The first week of September heralded the start of the new fencing season 2006/2007 at the St. Paul Fencing Club.
The committee and members are gearing up for the eventful months ahead and planning to improve upon the success achieved during the previous months. A full training programme has been designed for all the club members in preparation for the forthcoming competitive events at both club and national level. The first club competitions for the U-10, U-13, U-16, novice and senior categories have been scheduled for the last week of October.
Norman Martinez, the club’s top fencer, will once again be leading the senior men’s team as well as coaching and promoting Epee (one of the fencing ‘weapons’).
Norman, who is the current national champion (2005/06) at both Foil and Epee, also took gold in the foil category at the Malta Open in June 2006.
The senior men’s team is also strengthened by the presence and perseverance of the long-standing members Alex Micallef, Alex Mallia, John Delicata, John Sammut and Marcus Muscat Baron. Susan Ronald will be setting the standards in ladies fencing after making it a double yet again in 2006 by winning the national championships in both weapons.
Following hot on her heels for the honours this year are Petra Ellul Mercer, Christine Borg Bonaci, Anya Soldotova, Rebecca Thomas and Petra Kogelnig, together with a dedicated group of novices and youngsters showing constant improvement.
In the male grouping, Pierre Bianchi is the foremost junior challenging the senior categories, along with Kurt Mifsud, Paul Borg and Andre Zahra – all vying for higher placings this year. This August, Pierre led an SPFC group comprising Kurt Mifsud, Luke Valletta and Mark Borg to a ten-day training camp in Hungary, where all four left a very positive impression of the level of fencing in Malta.
Another club member, Chris Zarkov, participated in an intensive three-day coaching seminar in Bulgaria with the scope of further exchanges between fencers from the two countries.
During the months of September and October the SPFC will be organising beginners’ courses for children and adults. These courses are designed to promote fitness as well as learning the basic skills of the sport.
Another aspect of the courses is the appreciation of the art, history and technique of swordplay which augments the course material and can also be useful for all stage and film enthusiasts. All courses lead to certification by a qualified coach.
The SPFC is a member of the National Fencing Association – Malta which in turn is affiliated to the European and World Fencing Confederations.
The SPFC is at the moment receiving applications from children and adults who wish to try out this activity. For further information the SPFC may be contacted on 21486841 or 79994622.