Fencing is certain to be amongst the most entertaining and high-quality contests of Roses 2013 as both York and Lancaster field strong teams in all matches. James Dining Hall will house the piste for the weekend, as four matches take place (including an alumni match), for a total of 10 points.
Fencing as a team sport remains based on individual performances, and the squad has mixed emotions of excitement and nervousness ahead of the contests. Men’s captain George Watkins told Vision: “It’ll be important for me as captain to help them prepare psychologically to have so much resting on them, as a focus sport in front of a home crowd, in what is tipped to be a pretty close Roses.”
And close it is sure to be. An understrength women’s 1sts were defeated in Roses 2012, but after a strong season which saw them reach the national quarter-finals they are raring to go and avenge that defeat.
Star all-rounder Louise Highton will be competing in her final Roses and is certain to be eager to end it on a higher; in contrast, teammates Sophia Henneberg, Lori Button and Jessie Yeung are all rookies to the Roses experience. Henneburg, the team captain, is returning from a long injury lay-off, but her form in winning gold and silver at two recent national opens indicates she is back to 100%.
Both men’s teams won in 2012, and the men’s 1sts go into this year’s contest on the back of a long winning streak in Roses. Yet Lancaster have some strong freshers competing for the first time this year, who will be looking to overturn the recent trend of York dominance. York men’s 1sts have an additional psychological advantage, after ensuring survival in BUCS Northern 1A at the expense of Lancaster.
The epee trio of Bryan Herling, captain Watkins and Alexandre Synadino have been the standout performers this season, and Herling also has a national open gold medal under his belt this year. Entertainment-wise, the crowd pleaser from the men 1sts is certain to be Bai Huang, whose footwork is “insanely fast.”
The men’s 2nds are competing for points for the first time in 2013 and go into their match as clear favourites. Physical and aggressive captain Ken Perry is the one to watch out for.
The club has certainly pulled out all the stops for this year’s matches. Fencing is a ‘focus sport’ for this year, and the Saturday’s matches have been designated as ‘fixtures to watch.’ The matches will take place on a solid metal piste, with large scoring lights, time and score displays, making a stark contrast to regulation BUCS fixtures with more basic facilities. There will also be an external referee drafted in. For a sport which is ordinarily entertaining but can be difficult to follow, these arrangements will make it a spectacle for the supporters and one of the must-watch events of the weekend.
A club statement read: “If previous Roses are anything to go by we’ll need all the home support we can get and spectators won’t be disappointed: this is our biggest fixture of the year and that’ll be apparent from both sides.” Fencing is a traditionally strong sport for York, and the club will look to build upon that reputation by claiming all the points and pushing York towards reclaiming the Roses title.