Lancaster University Fencing Club

Welcome to Lancaster University Fencing Club!

(Picture of Lancaster's Roses Win 2023)

We welcome fencers of all abilities so if you are experienced, or entirely new to the sport just wanting to try something new, be sure to pay us a visit!

Training and Matches

All our membership fees include kit hire and coaching. That is, you can but won't need to bring your own kit and we will offer the opportunity to improve your skill. We have two Men’s and Women’s team in the BUCS Leagues (the inter-university league), so whether you want to fence competitively or for recreation, this club is for you! The annual club membership fee is £60.

Our weekly training sessions take place in the sports centre on Mondays 20:00-22:00, Thursdays 18:00-20:00, and Sundays 15:30-18:00 starting on the 7th of October 2024. The Sunday session includes a joint footwork session across all weapons. Matches take place on Wednesdays with alternating home and away matches.

Coaching at Lancaster University Fencing club is held in high regard. For instance, our Foil and Epee coach is Mike Thornton, a Cat B FIE Referee (refereed the olympic games in 2012). As a results, in 2024 we had two of our first team members rank top 30 in BUCS Individuals Championships (the GB student nationals) and our 1st team ranking at the top of the Northern leagues.

We run two ranked home competitions with 80-120 fencers attending every year: The Lancaster Winter and Spring Open. Furthermore, our competitive fencers get to represent Lancaster at Roses; the largest inter-university competition in Europe.

Overall, our trainings provide a great atmosphere for a mixture of competitive training and fun. So come along and join us!

  
Photographs by Tom Porter (@tom.p04)

Socials

We organise socials every Wednesday for the whole club. They range from escape rooms, to house parties, bowling, board game nights or three-legged pub crawls. We have a strong sense of community which is reflected in the comfortable atmosphere as well as turnout of our socials!

Additionally, we have annual events such as our club Christmas dinner or the Roses afterparty where the entire club including alumni and coaches come together.

Novice course

We run a Novice course during the first academic term every Saturday from 12:00-14:00. That is a course for complete beginners for footwork and an introduction for (and proper chance to fence with) all three weapons. The Novice course membership fee is £22.50.

Through the course you will gain an understanding for the sport, your favourite weapon, and meet other club members. By taking part in our Novice course you are automatically welcome at all our socials and become a part of the community. It is a super fun and interactive way of meeting people. Imagine a bunch of people acquiring a new hobby together - no judgement and very fun!

Contact

Members can join our private Facebook Group to view livestreams of matches

Members get access to the Clubs WhatsApp group chat

Feel free to contact us on Instagram or by email at fencing.su@groups.lancaster.ac.uk

We're looking forward to hearing from you!

BUCS

We have four teams in BUCS competitions, two mens and two womens.

Currently the Mens Firsts and both Womens teams are in the Northern One Tier and the Mens Seconds are in the Northern Two.

Let us know if you want to watch any of the home matches, we always welcome supporters

Join This Group

Meet the exec

The exec is a group of students who are responsible for organising and running the club and its activities. Most roles are elected at the clubs general meeting, however Novice officers and Seconds team captains are selected by the Firsts team captains.

The President leads the exec and is our main point of contact with the SU and other stakeholders. They represent the club at meetings and are responsible for the general running of the club.

Our current president is Finlay Noble.

The Treasurer is also the Vice-Chair of the exec. They are responsible for the clubs finances and help with the general running of the club. They also keep in contact with the finance office of the students union.

Our current treasurer is Michael Egginton.

The Gen sec ("General secretary") is reponsible for the administration of club memberships and other club matters. They are also responsible for correspondence and take minutes at exec meetings and run the clubs elections. They also maintain this page on the SU site.

Our current Gen sec is Dominic Dewhurst.

The Captains are responsible for organising matches including times dates and venues. They pick our fencing teams and help advise which members could benefit from individual lessons.

Our current captains are Hon Chun Ko (often called Harry) as the Mens Captain and Olivia Hornakova as our Womens Captain.

Our Competition and Safety Officer is in charge of keeping our members updated on competitions. They also organis the competitions we have at Lancaster such as the Master of Arms and the Lancaster Open. They also make sure that health and safety is followed at any events we hold including weekly training.

Our current Competition and Safety Officer is Joe Hicks.

The Publicity officer helps run our social media and keep people updated on events and competitions. They take photos at events and make posters and graphics to be used in advertising the club.

Our current Publicity officer is Max Mather.

Our Armourers are responsible for maintaining the club's equipment, this includes weapons, kit and anything else the club uses for Fencing.
They make sure it is in working order and keep track of how much equipment we have, when it needs to be repaired or when we need to order more.

Our current Armourers are Michael Egginton, Sam Ewing and Lewis Chisholm.

Our Novice Officer is selected by the exec and organise taster sessions and the beginners course, they are also the first point of contact for new fencers joing the club.

Our current Novice officer is Sam Ewing.

Fencing

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