With the new fencing season upon us the club has again started in fine form. Club Coaches Chris and Kate Howser retained their County titles, however both were pushed hard by up and coming young local fencers.
Chris, having gained 3rd seed after the preliminary round and following a fairly straight forward last 16 match drew club-mate Josh Myers. Following a tight match Chris scraped through to leave Josh in 6th place. Following a great set of preliminary rounds Matthew Lever was seeded a very strong 8th seed, however in the last 16 he drew the far more experienced Paul Willmott from Northampton and ended up placed 9th. In the top half of the draw Theo Edwards from the club was also fencing well and fenced through to the Semi Finals where he drew Matthew Bolton (Touche Club) and lost narrowly to set Chris up with a tough match to retain his title. With a strong start Chris created a lead of several points and though Matt fought back, Chris won the fight 15-12 to retain the title for the fifth year running.
The Women’s Preliminary Rounds saw Club fencers take 3 of the 4 top places with Amelia McCormack seeded 1st, Kate Howser 2nd and Jes Varley 4th, along with Jacqui Lever 7th. In the Quarter-finals this pitched Kate against Jacqui, which Kate won to leave Jacqui positioned 7th, and with Jess and Amelia also winning, the club was guarenteed 3 of the 4 medals available, and by luck the 4th semi-finallist was also a Peterborough based fencer, however one who fences at the Northampton club. In the Semi-Finals Amelia and Jess met and after a nip and tuck battle, Amelia won the match on the final hit to reach the final with a 15-14 scoreline. In the other semi Kate worked hard to secure a win and ensure the club a second title. In a exciting final Kate showed her experience to take the title.
Club Member Positions
Women’s Event
Kate Howser 1st
Amelia McCormack 2nd
Jess Varley 3rd
Jacqui Lever 7th
Men’s Event
Chris Hower 1st
Theo Edwards 3rd
Josh Myers 6th
Matthew Lever 9th
At the same time as the Senior Epee Championships, the County Junior Foil event took place. Rachael Lever, an Epeeist, ran riot over the other fencers in her age-group to win the Under 12 event and ended up runner-up in the Under 16 event to boot. Well done.