GBR Representation Pre-requisite – Participating in National Championships

Any athlete wishing to be selected/entered for Great Britain at FIE or EFC competitions must have competed in the most recent National Championships in the relevant category – Cadet, Junior, U23 or Senior.

For example, for cadet and junior international selections from September 2024, athletes must have competed in the 2024 Cadet & Junior National Championships.

Only in exceptional circumstances will an exemption be granted, which must be sought in advance and have received written approval from the British Fencing CEO or the Pathways Director. In the event an athlete is unexpectedly injured or ill a doctor’s note will be required to be submitted to British Fencing Head Office within one week of the date of the Championships.

The only exception would be if an athlete does not have British citizenship at the point of the National Championships, but subsequently receives British citizenship.

The GBR National Championships Exemption Form is to be completed by any athlete wishing to be considered for exemption from the Senior, Junior and Cadet Nationals. 

The exemption lists are published for athletes/parents and selectors to check:

• EXEMPTIONS FROM BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIPS 2024
• EXEMPTIONS FROM BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIPS 2023

Exemptions will not be made on financial grounds. Exemptions will not be made on the basis that athletes live, work or study abroad. Exemptions may be granted due to the uncertainty over lifting of travel restrictions.

Athletes making exemption requests based on university exam timetables, or having been denied permission to miss lectures/work must provide the evidence along with their application. BF reserve the right to contact the organisation (employee or educational institution) involved to confirm the situation.

Please note that entry into the London Cup U23 EFC circuit ranking events is not subject to this requirement. You will still need an EFC licence though and this, plus your entry, must be done through the federation that you are eligible to represent internationally.

Why does this requirement exist?

The Board acknowledges that all fencers wishing to represent GBR train exceptionally hard and that they are the best planners of their own season, understanding what is best for them. For this reason, the compulsory demands placed on our international athletes are kept as minimal as possible.

Only the National Championships have been made compulsory and there are no minimum performance targets set for these competitions.  The Board consider attendance at the National Championships important for several reasons. Foremost among these is the desire to keep the Championships as a showcase of the best GBR talent within British Fencing.

The Championships offer the best British fencers in the country an opportunity to compete against each other and provides future GBR fencers first-hand experience, be that as a competitor or spectator, of the highest level of domestic competition. The Board consider it reasonable that any fencer seeking the honour of competing for GBR internationally should also aspire to being the National Champion.

Attendance at the National Championships therefore allows athletes to demonstrate their ability to perform at the highest domestic level while helping to develop the sport by providing inspiration and experience to others.