Over the course of Terms 2, 3 and 4, a group of around 20 students have met every Tuesday in the Dance Hall to learn and practice the sport of Fencing.

Beginning in Term 2, introducing a new eager group of students to the sport, they began training straight away, with the help of Lucian Nightingale and later Sheldon Ogilvie, our coaches from Fencing MidSouth. Over the course of the term the basics of swordplay; the Lunge, the Parry, the Riposte were drilled into them.

This year we have experienced a variety of competitions based in Christchurch, such as the Friday Night Fencing High School competition held at the Fencing Institute. At the end of Term 3 we were just pipped at the post and came in second overall by a slim margin. Thanks to Charlotte James, Jacob Stark and Alex Holton, who were the core of the team. These three were also the only ones to attend the NZ Secondary Schools competition in Auckland in September and thankfully they were all vaccinated against measles! As well as this, we had fencers travelling to Dunedin, Wellington and Australia to compete in other national and international competitions. 

Due to the interest from the students and to the dedication of the coaches, we are running the team in all four terms next year for the first time.

Ultimately Burnside Fencing has had yet another very successful year, with many incredible placings and a large group of eager new fencers!

Mrs Keryn Stark

TIC Fencing Club