ALL THE LATEST NEWS AND INFORMATION FOR BF CLUBS
The Club Digest covers all of the latest news and information for BF Clubs.
BF LEARNING WEEK
British Fencing has come to the end of their annual Learning Week, where 24 sessions were hosted, covering a variety of subjects. The total attendance number was over 550, and we hope that the insights from the week’s events informed your work in your respective role.
Speakers highlighted the importance of inclusivity. A session on considerate coaching was led by Navjeet Sira and Daniel Mynott from The Change Foundation, teaching participants how to support neurodiverse fencers. Dr Siraz Natha led a discussion about the simple ways in which clubs and competitions can become more accessible to ethnically diverse communities. BF team members Rick Rodgers and Nathaniel Lewis also hosted discussions on widening BF’s seated fencing participation and what community members can learn from coaching wheelchair fencing, respectively.
BF Participation Director Virginia Bailey also spoke about the collaboration between fencing clubs and scout groups, and how to increase the number of people fencing on a local level.
To find out some of the content that was covered over the week, follow the LINK HERE.
We’ve received requests for recordings of the sessions. Where possible, we’ll upload them as soon as we can to our YouTube channel.
What is Buddle?
Buddle is a National Lottery funded programme that provides free resources, support, guidance and workshops to grassroots sports clubs, groups and community organisations as well as the workforce that supports these organisations.
Buddle resources are designed to support organisations who are looking to set up, develop, grow, reach out to communities and maximise their engagement with new and existing members, participants and volunteers.
Getting Organised – https://buddle.co/learning-and-support-resources/getting-organised
Money Matters – https://buddle.co/learning-and-support-resources/money-matters
Facilities and spaces – https://buddle.co/learning-and-support-resources/facilities-and-spaces
THE MOVEMENT FUND
Do you have an idea to tackle inequalities and help get more people active? The Movement Fund could be for you.
Launched in April 2024, the Movement Fund offers crowdfunding pledges, grants, and resources to improve physical activity opportunities for the people and communities who need it the most.
If your organisation and project are eligible for funding, and your project aligns with the goals, you could receive up to £15,000.
The Movement Fund’s focus is to support projects that match the goals of getting more people active, reducing the number of inactive people, and tackling inequalities.
See funding guidance and how to apply by following the LINK HERE.
GOING FOR GREEN PLEDGE
Going for Green pledge is part of Sport England’s comprehensive sustainability strategy, ‘Every Move’, which aims to reduce the carbon footprint of sports and promote eco-friendly practices.
The ‘Going for Green’ pledge invites individuals and organisations in sports to commit to sustainability. By signing up, you take actionable steps to reduce waste, conserve energy, and promote a healthier environment. Why not start by asking your clubs/participants to use reusable bottles/cups? Sign up here.
THE GREEN PISTE
Sport has a big impact on the world and is a platform to inspire positive change. Just recycling is not enough – what else should we all be doing?
Join BF’s campaign to make the sport as environmentally friendly and sustainable as possible. Follow the link for a short survey: What can we do to help?
You can find the British Fencing sustainability policy here: BF Environmental Sustainability Policy.
To find out more about British Fencing’s environmental sustainability initiatives, take a look out our Green Piste webpage.
REMINDER: IS ALL YOUR CLUB’S CONTACT INFORMATION UP TO DATE?
MAKE SURE ALL CONTACTS ON YOUR CLUB PROFILE ARE UP TO DATE TO ENSURE THAT THE CLUB IS KEPT IN THE LOOP WITH ALL THE LATEST INFORMATION.
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- CLUB ADMINS – Check your club details are up to date on the Sport:80 membership platform. We are still getting a number of undelivered messages when we send emails, to club contacts. Please ask your club secretary to check and update the club profile if necessary.
- COACHES AND WELFARE OFFICERS– It’s a good time to check that all your coaches and welfare officers are up to date with their required certificates. Remember you can add them to our online Coach Register and Welfare Officer lists (see our requirements for coaches here and welfare officer guidance here).
- MEMBERS – Encourage your members to check their own details are up to date on the Sport:80 membership platform.
- ACCESSIBILITY– Check your club accessibility information, have you updated it yet? By updating your details, letting us know your accessibility, equipment status and whether you run specific disability-inclusive sessions, this will help us signpost new members who need wheelchair access and are looking for support with their seated fencing activities.
UPCOMING COURSES
Check out the upcoming courses BF have that are available to book now.
Welfare Officer courses
- SafeGuard Core 13.10.2024 – 09:00 – 12:00
- SafeGuard Core 11.11.2024 – 18:00- 21:00
- SafeGuard Core 04.12.2024 – 18:00- 21:00
- SafeGuard Welfare Officer 08.09.2024 – 09:00-12:00
- SafeGuard Welfare Officer 19.10.2024 – 09:00-12:00
- SafeGuard Welfare Officer 04.11.2024 – 18:00-21:00
To find out more details and to book your place or contact the relevant person please head to the website here.
