1. The RAFFU Spring Series of competitions were held at DCAE Cosford from 20 – 21 May 06 by kind permission of the Commandant, Air Commodore SR Sims OBE BSc CEng FRAeS DLUT RAF. In a turn around from last year, men’s numbers were down, however ladies numbers were significantly higher which is encouraging for the future.
2. Men’s Sabre. Only 13 fencers entered the sabre competition, less than half the number of last years’ entry. One seeding round was held prior to an incomplete Direct Elimination tableau of 16. Unsurprisingly, Sgt Mark Gumley (Cranwell) took the No.1 seeding, with Cpl Shaun Taylor (Boscombe Down) and Sgt Phil McNulty (High Wycombe) taking the 2nd and 3rd seed spots respectively. After the first 2 rounds of DE, all 3 of the top seeds went into the semi-finals, with the only upset being the defeat of No.4 seed SAC Dean Whitehead (Lossiemouth) to No.5 seed Flt Lt Neville Bo (Lyneham) 15 – 9. Unfortunately Neville then met a very much on-form Mark, who booked his place in the final with a 15 – 9 win. Shaun meanwhile dispatched Phil 15 – 8 setting up a final match between No.1 and No.2 seeds. Mark initially dominated, taking an 8 – 4 lead at the break. However Shaun fought his way back into the match and in a nail-biting finish took the victory 15 – 13.
3. Men’s Foil. Again only 13 fencers entered the foil event, in comparison to last year’s 29 a massive disappointment. After the seeding round, it was newcomer Off Cdt Philip Wright (BUAS Colerne) who took the coveted No.1 seeding, with Dean Whitehead surprising many people with his performance to take the No.2 spot, with Neville Bo ranked 3rd. The quarter-finals provided 2 surprise results, as No.4 seed Phil McNulty lost to No.5 Flt Lt Jon Davy (Coltishall) 15 – 9. No.7 seed Wg Cdr Dave Orme (DLO Bath) then dispatched No.2 seed Dean 15 – 10 to set-up a semi-final match against Neville. In a tough match, Neville took the victory 15 -11, whilst in the other half of the draw, Philip beat Jon in an entertaining match 15 – 9. The final was a one sided affair however as Neville failed to find an answer to Philip’s attacks, Philip taking the victory with a convincing 15 – 2 score-line.
4. Men’s Epee. As more fencers joined the fray for the epee, the numbers rose to 18,
still considerably down on last year. The seeding round threw up a few surprises as Neville Bo fought well in his pool, taking the No.3 slot from Off Cdt Graham Orme (Cranwell) at No.4. The No.1 seed went (unsurprisingly) to Wg Cdr George Liston (Wittering) with SAC Gaz Morris (Leuchars) taking the No.2 spot. The last 16 caused some major upsets as Neville then lost to Flt Lt Jamie Jackson (Brize Norton), the No.14 seed, and Phil McNulty, seeded 6th then lost to Dave Orme, the No.11. Shaun Taylor, seeded 7th, also lost to No.10 seed JT Gary Brailsford (St Mawgan). Jamie Jackson’s run then continued as he made his way into the semi-finals past Dave Orme 15 – 10, only to lose in a hard-fought match to Gaz 15 – 8. In the other semi-final, George showed some deft touches as he overwhelmed Graham 15 – 8. The final however was a one man show as George picked off Gaz at will, winning the title 15 – 3.
5. Men’s Champion at Arms. After day one, the Men’s Champion at Arms title had looked like a 2 horse race between Flt Lt Neville Bo and Sgt Phil McNulty. As Neville and Phil both then failed to make the last 8 of the epee, SAC Gaz Morris stood an outside chance of winning the trophy. A win in the epee would have given him the title, with equal points but a weapon victory. Unfortunately for Gaz it was one step too far as he came 2nd, giving Neville the trophy with 13 points to Gaz’s 12.
