British Senior Championships 2022 Report

The full report from the 2022 Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend Senior Championships in Sheffield.

Day 1

Men’s Foil

Dominic De Almeida (ZFW) took the men’s foil title at the Championships beating Kamal Minott (FCL) in a highly competitive final.

De Almeida dropped a fight in the first round but still earned fourteenth seed and a bye through the incomplete round of 128. He went on to beat Briggs (Allez Fencing) 15-2, Monnet (Salle Boston) 15-2, Lonsdale (FCL) 15-13 and Rosowsky (Sheffield Buccaneers) 15-13 before defeating Bird (ZFW) 15-8 in the semi-finals.

In the other half of the draw, Minott went 6-0 in the first round and ranked fifth for the DE. He followed his bye with victories against Roberts (Salle Boston) 15-9, Plastow (Salle Boston) 15-11, Peggs (FCL) 15-14, Sosnov (ZFW) 15-6 and Donaghue (FCL) 15-5 to make the gold medal match.

De Almeida edged the final to claim the 2022 title 15-13 over Minott as Bird and Donaghue completed the podium.

Men’s Foil B Championships 

Kola Abidogun (Salle Boston) claimed the 2022 men’s foil B Championships beating Thomas James (Invicta) in the final.

Twenty-eight fencers took part in the event in an incomplete table of 32. Abidogun, ranked nineteenth, beat teammate Gibson 15-6, Alison (University of Kent) 15-10, Di Francesco (Champion Club) 15-11 and Oscar Plant 15-7 to make the final.

Thomas came through the top of the draw with wins against Smeaton (Sarum Swords) 15-8, Brooks Scodellaro (Epsom) 15-12, Conroy (Radcliffe Sword Club) 15-8 and Mittelholzer (Herefordshire) 15-3.

Abidogun comfortably took the gold medal match 15-7. 

Men’s Sabre

William Deary (Truro) added another British title to his accolades by winning the men’s sabre Championships in Sheffield beating Barnaby Halliwell (Shakespeares Swords) in the final.

Deary came through the poule stage without dropping a fight, maintaining his top seeding passed through the 64 knockout encounter with a bye. Victories over Barr (PDFA) 15-1, Saunders (PDFA) 15-6, Miller (Camden) 15-10 and Maxwell (Truro) 15-9 ensured a place in the final.

Meanwhile at the other end of the draw, Halliwell dropped one of his poules matches but still ranked sixth for the DE. A bye was followed by wins against Nash (Camden) 15-10, Haynes (Truro) 15-7, Martin (Truro) 15-6 and Allen (Truro) 15-13 for his shot at gold.

Deary was in dominant mood in the final and eased to a 15-6 title win.

Men’s Sabre B Championships

Stuart Scott (Salle Ecosse) became the 2022 British Champion in the men’s sabre B event. He beat Elliott Baxter (Shakespeares Swords) in the final.

A total of nineteen fencers took part in the event and number one seed Scott followed his bye through the 32 with victories against Swinscow (Truro) 15-10, Biggs (Espada) 15-4 and Heath (PDFA) 15-11 to make the final.

Third seed Baxter also benefited from a bye before beating Manning (Edinburgh) 15-6, Khurana (TMFC) 15-11 and Barnes (Espada) 15-8.

Scott secured the gold medal beating Baxter 15-9 in the final.

Women’s Epee

Susan Sica (Unattached) claimed the first women’s title of the Championships, taking the epee individual by beating Kerenza Bryson (Plymouth) in the final.

Sica claimed second seed for the knockout stages after winning all six of her poule matches. A bye through the 64 proceeded wins against Coackley (Derbyshire Epee Academy) 15-9, Lawson (Malvern Hills Sword Fencing) 15-5, Lebor (Knightsbridge) 15-13 and Bullman (Aldershot) 15-8  for her place in the final.

