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2023 AGM - 30 July

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Published on Monday, 14 August 2023 08:55
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BRITISH FENCING

ENGLAND FENCING

SUSSEX FENCING UNION

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

MINUTES OF MEETING

at the SUSSEX TEAMS COMPETITION

30 July 2023

Committee Present: Brian Causton (BC), Jim Whelan (JW), Will Miller (WM), Cheryl Deamer (CD) Gordon Mankelow (GM) Della Bowley (DB)

  1. Apologies for absence: Maggie Maynard (MM), Dominic Farrer (DF)

  2. Matters Arising

    1. WM discussed the expenditure of committee funds on pistes as an investment into fencing in Sussex.

    2. A fixture list for the coming fencing year will be considered by the committee and published, taking into account attendance factors such as: school exam times, half-term and summer holidays, and other fencing competitions.

  3. Chair's Report

    1. The chair (DF) had been called away by a family emergency and no report was made.

  4. Secretary's Report

    1. WM noted the largely successful competition cycle, the inspirational lead that CD had provided in taking competition execution to a higher level, and the investment the committee was making into Sussex fencing.

  5. Treasurer's Report

    1. BC reported the current cash position for the Sussex Fencing Union at 30 July 2023 as £5726, noting that it was up by £2117 from the same date a year ago. This would allow for further investment in Sussex fencing.

  6. Competition and Awards Manager Report

    1. JW noted the success for the past year of competitions, excepting the junior individual and team event. This event proved problematic because of: the higher than anticipated number of entries, the lack of referees, the lack of a clear communication on age group criteria, and the lack of a clear communication on the fencing format.In addition, Crawley FC organised the South East British Youth Championships, which was viewed as a major success.

    2. JW also provided the committee's award of 'Sussex Colours' to elite fencers and administrators who had provided outstanding services to Sussex Fencing, namely: Jamie Briggs, Brian Causton, Harry Green, Isaac Jolley, Chiara McDermot, Rosie Whitaker, and Cheryl Deamer for administrative services. The full report is attached.

  7. Election of Officers

    1. Chair – Brian Causton

    2. Treasurer – Della Bowley

    3. Secretary – Will Miller

    4. Competition and Awards Manager – Jim Whelan

    5. Welfare Officer - Maggie Maynard

    6. Committee Members - Gordon Mankelow, Dan Kew, Kerem Tohma

Meeting adjourned

ENGLAND FENCING

SUSSEX COUNTY FENCING UNION

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 30th JULY 2023

COMPETITION REPORT

  1. Format

    1. Alternative competition arrangements were trialled in order to encourage greater participation and focus resources.

    2. Four events have been planned across the 2022-23 season, as follows:

  • All three Senior Individual weapons (Epee, Foil, Sabre) over one weekend (October 2022).

  • The Sussex Open (Epee, Foil, Sabre – November 2022)

  • The Junior series competition (Epee and Foil, U10, U12, U14, U16 and Team Epee on one day – January 2023)

  • All three Senior Team weapons (Epee, Foil, Sabre) on one day (July 2023)

    1. The following events were not held:

  • Junior Team Foil (U14)

  • Novice Foil

  • Foil Style (not awarded)

  • U18 Epee (not awarded)

  1. Competition Participation and Assessment

    1. The following is a brief summary of each set of competitions:

  1. Senior Individual weapons. This was the first time the epee was run since 2020-21 and the first time since 2019-20 for foil and epee. Possibly as a result numbers were, overall, relatively low. The format proved successful, however, and competitors seemed happy with the competitions.

  2. Sussex Open. Overall numbers were in-line with the previous season, although the men’s epee numbers were up above trend and the male sabreur numbers continue to increase. The event was viewed as a great success.

  3. Junior competitions. This set of competitions was less of a success. Various reasons were identified after the event, including a significant increase in entries (+60% on previous season), lack of referees and lack of consistency in some of the event criteria. Lessons have been learnt for next season, including the option of holding the event over a weekend, as per the South East BYCs.

  4. Senior Team. This will be running as the AGM takes place. However, as at time of going to print there were 7 epee teams, 4 foil teams and 3 sabre teams.

    1. In addition, Crawley fencing club organised the South East British Youth Championships. This was viewed as a major success, with other organisers enquiring about the event.

  1. County Colours

    1. There is an outstanding action to award County Colours from 2020. This was for the following individuals:

  • Jamie Briggs;

  • Harry Gray;

  • Isaac Jolley;

  • Chiara McDermot;

  • Rosie Whitacker; and

  • Brian Causton

In addition, the following County Colour was awarded for administrative services:

  • Cheryl Deamer

Jim Whelan