6. Ladies Sabre. With 7 ladies entered, it was Cpl Debbie MacDonald (Henlow), returning to fencing after some considerable time away, who took the No.1 seeding after the initial pool. Flt Lt Sharon Booth (Henlow) took the 2nd slot, whilst SAC Brigette Morgan (Scampton) and SAC Kylie Green (JSU Northwood) took No.3 and No.4 seedings respectively. There were no surprises in the first round DE, although Brigette faced an extremely tough battle with Cpl Kat Jolly (Uxbridge), wining through 15 – 14. Both the top seeds however showed their form as they convincingly made it into the final, where it was to be Sharon who eked out a narrow marging to take the win from Debbie 15 – 10.
7. Ladies Foil. All 7 ladies entered the foil, where this time the No.1 seeding went to Sharon Booth, with Kat Jolly taking the No.2 spot. Debbie MacDonald took No.3 whilst SAC Maz Darrow-Bland (Lossiemouth) fought well in the first round to take the No.4 spot. Unfortunately, Maz then lost in the first round of DE to Brigette Morgan 15 -10. In the semi-finals, Brigette then lost to Sharon 15 – 2, whilst in the other half of the draw Kat fought hard but could find no answer to Debbie, who set up her 2nd final of the day against Sharon with a 15 – 8 victory. Unfortunately for Debbie, she was once again to play bridesmaid to Sharon’s bride as Sharon took the win 15 – 9.
8. Ladies Epee. With the departure of Debbie MacDonald on Saturday, her place was taken in the epee by Flt Lt Sarah Chambers (Fylingdales), who took the No.2 seeding to Sharon’s No.1. Maz again fenced extremely well, building on the confidence gained the previous day to take the No.3 spot with Kat taking the 4th seeding. There were no surprises as all 4 top seeds made it into the semi-finals, where Sarah convincingly beat Maz 15 – 6 whilst Sharon struggled against Kat, eventually taking the win 15 – 12. In the final, epee specialist Sarah showed better form and point control as she took the title win 15 – 9.
9. Ladies Champion at Arms. With 2 weapon wins and a 2nd place, the Ladies Champion at Arms trophy was won by Flt Lt Sharon Booth with 23 points from a possible 24. In her best performance to date, SAC Brigette Morgan took the runner-up spot.
10. Inter Unit 6 Man Team. With no Unit having the requisite 6 personnel, this title was not competed for this year.
11. Most Promising Fencers. This year the Tindall-Carill-Worsley Brassard for the most promising junior male fencer was awarded to Flt Lt Neville Bo from RAF Lyneham. The Williams Rose Bowl for the most promising female fencer is still to be located and was not awarded this year.
12. The Howard Travis Memorial Quaich. In memory of Cpl Howard Travis who was tragically killed whilst fencing, this award is presented to the Junior fencer who produces the best result at Senior epee. This year the Quaich was awarded to Wg Cdr Dave Orme from DLO Bath.
13. The Jerry Cup. The Jerry Cup was introduced as an incentive to individual units to encourage and bring fencers to RAF competitions. Points are awarded to each unit for each fencer competing in a weapon, and points awarded for results achieved by these fencers. The winners of the trophy for the 2nd successive year were RAF Lossiemouth.
14. Conclusion. Once again the Senior Championships are over for another year, and after last year’s call to encourage more female fencers appears to have been successful, I find myself this year asking that we encourage more male fencers to attend. Numbers were significantly down on last year in the men’s events (less than 50% of the entry) and this is a worrying rate of decline. Needless to say though, the standard of fencing on display was very good, and it was encouraging to see that those people who were being considered by the selection committee either met or exceeded expectations; and this is mainly due to their attendance at civilian fencing clubs. My thanks to JT Gary Brailsford for his actions as Armourer over the weekend, in particular running the repair session on Friday night to ensure there was enough serviceable equipment to run the event. Thanks also to Cpl Kat Jolly for her exceptional organisation on the admin side, particularly noteworthy as it was her first competition in post as DOC (Admin). Final thanks to Air Cdre Nick Kurth, President of RAFFU, for carrying out the presentations.