Dropping two first round fights meant sixteenth seed for Bryson (Plymouth) who still earned a bye through the first DE. She went on to beat Jackson (Skipton) 15-6, Follett (Malvern Hills Sword Fencing) 15-13, Smith Taylor (Liverpool Fencing Club) 12-11 and Hillier (Chelsea) 13-7to make the final two.

Sica put in an accomplished final performance to claim the British title with a 15-7 win over Bryson.

Women’s Epee B Championships

Lucy Grant (Dundee University) took the women’s epee B Championship gold in Sheffield with victory against Eve Golden (Newcastle) in the final.

Twenty fencers took part in the event and third seed Grant progressed to the final with victories over Townsend (Malvern Hills Sword Fencing) 15-3, Hindle (Four of Clubs) 15-10 and Abel (Laszlo) 15-12.

Golden, ranked eighth for the event, fought her way to the final, beating Lumineau (Salle Paul), Fielding (West Fife) 14-9 and Watkins (Malvern Hills Sword Fencing) 15-12.

Grant took the tightest of finals 15-14 to secure the title over Golden.

Day 2

Para Men’s Foil 

Piers Gilliver (Bath Sword Club) claimed the gold medal in this event beating Oliver Lam-Watson (Salle Paul) in the final.

The day started with a poule unique of all five entries with a dominant Gilliver winning all of his matches and dropping just five hits. Lam-Watson’s only defeat was to Gilliver as he ranked second for the elimination phase. Gilliver and Lam-Watson defeated the eventual bronze medalists, Coutya (St Benedicts) and Waddel ( Durham University) 15-5 and 15-4 respectively to set up the gold medal meeting.

Gilliver eased to a 15-7 victory over Lam-Watson in the final to claim the title.

Para Men’s Sabre

Gilliver (Bath Sword Club) claimed his second British title of the day in the Para Men’s Sabre event once more beating Lam-Watson (Salle Paul) in the final.

Another poule unique of the five entries saw Gilliver top the DE rankings undefeated. Lam-Watson dropped his only fight to Gilliver to claim second seed. Gilliver went on to beat Rashid (Unattached) 15-3 and Lam-Watson defeated Coutya (St Benedicts) 15-6. Rashid and Coutya shared the bronze medal place.

There was no stopping Gilliver in the final as he claimed victory over Lam-Watson 15-3.

Para Women’s Foil

Gemma Collis (Leon Paul Project) claimed gold in this event beating Abigail Marshall (Touche) in the final.

Collis was impressive in the opening poule unique, dropping just four hits in an undefeated run. Marshall only lost to Collis to claim second seed. The pair both received byes before beating eventual bronze medalist – Collis taking Seddon-Cowell (Edinburgh University) 15-1 and Marshall beating Moore (Blackpool) 15-9.

Collis secured the Championships title with a 15-11 against Marshall in the final.

Para Women’s Sabre

Gemma Collis (Leon Paul Project) claimed her second British title of the day in the Para women’s sabre event beating Justine Moore (Blackpool) in the final.

Collis impressed again in the poule unique taking four from four and dropping just four hits. Moore ended up ranked second after losing the single fight to Collis. Collis went on to defeat Seddon-Cowell (Edinburgh University) 15-5 as Moore beat McEvoy (Bolton) 15-9. Seddon-Cowell (Edinburgh University) and McEvoy (Bolton) shared the bronze medal place.

Collis was in dominant form in the final beating Moore 15-2 for the title.

Men’s Epee

Benjamin Andrews (Plymouth Fencing Club) collected the men’s epee individual title at EIS Sheffield beating Modern Pentathlon Olympic Champion Joseph Choong (Unattached) in the final.

Andrews dropped one of his first round matches and entered the elimination stages ranked fourteenth. A bye through the 128 proceeded wins against Goryn (Malvern Hills Sword Fencing) 15-10, Russell (Crawley Sword Club) 15-7, East (Brixton) 15-10, Taiwo-Williams (Derbyshire Epee Academy) 15-10 and Shepherd (Skipton) 11-9 as he made his way to the final.

