OGDEN PASSES FIE SABRE EXAM

Congratulations to GBR referee Sam Ogden, who achieved his FIE license in sabre after passing the FIE referee exams in Romania.

The annual International Fencing Federation (FIE) referee exams held in Bucharest concluded on Friday, with GBR candidate Sam Ogden passing the sabre.

Sam Ogden, a member of the GBR Referee Pathway Programme, said: “I feel privileged to have been awarded an FIE B Sabre licence today. This is the result of a huge amount of effort, not  just on my part but on all those who have supported and encouraged me in my refereeing journey. I am immensely grateful to all my colleagues and mentors for their help, and to the coaches and the athletes for having placed their trust in me so many times. As I take this next exciting step, I hope to continue to do them and the whole British Fencing community proud in the future.”

Georgina Usher, BF’s CEO, added: “Many congratulations to Sam on this achievement. The amount of work that goes into preparing for these exams should not be underestimated, not just for the candidates but also those referees (both domestic and international) that support our Referee Pathway Programme. This programme continues to deliver on its objective to increase the quantity of GBR international standard referees able to support both our domestic and international events. A huge thank you to everyone involved in it, and supporting Sam to this success.”

Hilary Philbin, BF’s President, added: “It is important that we continue to build our team of quality international level referees in the UK, enabling us to play a greater role in supporting the growth of fencing across Europe and beyond. On behalf of British Fencing, I would like to thank the EFC, in particular those members of the Referee Commission who continue to support this referee development work.”

The work of the GBR International Referee Pathway Programme is supported by UK Sport International Relations funding.

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