The RAFFU Autumn Series was held at RAF Cosford from 25 – 26 Oct 03 by kind permission of the Station Commander.

Junior Foil.
Thirteen fencers entered the foil competition and a mixed competition was held, proceeding through two seeding rounds to a Direct Elimination tableau. After the seeding rounds, the surprise of the day was AC Jamie Cheetham from RAF Cosford. Although new to RAF fencing, Jamie had years of experience, borne out by his No.1 seeding after failing to lose a single match in the first two rounds. JT Gary Brailsford, RAF Coltishall, took the No.2 seed whilst SAC Roger Honeywood of the RAF Leuchars team fenced extremely well to be seeded No.3. The first round of DE failed to throw up any surprises, with the top 3 automatically gaining a bye, and none of the higher placed seeds failing to get through. The 2nd round of DE saw Jamie Cheetham continue to dominate as he dispatched JT Iain Wren from RAF Leuchars, himself an experienced fencer returning to RAF fencing after injury, while Gary Brailsford struggled, narrowly squeezing past Cpl Nigel Whittaker of RAF Leuchars 15–14. Cheetham then met JT Glenn Finnigan, RAF Benbecula in the first semi-final, and after faltering slightly in the middle of the match eventually took the win 15-11. This set up a final against Brailsfrod who booked his place by dispatching Honeywood comfortably 15-3. The final was an extremely close affair, with both fencers showing tremendous skill. As the match progressed however, Cheetham found his attacks falling short as fitness began to play an important part. Brailsford took full advantage, counter attacking successfully to draw out a slim lead and take the Men’s Junior Foil title 15-12. With only two ladies entered, Flt Lt Maggie Boyle, RAF Waddington, and SAC Kat Jolly, RAF High Wycombe, and as they did not meet at any stage in the mixed competition, it was decided to hold a fence off for the ladies title. With both fencers showing good technique, it was Jolly who managed to take the victory 15-8.

Junior Sabre.
With fifteen fencers in the sabre, three poules of five were created. Due to severe equipment shortages, the decision was made to fence only one round of seeding, followed immediately by an incomplete tableaux of 16. With AC Jamie Cheetahm and JT Glenn Finnigan both winning all their matches, they took the No.1 and No.2 seedings respectively, with Gary Brailsford and Roger Honeywood both fencing well to be up in the top four again. Seedings went out of the window as the DE started, with Kat Jolly losing out to SAC Matthew Rowe of RAF Lossiemouth, AC Alexis Mead taking out higher seeded clubmate AC John Green, and most surprisingly, Nigel Whiitaker losing out to Cosford fencer LAC Stuart Sharp. The next round of DE then saw 3 of the top 4 fencers go through, but Glenn Finnigan failed to hold on to his No.2 seeding as he lost out to Iain Wren 15-14.In the first semi-final, Cheetham used his quick parry-ripostes which had served him well in the foil to his advantage again, beating Honeywood 15-9, whilst in the other semi-final Brailsford and Wren battled fiercely until eventually Wren succumbed 15-8. In a repeat of the foil final, Cheetham and Brailsford faced off, with Cheetham taking a rapid 7 point lead by the first break. Once again, fitness began to take its toll though as Brailsford clawed his way back into the match as his opponent started to miss his attacks. Cheetham just managed to keep ahead though, taking the Men’s Junior Sabre title 15-11. Once again only two ladies were entered, but as they had met each other in the poules it was decided to take that result to decide the winner. As such, Kat Jolly again took the weapon win over Maggie Boyle.

Junior Epee.
Initially there were seventeen fencers entered for the epee event, which was again held as a mixed competition. Unfortunately, the OIC Benson Fencing Club forgot to bring any kit for the fencer they had asked to turn-up, with the result that they had to withdraw. This left a field of 16, with 2 seeding rounds before the DE. As expected, it was Gary Brailsford who came out as No.1 seed, and Roger Honeywood picking up the coveted No.2 spot. Representing the women, Flt Lt Sarah Chambers from RAF Innsworth showed that the coaching she’d received from the current men’s epee champion was paying off as she swept through the field to take the 3rd seeding. Encouragingly, fencers from RAF Cosford in their first competition were also seeded highly. With a full 16, no-one received a bye, but once again not all the high seed went through: Nigel Whiitaker losing out to John Green , while Sarah Chambers then dropped out with a shock defeat to No.14 seed, JT Kev Bayman, RAF Honington. In the first semi-final. The favourite Brailsford then found that experience wasn’t always a guarantee of victory as he lost 15-13 to AC Mark Todd of RAF Cosford. Unfortunately for fellow Cosford fencer John Green, the experience of his opponent, Iain Wren, was to prove too much as he went out 15-7. The final was an intensely fought match, with both fencers showing real technique and point control, with the man from Cosford refusing to be intimidated by his more veteran opponent. Unfortunately for him though, Wren managed to eke out a small margin, eventually winning the match and Men’s Junior Epee title 15-13. As all three women fencing met during the course of the seeding rounds, the final positions were taken out and used as the ladies event results. Flt Lt Sarah Chambers there fore won the women’s title, with SAC Kat Jolly 2nd and Flt Lt Maggie Boyle 3rd.

