F is for fencing

 

Change just a couple of letters in felting and you have fencing - my passion from the age of 12. Well, I didn't actually get to join the after-school classes till I in was my third year of Secondary school. Boys could start in first year; girls couldn't, making me all the more determined to get going and to be good at it.

There were plenty of compulsory sports at school, all of which I was pretty useless at: hockey, tennis, netball, swimming, basketball. The great thing about fencing for me was 1) very few other people did it (or at least stuck at it after the first couple of weeks - it's not an 'instant' sport) and 2) my parents hadn't been trying for years to get me to take it up and be like them. That had been golf.

I was very competitive and found fencing a thrilling sport. In the end, I won a few trophies and medals and represented Scotland in competitions in Belgium and Germany. But the highlight for me was winning the Scottish Schools Under-18 Championships.

This is a tricky competition as all the preliminary rounds take place during the week, with the final on the Saturday. It's difficult to recreate the excitement and adrenalin of the qualifying bouts in the short, sharp final. There's a pool of six fencers, each of whom you fence once (each fight usually only lasting 3 - 4 minutes). My main rival was at another competition that day. However, there were 2 others (left-handed like myself) that were always going to be difficult.

In the last fight, my opponent was so keen to win that she warded off a hit by bringing down her back arm and deflecting my blade. Foul. Warning. If she did it again, the point would be awarded against her. And that's how the last point was won. My point either way, but a clean fight would have made the victory sweeter.

Never mind, fencing is a wonderful sport and, although I no longer participate (thanks to another F in my life), I see it is still going strong in Scotland http://www.scottish-fencing.com/default.asp as is my inspiring coach, Prof Bert Bracewell. En garde!