Choong also dropped one poule fight which was enough to earn twelfth seed and a bye through the first knockout fight. He went on to make the gold medal match beating Russell (Crawley Swords Club) 15-10, Boyle (Salle Paul) 15-9,  Grover (Salle Paul) 15-12, Cooper (Derbyshire Epee Academy) 15-10 and Brooke (Knightsbridge) 15-11.

Andrews edged to the victory and the title beating Choong 15-12 in the final.

Men’s Epee B Championship

Salvador Luther-Payne (Bath Sword Club)) claimed the men’s epee B title by beating Darran Milne (Haverstock) in the final.

Thirty-five fencers took part in the event with Luther-Payne ranked eighteenth. A bye through the 128 was followed up with impressive victories against Glen (Forth Valley) 15-13, number two seed, Richards (Malvern Hills Sword Fencing) 15-11, Malaj (Brixton) 15-11 and Donnelly (Wessex Blades) 15-11 for a shot at gold. Number one seed, Milne followed a bye through the incomplete 64 with victories against Bailey (Brentwood School) 15-5, Dishman (Bath Sword Club) 15-4, Kew (Crawley Sword Club) 12-8 and Huard (Brixton) 15-13 to book his finals spot.

A tight final followed which Luther-Payne took 15-13.

Women’s Foil

Kate Beardmore (Fighting Fit) collected the British women’s foil title after beating Amelie Tsang (ZFW) in the final of this event.

Beardmore won all of her poule matches and claimed sixth seed for the knockout stages. She followed her bye through the first round with wins against Castillo-Bernaus (Salle Boston) 15-9, Thompson (Newham Swords) 15-10, Campbell (ZFW) 14-10 and Williams-Stewart (ZFW) 15-14 to make the final.

Tsang impressed in her first round going undefeated and dropping just three hits to claim top seed for the DE. After a bye through the 64, she beat Gale (Allez) 15-8, Elliott (Fighting Fit) 15-3, Johnson (FCL) 15-5 and Chart 15-7 for her chance in the gold medal match.

Beardmore fenced strongly to claim the British title 15-11 against Tsang in the final.

Women’s Foil B Championship

Chloe Campbell (Forth Valley) topped the B event for women’s foilists beating Sophie Robinson in the final.

Nineteen fencers entered the competition with Campbell ranked fourth. A bye through the 32 proceeded victories against Amore (ZFW) 14-8, Schofield (Forth Valley) 15-8 and Hu (Edinburgh) 14-13 and a place in the final. Meanwhile, fifteenth seed Robinson beat Currie (Liverpool) 15-9, number two seed Whitaker (Chichester) who withdrew and Ward (Crawley Sword Club) 15-9 for her place in the top two.

Campbell was a comfortable winner in the gold medal match beating Robinson 15-8.

Day 3

Para Men’s Epee 

Piers Gilliver (Bath Sword Club) made it a hat-trick of British titles in 2022 taking the para men’s epee crown with victory over Joshua Waddel (Durham University) in the final.

Undefeated during the poule unique Gilliver claimed number one seed for the DE and despite dropping two fights Waddel picked up second seed. Both received a bye before Gilliver beat Coutya (St Benedicts) 15-3 and Waddell defeated Lam-Watson (Salle Paul) 15-8. As losing semi-finalists Coutya and Lam-Watson shared the bronze medal placing.

Gilliver put in a convincing performance in the final to beat Waddell 15-3.

Para Women’s Epee

Gemma Collis (Leon Paul Project) also collected a hat-trick of British national titles in Sheffield beating Abigail Marshal (Touche) to gold in the para women’s epee event.

Collis stormed the poule unique to claim top seed for the elimination phase whilst Marshall dropped two fights and ranked third. Collis came through the top of the draw beating McEvoy (Bolton) 15-2 in the semi-finals. Marshall faced number two seed, Moore (Blackpool) in the other semi-final and beat her 15-8.

Collis proved her dominance in para women’s fencing claiming the gold medal with a 15-3 victory against Marshall in the final.

View all results here.

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