2023-24 WHEELCHAIR FENCING WORLD CUP REPORT

This article forms part of a series of reports which accompany the 2023-24 BF Annual Report. 

Wheelchair Fencing World Cup

• Took place in January 2024
• Four days of competition
• Hosted in Cardiff, Wales
• 180 athletes
• 30 countries
• The highest number of GB athletes that have attended a Wheelchair Fencing World Cup
• Six individuals started their journey to become IWAS qualified referees
• Four British Classifiers completed their classifiers training

In May 2023, BF announced that the 2024 Wheelchair Fencing World Cup would be hosted in Cardiff, Wales, in partnership with UK Sport and the Welsh Government. The event was the final European-based qualification fixture ahead of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, with the aim to deliver a world-class experience for athletes from both the UK and the rest of the world.

The World Cup was an opportunity to showcase the sport, educating members, volunteers and workforce in disability inclusion and the nuances of wheelchair fencing, and helped us advocate for and support the activities of our wheelchair fencers giving them access to a highly prestigious competition, maximising the home advantage.

Delivering a World Class Event

Over the duration of the four days, 180 athletes from 30 different countries competed in Cardiff.

Partnership Working Across Organisations

A number of key relationships were forged in the build up and during the event.  With investment from Welsh Government for the delivery of the event, support was also gained from other Welsh bodies including Sport Wales, Disability Sport Wales (DSW) and Welsh Fencing. These partnerships allowed us the opportunity to:

• Ensure GB athletes had access to the UKIS facilities at Sport Wales National Centre, in the build-up to and during the competition.
• Access existing trusted and respected volunteer networks in Wales.
• Work with Welsh clubs and DSW to take fencing into settings where they may not have had the opportunity to try the sport previously.

Beyond the World Cup, the relationship forged with colleagues from Welsh Government lead to BF and a coach from Barti Ddu Fencing Club, being invited to input into a government consultation on disability inclusion.

Outside of Wales, our partnership with the International Federation World Ability Sport (formerly IWAS), evolved during this period, providing us with an opportunity to demonstrate the capabilities of BF and its partners in delivering a world class sporting event.

In the build up to the event, BF had access to working with expert partners to support us with areas such as communications and inclusive spectator experiences. As well as developing a venue access video for people visiting Cardiff, Community Integrated Care and Run Communications provided us with support to ensure information on our website related to the event was accessible for all.

Click here for the full 2023-24 Annual Report.

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