August brought to a close a very active season at the St Paul Fencing Club with members keeping up with several local and international commitments over the past year.
During a typical season the SPFC organises two national ranking competitions as well as monthly non-ranking events at club level for its cadet, junior and senior members. One major event the Malta-Open is firmly established on the local calendar and has become a contact tournament allowing Maltese fencers to gain valuable experience from visiting foreign teams. Although the official fencing season runs from September to June many of the fencers opt to follow a training programme in July and August in order to bridge the gap between one season and the start of another. To this effect members of the SPFC participated in a 10-day training camp in Szombathely, Hungary, led by top Masters Antal Solti and Andras Szabo as part of their pre-season training. The camp was of particular importance as preparation for the World Championships (Snr) in Torino, Italy and the European Junior Championships which were held in Poznan, Poland. SPFC members formed part of the National Team which participated in the Mediterranean Fencing Championships (U18) held in Syracusa, Sicily.
In February club members visited English clubs and took part in the Slough Open, an event registered with the British Fencing Association (BFA).
The first National Ranking competition is held in November each year and usually gives an early indication of the likely medal tableau over the following months. Susan Ronald won the Foil Gold while Pierre Bianchi managed to obtain, for the first time, the Senior Gold’s at both foil and Epee. Silver medals were taken by Marcus Muscat Baron and André Zahra. Club coach Juan Formosa, a veteran of 10 years competition, shared Bronze with colleague John Delicata at both weapons.
Most competitions worldwide, including Malta are held between January and June every year culminating with the European Senior Championships held in July. Local fencers look forward to the National Championships which takes place mid-season in March, as a gauge for their fitness, technique and skill. In all weapons the SPFC showed high standards by securing five national titles for the third year in a row. Norman Martinez, a pillar of Maltese fencing, absent from the November line-up owing to a knee injury stormed to Epee Gold while
Mr Bianchi confirmed his technical ability by taking Gold at foil. Following closely on Bianchi’s heels were the young stars Paul Borg (who also won the U-17 Foil Championship) and Kurt Mifsud who made a comeback after missing out on the November ranking. Ms Ronald clinched both Epee and Foil 2007 National titles, an honour which she has held uninterrupted since 2005. Alex Micallef another long time competitor was rewarded for his dedication and persistence by taking Bronze at Epee.
After the Nationals the most prestigious event on the calendar is the Malta Open which this year was in its 10th edition, an important milestone for Maltese Fencing. Referees for this major event and the other rankings were once again provided by the Federatione Italiana Scherma (FIS) through a protocol of cooperation entered into by the National Fencing Association – Malta. The SPFC organising team comprised of Alex Micallef, Nicky Bianchi, Mark Borg, Ivan Vassallo and foreign team captain, Jim Pilkington. The top honours for the championship went to Pierre Bianchi (Foil), Marcus Muscat Barun (Epee), Kate Clark (Foil) and Romualda Vella (Epee). In all, the SPFC squad had a tally of nine medals out of a possible 16. The results of André Zahra (Silver Foil – Bronze Epee), Mark Borg (Bronze Foil) and Susan Ronald (Silver at both events) are worth commanding as is Luke Valletta’s merited fifth place at Foil.
The St Paul Fencing Club is looking forward to season 2007/2008 which is scheduled to commence next month. The club will be holding courses for beginners in all categories. For further information please call Tel:2148 6841