DOMESTIC WHEELCHAIR FENCING COMPETITIONS HOT UP BEFORE CARDIFF WORLD CUP

The Welsh and Scottish Opens held seated fencing events ahead of the Wheelchair Fencing World Cup in Cardiff, taking place in January 2024.

November 2023 has seen an explosion of domestic seated and wheelchair fencing events, with the inaugural Welsh and Scottish events taking place at their respective existing open competitions.

Paving the way and building excitement ahead of the Wheelchair Fencing World Cup, taking place in Cardiff on the 11th-14th January 2024, the November open competitions saw events in all three weapons take place.

Matt Russell, Chairman of Welsh Fencing, said,

“On behalf of Welsh Fencing, I would like to thank the fencers who turned up for the first wheelchair fencing open competition and it was fantastic to be joined by World Number 1 Dimitri Coutya. I would also like to thank all of the volunteers and referees who worked tirelessly to provide a great experience for all those involved. It was a good opportunity for us to gain some experience ahead of the World Cup.”

Clare Queen, COO / Head of Pathways at Scottish Fencing, said,

“Scottish Fencing are delighted that we were able to have wheelchair fencing as part of the Scottish Open last weekend and hope that the fencers who took part enjoyed the event.  We are committed to raising the visibility of wheelchair fencing, as well as supporting clubs and coaches to increase the opportunities for people of all abilities to take part. We would like to thank British Fencing for their advice and support, and we look forward to continuing this work.”

The competitions were supported by GBR IWAS referees. They were also training opportunities for trainee GBR IWAS referees as they build towards taking assessments at the Cardiff World Cup.

Our partners from RMA Sport were also in attendance with their latest iteration of the club fencing wheelchair prototype. The changes from the previous prototype were well-received, and the latest prototype was put through its paces by athletes at the Welsh Open and even used in a couple of bouts in Scotland.

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