Coaching Courses
- ITCF Rugby 23-24.11.2024
- CFL2 Epsom All Weapons 16-17.11.2024 & 7-8.12.2024
- CFL2 Cardiff 08, 09, 15, 16.03.2025
- WSL4 All Weapons 31.8.2024 – 1.9.2024
- CFL2 London All Weapons
- ITCF Street (Somerset, expected in September/October)
- ITCF SW region (expected in summer, possible locations: Exeter, Truro, Wellington)
For any coaching course queries, please contact [email protected]
UPCOMING EVENTS
Upcoming events in October 2024. This is a snapshot of some of the latest fencing events across the UK.
The full calendar, and links to book for these exciting events can be found here: Events Zone
- British U23 Epee Championships, October 12th
- NIJFS 24/25 Round 1, October 12th
- Sabre Bio Band Competition PART 1, October 12th
- British U23 Epee Championships, October 13th
- Dragon LPJS Sabre, October 13th
- Heart of England Youth Foil – Event 1 (U10, U12), October 13th
- Heart of England Youth Foil – Event 1 (U14, Cadets), October 13th
- Sabre Super League #1, October 13th
- SWEF Senior EPEE Championship, October 13th
Coming soon:
- BF – Sword in Hand CPD, October 19th
- Elite Epee Junior Series Event CLFS, October 19th
- Manchester Sabre U14 C BRC, October 19th
- BF – Sword in Hand CPD, October 20th
- Elite Epee Men’s Series CLFS, October 20th
- Hampshire Fencers Only Age Group Foil 2024, October 20th
- London Region All Weapon Team October 2024, October 20th
GB LEAGUE 2024 AUTUMN SEASON PAUSED FOR UPGRADE
BF is enhancing the GB League experience for all clubs and fencers. To accommodate the change, the GB League will be paused during the 2024 Autumn season. This season runs from October to December.
The GB League annual season runs from October to June and is broken down into mini seasons:
Autumn – October to December (paused in 2024)
Winter – January to March
Spring – April to June
BF has made the decision to pause the GB League’s Autumn 24-2025 season, to make some much needed changes to the system.
As some of you might know the GB League has been running since 2019, and over the last year we have faced issues which have not matched the expectations that we have for the League. Therefore we have made the decision to move away from the current platform and start again fresh with a new platform.
We understand some of you will have been looking forward to holding fixtures again in the new season, and we are sorry if this has affected any of your plans. However, the new system will be up and running for January 2025, clubs already involved with the GB League will be contacted soon to participate in a trial of the new platform and asked to give feedback.
For clubs that have not yet joined the GB League, the January – March winter season is the perfect time to sign up and add your fencers to the annual and seasonal leader boards. Further information on how to sign up as a club and an individual will be shared over the coming months.
To make sure you are ready for the Winter Season read more information about the format here: GB League format
SEATED FENCING A GREAT SUCCESS AT 2024 WHEELPOWER GAMES
Rick Rodgers, BF Inclusion Officer (Disability), recently attended the WheelPower Inter Spinal Unit Games, held at Stoke Mandeville Stadium, the birthplace of the Paralympics, which brings together patients and alumni from spinal injury units across the country to try out and compete across numerous sports to win the Jean Stone Trophy.
This year we brought the prototype Sword Seat, our wooden seated fencing system. The Sword Seat was incredibly well received, with most participants happy to self-transfer into the seats and fencing comfortably. It was a great last test for the system before its upcoming rollout to clubs and stakeholders.
If you’re a coach interested in getting some more experience by supporting us at future events, please get in touch via: Member Contact Form
COMING SOON
BF COMMUNITY AWARDS
The annual British Fencing Community Awards recognise the best of our clubs, coaches, fencers, and volunteers and their contribution to fencing.
BF members (all membership types) can nominate members of the community via the online nomination form. From the nominations, a shortlist of nominees will be produced. An independent panel will then select the winners of the BF Awards 2023-2024.
Keep your eyes peeled for the nomination opening dates, coming soon.
LATEST NEWS
The new Northern Ireland – Fencing Ireland Associate Membership allows members of Fencing Ireland who hold a Fencing Ireland competitive licence to enter unlimited BF-registered competitions in Northern Ireland.
The Northern Ireland – Fencing Ireland Associate Membership is a compete level membership only, no recreational level membership is available and the membership has no voting rights.
The annual cost of the membership is £12 (£10 via auto renew after the first year)
After three terms as President of British Fencing, Hilary Philbin MBE has announced her retirement from the role to focus on EFC commitments. The Board thanks Hilary for her service as President and opens the application process for the role for the 2024-28 term.
The 13th and 14th September 2024 saw the annual Cadet & Junior National Championships held in its usual home of the David Ross Sports Centre, Nottingham
After some issues with live streaming competition over the past year’s events, at this event, the media team decided to record the finals and upload them to YouTube, you can watch all finals following the link here
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