RAFFU SPRING SERIES 2006 – RESULTS
MEN’S SABRE
1. Cpl S Taylor RAF Boscombe Down
2. Sgt M Gumley RAF Cranwell
3. Flt Lt N Bo RAF Lyneham
3. Sgt P McNulty RAF High Wycombe
5. SAC D Whitehead RAF Lossiemouth
6. SAC G Morris RAF Leuchars
7. Flt Lt A Cooke RAF High Wycombe
8. JT G Brailsford RAF St Mawgan
9. SAC J Downes RAF Boulmer
10. JT C Murdoch RAF Coltishall
11. SAC P Dewey RAF Honington
12. SAC A Reynolds RAF Leeming
13. SAC B Kerry RAF Lossiemouth
MEN’S FOIL
1. Off Cdt P Wright BUAS Colerne
2. Flt Lt N Bo RAF Lyneham
3. Flt Lt J Davy RAF Coltishall
3. Wg Cdr D Orme DLO Bath
5. SAC D Whitehead RAF Lossiemouth
6. Sgt P McNulty RAF High Wycombe
7. SAC G Morris RAF Leuchars
8. JT G Brailsford RAF St Mawgan
9. SAC P Dewey RAF Honington
10. SAC J Downes RAF Boulmer
11. SAC B Kerry RAF Lossiemouth
12. SAC A Reynolds RAF Leeming
13. Sgt M Gumley RAF Cranwell
MEN’S EPEE
1. Wg Cdr G Liston RAF Wittering
2. SAC G Morris RAF Leuchars
3. Flt Lt J Jackson RAF Brize Norton
3. Wg Cdr D Orme DLO Bath
5. Flt Lt J Davy RAF Coltishall
6. SAC P Dewey RAF Honington
7. JT G Brailsford RAF St Mawgan
8. Wg Cdr D Orme DLO Bath
9. Flt Lt N Bo RAF Lyneham
10. Sgt P McNulty RAF High Wycombe
11. Cpl S Taylor RAF Boscombe Down
12. SAC D Whitehead RAF Lossiemouth
13. JT C Murdoch RAF Coltishall
14. Sgt S March DCSA Corsham
15. SAC J Downes RAF Boulmer
16. Off Cdt C Williams RAF Woodvale
17. SAC B Kerry RAF Lossiemouth
18. SAC A Reynolds RAF Leeming
LADIES SABRE
1. Flt Lt S Booth RAF Henlow
2. Cpl D MacDonald RAF Henlow
3. SAC K Green JSU Northwood
3. SAC B Morgan RAF Scampton
5. SAC K Funnell RAF Scampton
6. Cpl K Jolly RAF Uxbridge
7. SAC M Darrow-Bland RAF Lossiemouth
LADIES FOIL
1. Flt Lt S Booth RAF Henlow
2. Cpl D MacDonald RAF Henlow
3. Cpl K Jolly RAF Uxbridge
3. SAC B Morgan RAF Scampton
5. SAC M Darrow-Bland RAF Lossiemouth
6. SAC K Green JSU Northwood
7. SAC K Funnell RAF Scampton
LADIES EPEE
1. Flt Lt Chambers RAF Fylingdales
2. Flt Lt Booth RAF Henlow
3. SAC M Darrow-Bland RAF Lossiemouth
3. Cpl K Jolly RAF Uxbridge
5. SAC K Funnell RAF Scampton
6. SAC B Morgan RAF Scampton
6. SAC K Green JSU Northwood
MEN’S CHAMPION AT ARMS
1. Flt Lt N Bo RAF Lyneham
LADIES CHAMPION AT ARMS
1. Flt Lt S Booth RAF Henlow