After waiting forever I’ve finally given up on receiving a Match Report from the Seniors, so I’ve dug the results out of the depths of my laptop bag (see, I CAN back things up onto floppy disk…occasionally!) and cobbled together this little piece to let you know how everyone got on.

With Op Telic getting in the way, it was gratifying to see there were still fencers able to get out for the weekend to compete, and although numbers were down there was still an extremely high standard of fencing on display throughout the weekend.

Ladies Event
Unfortunately for the ladies, their turnout was very poor; with only 3 ladies competing. This didn’t stop them from having a battle royal. Fencing to fifteen points in each match, Ann Gibson worked extremely hard and fenced superbly to take first place in all three weapons, beating both the other ladies convincingly. Lisa Taylor, gaining victories over Brigitte Morgan at all three weapons took second place, with Brigitte coming a very valiant third.

With three weapon victories, the RAF Ladies Master-at-Arms title went to Ann Gibson, with Lisa’s three silver medals guaranteeing her the runner-up spot.

Men’s Sabre
For the men, things kicked off with the sabre, and it was no surprise to see Mark Gumley, last years champion, taking the No.1 seeding, with last years runner-up, Phil McNulty, taking the No.2 spot, with neither fencer losing a single match during the seeding round.

The DE brought some excellent and spirited fencing, most notably Dave Long and James Griffiths titanic battle in the quarter-finals in which Dave edged out James 15-12, setting up a semi-final place against the on-form Mark. Unfortunately Mark then switched into a higher gear to book his place in the final 15-9. Phil meanwhile eased into his semi-final place against Andy Alcock with a 15-4 win over Richard Price, only to receive a shock as Andy took an 8-1 lead. After the minute break however, whatever pep-talk Phil gave himself seemed to do the trick as he pulled back the deficit to take the victory 15-12.

The final was a close affair with Mark using his trademark “don’t give them time to breathe” attacks, while Phil endeavoured to utilise the “parry parry parry panic” defence he uses so well, but in a repeat of last years final it was Mark who rolled out winner 15-10 to retain his RAF Men’s Sabre Champion title.

Men’s Foil
The next event was the foil, and once again the usual suspects were at the top of the leaderboard after the poules, with James Griffiths and Phil McNulty both winning all their bouts, separated by only 2 hits.

All the top names convincingly moved into the semi-finals, with the most exciting that between Dave Long and James Griffiths (again!!). In a fight that swung first one way, then the other, it was Dave who narrowly took the win 15-14 with an excellent 2nd counter-riposte. The other semi-final saw Phil then knock out Andy Alcock (again!) in a close fight where Andy’s epee skills made the going tough for Phil.

The final saw Phil and Dave exchange hit for hit, with the two former club-mates knowing each others strengths and weaknesses too well to give any one fencer a clear advantage, but it was Phil who was to stretch out a narrow lead to win 15-12, taking his first ever Senior title.

Men’s Epee
The next day brought the men’s epee, and the arrival of George Liston on the scene, unsurprisingly taking the coveted No.1 seeding. Surprisingly, it was Phil Mcnulty once again up there in the 2nd seeding slot, again winning every fight in the seeding round, with Andy Alcock in 3rd.

With convincing victories over their opponents, both Andy and Phil went through to the semi-finals, where it was to be revenge at last as Andy made up for losing the previous two semi-finals to Phil, easily winning 15-7. In the other side of the draw, James Griffiths finally made it past Dave Long, only to find himself up against a very focused George, who convincingly took his place in the final by dispatching James 15-5.

In a very interesting final, what looked like a one-sided match initially became much closer as Andy began to find his form, but it was too late as George had already given himself a comfortable lead to take the win 15-9.

Master-at-Arms
With both Phil McNulty and Andy Alcock making the last 4 at each weapon, it was Phil’s first, second and third place which gave him the edge over Andy’s second and two thirds, giving him the Men’s Master-at-Arms title with 22 points from Andy’s 19.

Conclusion
The competition itself ran extremely smoothly, and thanks have to go to Dave Long in his role as DOC (Admin) for ensuring that we were all bedded (not what you think!), fed and watered. Although equipment shortages with the absence of the Armourer caused some slight hiccups, it was gratifying to see everyone pull together to ensure the competition continued, and the high standard of fencing on display was encouraging