Following on from the AGM, British Fencing is delighted to announce more details regarding the British Championships.
The format and structure of the National Championships has been under review for a couple of years. BFs desire is to create a quality sustainable showcase event for participants which also has the potential to attract an audience and sponsors.
Year-on-year costs for running major events are increasing significantly. Over the last few years BF has endeavored to keep costs as low as possible for the participants but in doing so have created an event that makes it exceedingly hard to attract sponsors or audiences (both actual and online).
We have therefore decided that this year we intend to invest BF money in upgrading the Championships to create a showcase for our sport and an experience more in keeping with what should be the most prestigious domestic Championships in the BF Calendar.
The Individual Championships over two days. The first day will be qualifying pools and DE down to the L16. Day 2 will be held in a single hall on multiple coloured pistes, with live streaming and athlete presentations. There will be reserved seating for VIPs and free tickets will be made available to the local community.
We are also tying in the Championships with the Inaugural British Fencing Awards Dinner. This will be an opportunity for some of the best clubs, coaches, fencers and volunteers around the country to be recognized for their contribution to fencing. Unlike the BF Honours, many of these awards will be voted on by the members of British Fencing.
Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th April 2016.
SportsDock, University of East London, Docklands Campus, University Way. E16 2RD.
Entry fees will be remaining the same – £50 per individual entry. There will be an opportunity to use Lolly Reward points to get £5 off your entry fee, and further details of this offer will be available when entries open. (For more details on how to sign up to Lolly Reward and start collecting click here.)
For the 2016 British Fencing Championships, the format will be as follows:
Day 1: All six weapons, poules and DE to Last 16.
Day 2: All competitors will have the opportunity to fence on Day 2. The Direct Elimination L16 will take place in the finals hall. In the second hall, there will be a B competition for all those fencers eliminated prior to the L16. The finals of the B competition will also be held in the finals hall and prizes and medals awarded to the top 4 in both events.
The Sunday will be a showcase event, with live streaming, a set timetable and fencers announced onto the piste for each fight. This format will also allow the maximum amount of fencing, however it will not be compulsory to enter the B competition on day 2 if you chose not to. There will be no additional charge for competing in the B competition.
Based on previous years, entry numbers have been provisionally set for each individual weapon as follows:
Men’s Epee – 98
Men’s Foil – 84
Men’s Sabre – 63
Women’s Epee – 84
Women’s Foil – 42
Women’s Sabre – 42
There will be flexibility on these if certain events are over or under subscribed. A waiting list will be in operation for any events which reach their entry limits.
There will be Safeguarding, Team Manager and First Aid courses running alongside the event. There will also be practical referee exams for levels 3 and 4 on the Sunday. (Please note that there will be no theory exams.)
On the Saturday evening, there will be a British Fencing Awards Dinner at a hotel near to the competition venue. The fencing will finish by 18:00 to allow any competitors who wish to attend this dinner to do so, and this will be a three course sit down meal. The dinner will be at an additional cost to the £50 entry fee, however there will be a combined entry + dinner option on the entry site. Further information on awards categories and how to nominate and vote will be available very soon.
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