| Our last newsletter back in May started off with “Phew! It’s been hot, hasn’t it?” — well, that didn’t change much over the summer, did it? We hope you all had a great July and August and are ready — if you haven’t been already throughout the summer — to hit the piste. We doubt we’ll need it now, but just to confirm, we follow the British Fencing hot weather guidelines: read the guidelines here. |
| 🗓️ New Mini Term (9:00–10:00am) Dates: 6th September – 18th October (7 weeks) Fee: £56 for the full term Advance warning: the next term will be 1st November – 13th December. 👉 Fees are payable via the website: lewesfencingclub.org.uk/purchase |
| 🕒 All Other Sessions (Unchanged) Sunday: 10:00am–12:00pm Wednesday: 7:00pm–9:00pm We’ve had a number of Minis graduate into the main 10am–12pm group, and whilst some of them have been fencing throughout the summer, we welcome them back to this next step in their fencing career. |
| Courses for friends and relatives who are interested in fencing: Adult Course (14+): 6 weeks on Wednesday evenings, starting 23rd September, 7pm–8pm, cost £70. Please have them email us at enquiries@lewesfencingclub.org.uk. 6–13 year olds: One-hour taster sessions, £12 per session. Please email enquiries@lewesfencingclub.org.uk for availability. |
| Socials Oops, we missed the summer social this year — mainly because everyone seemed to be getting away early — but don’t worry, we’ll be back with the popular Christmas social. It’s all yet to be decided, but we expect it to be on 13th December, straight after club, so please save the date. |
| New Club and County Roles Jo Banks may be Mum to Harrison, but you should also know she’s our Welfare Officer. If you feel there are any issues around welfare, please speak to her (or email welfare@lewesfencingclub.org.uk). However, at last week’s Sussex Fencing Union AGM, she took on the role of Competitions Manager for the County — so congratulations to her. Emmeline Hawker has volunteered to look at our website, so expect to see changes over the next few weeks to make it easier to navigate and find information. Good news — a new Épéeist is on the way! We must congratulate Lewis and Laura, who are expecting their second child in October. This does mean coaching may change at random and without notice around that time, but we have three other excellent coaches able to step in and fill Lewis’s coaching jacket, should we need them. |
| A Small Library We now have a small library of fencing books, mostly donated by Della. We’re happy for these to be borrowed by any member, but please see Gordon or Della to ‘book’ them out so we can keep tabs on them. |
| ⚠️ Safety and Kit Usage — Please Read Our Armourer, Simon, is always working hard to keep our kit in good condition. Here are five simple things you can do to help Simon and the club: Tip Screws — When fencing for the first time each week (or more often if possible), check that your tip has two screws. Missing screws lead to lost tips. Did you know you can receive a yellow card at a competition for arriving at the piste with a missing tip screw? Make it a habit to check regularly. Loose Handle — If your handle or guard is loose, get it tightened as soon as possible. If you’re in the middle of a match, stop and get it seen too. A loose handle or guard can very easily cut one or both of the wires running through the guard, resulting in a full wire replacement and taking the weapon out of service for several sessions. At one point, we had just three right-handed épées available for the whole club. Plugs and Sockets — Whether connecting a spool wire or a body wire, always pull the plug itself when disconnecting, not the wire going into it. Spool Wire Return — After finishing and disconnecting your body wire, please don’t leave the spool wire in the middle of the piste — walk it back to the end so it doesn’t whip back into the spool with too much force. Neighbouring Piste Awareness — When fencing next to another piste, please be mindful of what your neighbours are doing. This is especially important with the wireless kit. We frequently see people getting very close to fencers on an adjacent piste, often without a mask. If you need to retrieve something from the middle of the piste — a wifi pack or a drink — wait for your neighbours to pause, then move quickly. If you’re one of the neighbouring fencers and spot an issue, halt your match and, where space allows, move away from the adjacent piste to create a safe buffer. |
| 🏆 Competition Results Adult Mixed Teams (18th July) 1st Lewes Strike 3rd Worthing Leopards (made up of people who are also members at Lewes) 6th Lewes Defenders 7th Lewes Titans Adult Ladies Teams (18th July) 1st Lewes Valkyries Mixed Novice (11th July) 2nd Ben M 3rd George E Junior Ladies Teams (11th July) 1st Ava, Ella, Maja Junior Mixed Teams (11th July) 2nd Ivan, William, Kaelan. Congratulations to everyone who competed. |
| 📅 Upcoming Competitions Sussex Open — 21st–22nd November, Burgess Hill. Entries via Sport:80 open now. |
| 👕 Club Kit We still have club T-shirts available. Please speak to Della or Gordon if you’d like one. |
| 🙌 We Need Your Help The club is always grateful for additional support. Here are a few ways you could get involved: Parents’ Representative on the committee, to help run the club. Our committee is very low-key — most conversation happens via WhatsApp, with occasional meetings in a pub somewhere. This role is really about being the eyes and ears of the under-18s, from a non-coaching perspective. Session Setup & Pack-down — More helpers means less work for everyone. Course Administration — Support with course bookings and maintaining a steady intake across age groups. If you can help in any capacity, please speak to one of the committee members. |
| And finally, not a goodbye but more of a see you later, to Alex Tyazhkorob, who is following in Alex Lilov-Hood’s footsteps in starting an apprenticeship out of the area. You’re always welcome back to see us. Good luck from us all. |
| Claire, Della, Gordon, Lewis and Simon The LFC Committee Lewes Fencing Club · lewesfencingclub.org.uk |