An overview of the Wheelchair Fencing Community Discussion, which took place on the 18th June 2026.
Meeting Introduction
The meeting began with introductions. BF staff and workforce were present, including Chris Farren (World Para Fencing referee), Abigail Dicks (BF Events & Membership Manager), and Rick Rodgers (BF Inclusion Manager (Disability)).
For the British Open Wheelchair Championships, taking place on 4th-5th July in Sheffield, the schedule has been changed to swap the sabre and foil events on the Sunday. This means that sabre will now take place in the morning and foil in the afternoon, which is a deviation from the historical event format as well as the early schedule that was published.
The entry deadline for the British Open event has been extended by two days to Thursday 25th June, 12pm. If you are planning to attend, please make sure you have signed up prior to the deadline.
Click here to enter the British Open Wheelchair Championships.
The event format was confirmed as poules followed by direct elimination. The presence of an international referee from Italy was also announced.
Attendees were reminded that support workers would require accreditation to access the field of play. It was also confirmed that 20 designated parking bays would be available for the event.
Challenges in scheduling classification were discussed, with a plan to hold it at an upcoming GBR Pathway Camp, likely the Development Camp on 29th-30th August 2026 in Nottingham. Pathway participants who wish to complete domestic classification need to sign up to the cohorts system and advise well in advance for the classification to go ahead.
Click here for more info about para fencing national classification.
An update was provided on the European Championships in Cardiff, including a call for volunteers. Volunteer applications will close at the end of July 2026, and more information on the roles available and how to apply can be found here.
Clubs were informed that their fencing frames would be collected from July for the event, with arrangements made to minimise disruption where possible.
Community Questions
The group addressed pre-submitted questions on the following topics:
It was confirmed that questions about the GBR team’s schedule for the European Championships should be directed to the World Class Programme.
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