes. If you do not give photography/filming permission for yourself or your athlete, please contact [email protected] before the event

Sustainability: As part of BFs commitment to reducing the environmental impact of our sport, no single-use plastic bottles will be permitted on the field of play. We hope that the community will support efforts in this area and ensure that everyone brings re-useable bottles to the event.