Year of activity at SPFC

A very busy season came to a close recently at the St Paul Fencing Club (SPFC) with members involved in various commitments, locally and abroad, over the past 12 months.

The SPFC had two national ranking events as well as monthly non-ranking competitions at club level in different categories.

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 against foreign competition.

Although the official season runs from September to June, many were those who followed a training programme in July and August in order to bridge the gap between one season and the start of another.

To this effect, SPFC members participated in a ten-day training camp in Szombathely, Hungary, led by Masters Antal Solti and Andras Szabo, as part of their pre-season.

The camp was used as preparation for the World Championships in Turin, Italy, and the European Junior Championships which were held in Poznan, Poland.

SPFC members formed part of the national team that participated in the Mediterranean Fencing Championships (U-18) in Sicily.

In February, club members travelled to the UK 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 competition and Pierre Bianchi was gold medallist at both foil and epee.

Silver medals were claimed by Marcus Muscat Baron and Andre Zahra.

Club coach Juan Formosa, a veteran of ten years in the sport, shared bronze with colleague John Delicata at both weapons.

Most competitions worldwide, including Malta, are held between January and June culminating with the European Championships in July.

Local fencers look forward to the National Championships, which take place in March, as a gauge for fitness, technique and skill.

The SPFC showed high quality fencing and secured five national championship titles for the third year in a row.

Norman Martinez, a pillar in Maltese fencing was absent from the November line-up due to a knee injury but stormed to epee gold while Pierre Bianchi confirmed his technical ability by taking gold at foil.

Following closely on Bianchi's heels were Paul Borg (who also won the U-17 foil) and Kurt Mifsud.

Ronald retains titles

Ronald clinched both epee and foil national titles, an honour which she has held uninterruptedly since 2005. Alex Micallef was rewarded for his dedication and persistence with a third place in epee.

After the Nationals, the most prestigious event is the Malta Open, now in its 10th edition.

Referees for this major event were once again provided by the Federazione Italiana Scherma (FIS) through a protocol of co-operation entered into by the National Fencing Association - Malta.

The SPFC organising team comprised Alex Micallef, Nicky Bianchi, Mark Borg, Ivan Vassallo and foreign team captain Jim Pilkington.

The top honours went to Pierre Bianchi (foil), Marcus Muscat Baron (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 Andre Zahra, Mark Borg and Susan Ronald are significant as is Luke Valletta's merited fifth place at foil.

For the new season, the SPFC will be holding courses for beginners in all categories.