Inter Unit 3 Man Team.
The final event of the weekend saw four teams compete, with RAF Cosford fielding two teams, RAF Leuchars and RAF High Wycombe all vying for the title. In the epee, Wg Cdr George Liston comfortably won all 3 of his bouts to give High Wycombe a good start, while in the sabre, Kat Jolly just failed to win any bouts, losing narrowly in all 3. With both the Leuchars and Cosford A teams also doing well, the deciding match would be in the foil, with Jamie Cheetham versus Sgt Phil McNulty, a match which McNulty managed to edge 4-3 after time. High Wycombe therefore won the Inter Unit Senior 3 Man Team title with 6 victories, but the battle for second place was close. Both Leuchars and Cosford A had 5 victories, and both teams also had indicators of +1. A further check of the results had to be done, with Leuchars taking the Inter Unit Junior 3 Man Team title, having received 2 less hits than Cosford A.

Men’s Master-at-Arms.
The Men’s Master-at-Arms race started out extremely closely, with Brailsford and Cheetham both tied on 15 pints at the end of the first day, with Honeywood closely behind after two third places with 12 points. The epee was to prove very decisive, though as Cheetham failed to make the last eight, whilst Brailsford, Honeywood and new contender Wren all progressed through. As Wren then knocked out Honeywood in the quarter-finals it became a two-horse race, however the hard work had been done as Brailsford collected enough points from his third place to take the Men’s Junior Master-at-Arms title with 21 points. Wren and Honeywood both tied on 16 points, with Wren taking second place by virtue of his weapon victory at epee.

Women’s Master-at-Arms. It was agreed at the AGM that this title would not be awarded as there were insufficient ladies competing in the event.

The Spencer Cup.
As part of an initiative to encourage and reward participation in fencing at a station level, the Spencer Cup is awarded to the RAF station which amasses the most points over the course of the Junior Championships. One point is awarded for each fencer competing, with points also awarded for final placings over all three weapons. RAF Leuchars amassed a total of 38 points with 3 fencers, however with 7 fencers and good placings in the events, RAF Cosford won the trophy with 47 points.

Conclusion.
The 2003 Junior Championships are over for another year and it was a very successful event. Once again, the smooth running of the event owes a lot to the tremendous support from those who work hard behind the scenes. Cpl Dave Long is to be congratulated on ensuring that no problems were encountered with the gym or accommodation, particularly in light of the changes to RAF Cosford’s policy on sport accommodation. Flt Lt Jon Davy's assistance as Director of Combats was greatly appreciated, with the competition running extremely smoothly over both days. Flt Lt Davy's assistance as referee, along with Sqn Ldr Andy Alcock, Sgt Mark Gumley and Cpl Dave Long, was also appreciated immensely. Although not fencing, Cpl Rob Desforges relieved a great deal of the Armouring burden from JT Gary Brailsford, with both individuals and the RAF Leuchars team setting up the equipment prior to the event. My thanks also go to the President of RAF Fencing, Air Cdre Nick Kurth for presenting the prizes.

RAFFU AUTUMN SERIES 2003– RESULTS

FOIL

1. JT Gary Brailsford RAF Coltishall
2. AC Jamie Cheetham RAF Cosford
3=. JT Glenn Finnigan RAF Benbecula
3=. SAC Roger Honeywood RAF Leuchars
5. AC Ahsan Rasul RAF Cosford
6. Cpl Nigel Whittaker RAF Leuchars
7. JT Iain Wren RAF Leuchars
8. SAC Dean Whitehead RAF Lossiemouth
9. LAC Stuart Sharp RAF Cosford
10. SAC Kat Jolly RAF High Wycombe
11. AC Alexis Mead RAF Cosford
12. SAC Matthew Rowe RAF Lossiemouth
13. Flt Lt Maggie Boyle RAF Waddington

SABRE

1. AC Jamie Cheetham RAF Cosford
2. JT Gary Brailsford RAF Coltishall
3=. SAC Roger Honeywood RAF Leuchars
3=. JT Iain Wren RAF Leuchars
5. JT Glenn Finnigan RAF Benbecula
6. SAC Matthew Rowe RAF Lossiemouth
7. LAC Stuart Sharp RAF Cosford
8. AC Alexis Mead RAF Cosford
9. AC John Green RAF Cosford
10. Cpl Nigel Whittaker RAF Leuchars
11. SAC Kat Jolly RAF High Wycombe
12. AC Ahsan Rasul RAF Cosford
13. Flt Lt Maggie Boyle RAF Waddington
14. Flt Lt Jules Gavars RAF Lossiemouth
15. SAC Dean Whitehead RAF Lossiemouth

EPEE

1. JT Iain Wren RAF Leuchars
2. AC Mark Todd RAF Cosford
3=. JT Gary Brailsford RAF Coltishall
3=. AC John Green RAF Cosford
5. SAC Roger Honeywood RAF Leuchars
6. LAC Stuart Sharp RAF Cosford
7. AC Marcus Heath RAF Cosford
8. JT Kev Bayman RAF Honington
9. Flt Lt Sarah Chambers RAF Innsworth
10. Cpl Nigel Whittaker RAF Leuchars
11. SAC Kat Jolly RAF High Wycombe
12. AC Ahsan Rasul RAF Cosford
13. AC Alexis Mead RAF Cosford
14. AC Jamie Cheetham RAF Cosford
15. SAC Matthew Rowe RAF Lossiemouth
16. Flt Lt Maggie Boyle RAF Waddington

MENS CHAMPION AT ARMS

1. JT Gary Brailsford RAF Coltishall 21 points
2. JT Iain Wren RAF Leuchars 16 points, 1 weapon win
3. SAC Roger Honeywood RAF Leuchars 16 points

INTER UNIT 3 MAN TEAM EVENT

1. RAF High Wycombe
2. RAF Leuchars