BEAZLEY BRITISH FENCING UPDATE

As British Fencing enters the final nine months of a hugely successful five-year partnership with specialist insurance group, Beazley, we wanted to acknowledge the success of the relationship and also share a few “dates for your diary”.

As a premium partner, Beazley has supported British Fencing in many ways, in advice, facilities and investment.  Evidence of the success of that support lies in the enhanced funding (83% increase over six years to reach total awards of £1,473,950 in 2014-15) from Sport England and UK Sport, recognising the progress made at grassroots and top competitive level.  Additionally members themselves have directly benefited from many subsidised services.  Throughout the rest of 2015, Beazley will continue to work actively with British Fencing, in particular with events, marketing and communications.

British Fencing Chair David Teasdale commented; “Beazley has been a great sponsor.  We have gained and learned much from the relationship, over the four years so far; we wish all the team the very best for the future, and thank them for a uniquely effective and positive contribution to our sport”.

British Fencing CEO Georgina Usher noted; “We are working closely with Beazley to ensure that this last year together is an exceptional one for both parties.  And of course we are working hard to secure new sponsorship arrangements.  I am delighted that Beazley will be helping us identify and assess new commercial partners”.

Here are the important dates in 2015.

April 2015

The GB Cadet and Junior squads will head to Tashkent, Uzbekistan for the World Championships (1-9 April).  Beazley’s financial support has ensured that this trip will be heavily subsided for all involved.  You will be able to follow the progress of our fencers via the official Championship website and watch action from the later stages of each event live via the FIE YouTube channel.

The Beazley British Fencing Senior Fencing Championships 2015 will take place at the EIS Sheffield, 18-19 April.

Summer 2015

Attention turns to the senior circuit in the summer with the European Championships taking place in Montreaux, Switzerland, 6-11 June, which will be followed by the World Championships in Moscow, Russia, 13-19 July.

With qualification for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio beginning in earnest on 3 April, how our fencers and teams perform at these two events will be important.

September 2015

As the sponsorship arrangement draws to a close, Beazley plans to host a final international Beazley Match – an opportunity for the British Foil Team to compete against some of the best foil teams in the World in their run up to the start of the Rio Olympic year.