Forming part of the overall British Fencing Strategy, our mission is deliver a sustainable and inclusive six weapon athlete development system, that enables every talented athlete to access a high-quality pathway that fulfils their potential, as people and performers.
We do this though our Pathway which exists to support athletes in achieving Olympic success as well as inspiring others.
Our primary objective is to produce athletes that are resilient, independent, and high performing, with a true sense of self value, that in turn inspire others to achieve success.
It covers athletes from age 15 to 35 – and beyond for those performing at Olympic level – who are moving through a defined development pathway to success at the highest level of fencing.
We take a ‘whole person’ approach because we believe that ‘Better people make better athletes‘.
The Pathway is founded on the strategic principles of being fencer-centred, development-driven, and competition-supported.
The GBR Pathway was formerly known as the ADP (Athlete Development Programme) until late 2024.
These apply to everyone that participates in the programme – athletes, coaches and staff. They consist of the core British Fencing values (Honesty, Respect and Excellence) plus an additional two (Accountability and Teamwork).
By signing up to the programme athletes are signing up to these values. They will underpin how we all behave and work – as individuals, teams and squads. They are the bedrock of our GBR fencing culture.
HONESTY – Providing and receiving constructive feedback while acknowledging it might feel uncomfortable to receive and/or give.
RESPECT – Value others’ perspectives and treat people as they would like to be treated.
EXCELLENCE – A standard that uses our values as a measuring tool for how well growth and development of coaches, athletes, and staff is encouraged and exercised
ACCOUNTABILITY – ‘I do what I say I will do, and I take responsibility for the outcome.’
TEAMWORK – Sharing skills and capabilities. Working as a unit and complementing each other.
Based on our values we are developing behaviour frameworks (for staff, coaches and athletes) to help guide how we live our values. For example through:
These behaviour frameworks will be reviewed annually with programme participants. Some of these behaviour commitments appearing in our Athlete Agreement, which will apply to every athlete participating in a programme.
Our programme is based on a defined pathway of athlete development. This pathway is underpinned by development models – some sport specific (e.g. FTEM) and some more general (e.g. leadership).
The Pathway Model consists of Pathway Stages, which are further defined by Pathway Stage Components. These are in turn informed in detail by the Weapons Framework.
Fencer Centred – Our work is centred on the development needs of fencers as they join, move through and leave the performance pathway. We encourage our fencers to be personally accountable, able to critique their own performance through the identification of learning moments and maximise the support available to them in answering their own performance challenge. We provide environments which promote continuous learning and growth, in every session and experience.
Development Driven – We support the achievement of the fencer’s goals through guiding their development in understanding how to fence and how to make performance decisions in the moment. At the heart of this approach is the designing of experiences (from education, lessons, training, camps to competitions) which meet the needs of the fencers, providing them with opportunities to take ownership and ‘stretch’ their learning commensurate with their current developmental stage.
Competition Supported – Preparing our fencers for competition is a keystone to developing their performance. Identifying the right level of competition which, in turn, offers enough challenge to stretch their development is key. The right competition at the right time will invariably provide supported experiences and challenges which incrementally nurture the growth of the psychosocial, technical and tactical aspects of our fencer’s performance. This in turn supports positive performance trajectories through multiple Olympic cycles to deliver medal success for GBR.
The programme brings together development opportunities (such as camps, courses, competitions) which are intended to accelerate athlete development to Olympic success.
The programme also ensures alignment between a number of other smaller funded projects and programmes (such as DiSE, Sport England Talent, UK Sport Medal Support Plan), to create the right opportunity for the right athlete at the right time.
The programme is not responsible for creating and delivering day by day and week by week training environments and personal coaching. We can help signpost athletes to opportunities but we are not responsible for sourcing sparring partners, training venues and coaches for athletes.
Entry and ongoing participation in the programme is based on a number of factors including attitude, commitment, proficiency and performance standards and trajectories.
Typically the earliest that an athlete will be considered for inclusion will be 15. At these early stages, participation in the programme is less about results and more about athletes understanding and developing the vital capabilities (such as mental and physical resilience, self awareness, responsibility, role model) for future life as a performance athlete.
Exit from the programme will normally be at the point where an athlete is not making enough progress through the Pathway to demonstrate they are still on track to represent GBR at a future Olympics.
The programme isn’t for every person who represents GBR at every level. Not every athlete has the motivation to succeed at the Olympic level and the ongoing commitment to develop themselves.
Not all athletes will be eligible for inclusion (or funding) in every aspect of the programme – some opportunities will be dependent on the pathway stage, some may be restricted by age, some by location and some by Home Nation, as this is how sport is funded in the UK.
BF will be as inclusive as possible across the Home Nations, but subsidies/cost/availability may vary as a result. One example is DiSE, which is only for athletes age 16-18 in state school education in England.
To represent your country at international level an athlete will have to make the commitment and have the means to travel internationally.
BF does not get enough income from membership fees to subsidise athletes representing GBR. We are a small sport and the membership fee would become prohibitive for many of our members if they had to subsidise the elite pathway in this way.
Instead BF works to access government and charity funding where it is available and uses this to subsidise programme delivery. In some cases we are able to support applications for grants and funding for individual named athletes.
We believe that any funding to support our GBR ambitions is a privilege not a right.
All funding (whether from government or charities) comes with responsibilities and accountabilities to those organisations (normally laid out in contracts between BF and the organisation). We therefore expect all those athletes in direct receipt of funding or participating in subsidised development opportunities to understand and deliver on their associated responsibilities and commitments.
For more information about funding, what we fund, how to apply for grants etc see here: Athlete Funding Support
For information about how the pathway is funded and what benefits a member gets click here: Pathway Funding
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