Eileen Pitman Passes Away

Details: Category: Sussex Info; Published on Wednesday, 17 June 2020 10:06; Written by Super User; Hits: 113

Sadly, Eileen Pitman has passed away after a lifetime of energetic support for fencing. The following are words from Jo Maynard, a champion British fencer:

"Eileen was my first fencing coach and so is responsible for my earliest memories of fencing. She taught me to love technique and footwork, and more importantly, how to focus... Any time I'd lift my mask to wipe my face or fiddle with my hair she'd say 'stop fussing', encouraging me to ignore the distraction. This served me very well in later years when trying to fence with sweat in my eyes or the pressure of an important competition. Her no-nonsense but encouraging coaching style was perfect!

Eileen inspired me to not only choose fencing for my athletic career of 17 years 1990-2007 but also to make coaching my profession, starting my own club in 2002. My goal is now to inspire others the way she did me.

Eileen had endless enthusiasm and energy for fencing, making her a true advocate for the sport.

My heart goes out to her family, especially Justin and Dominic, both of whom I had the privilege of fencing 'back in the day'."