BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS – DAY 2 REPORT

The Championships continued in Sheffield on Sunday 4^th May.

Under 16 Boys Epee

Fifty-three fencers competed in this event.  The first semi-final saw Benjamin Schneider beat Lucas Tyler 15-9 with Owen Jordan defeating Devlin Stigant 15-8 in the second.

Christine Hamilton refereed the final between Benjamin and Owen and despite Benjamin taking an early 2-0 lead he fell 5-2 behind by the first break.  Benjamin worked from a longer distance in the second period and snatched a 9-6 lead before a flurry of hits took him into the third period 12-6 ahead.  A more cautious approach from Owen saw him draw level at 14-14 before he went for a low line attack.  Stunning reactions allowed Benjamin to snatch the win on a counter attacking action, 15-14.

Under 16 Girls Epee

Forty-eight girls took part in this event.  Danielle Lawson faced Tia Simms-Lymn in the final after Danielle beat Madeleine Whitfield 15-11 in the first semi-final and Tia progressed 15-6 against Amelia Hide in the other semi-final.

Emily Jeanes refereed the gold medal match and after a highly tactical approach by both fencers, Tia went into the first break 3-1 up.  Tia continued with a cautious approach but Danielle patiently worked at picking off her off, trailing just 6-5 at the second break.  At the start of the third period Tia looked comfortable holding long distance but Danielle was able to push he opponent to the back line and strike.  At one point Danielle led 8-7 but Tia increased her work-rate and re-established the lead at 11-9.  With 35 seconds remaining, Lawson was forced to press playing into Tia’s hands who went on to become the 2014 Under 16 Girls Epee Champion 15-11.

Under 12 Girls Foil

Fifty fencers took part in this event with Henna Raiyat beating Emily Beardmore 10-5 in the first semi-final and Amanda Mond overcoming Phoebe Dawe 10-7 in the second.

The gold medal match was refereed by Sean Grundy where Amanda’s aggressive approach at the start was tempered by some erratic point control but she still led Henna, 4-3 at the first break.  Both fencers adopted a much more patient approach to the second period as Amanda maintained the lead at 5-4.  In the final period Amanda picked up the pace of her attack but Henna was able to pick her off with well-executed parry ripostes.  Henna became the 2014 Under 12 Girls Foil Champion 9-8 on time.

Under 14 Boys Foil

Seventy-two boys took part in this event.  Maximillian Deering beat Felix Paine 15-12 in the first semi-final before Matthew Abrahams joined him in the gold medal match defeating Luca Valetti 15-10.

With Mihai Rascu officiating both fencers approached the final cautiously but then Maximillian started to pull away.  His good control of the distance complemented by effective body evasion saw him open up a 9-2 lead.  Despite a brave fight back, Matthew went into the break 11-6 down.  Two more hits for Matthew at the beginning of the second period indicated that a comeback may have been on the cards but Maximillian showed tremendous variety to finish the fight 15-9 with an attack, a parry riposte and then a well-timed counter-attack.

Under 14 Girls Foil

Fifty-three fencers took part in this event with Jasmin Campbell beating Alice Campbell 15-6 in the first semi-final and Seville Babaeva defeating Madelaine Browne 15-11 in the second.

The gold medal match was refereed by Chris Lennon and it was Yasmin who dominated the early stages of the match.  She was able to score freely both in attack and defence and established a 7-0 lead.  Babaeva was able to land two hits before the break though.  At the start of the second it appeared that Yasmin was prepared to playing the waiting game which resulted in a low scoring period.  Yasmin went into the third period 10-4 up and eased to a 15-6 victory to take the 2014 Under 14 Girls Foil Championship.

Under 18 Boys Sabre

Thirty-four fencers took part in this event with JJ Webb beating Simon Dacey 15-4 in the first semi-final and William Halliwell knocking out Nathan Potter 15-10 in the second.

Beth Davidson officiated this final and after some technical issues resulting in switching pistes, the fight got under way.  William quickly established a 6-3 lead but JJ increased his work-rate and only trailed 8-7 at the break.  At the start of the second period, two lightening fast and well-timed attacks put JJ into the lead but William patiently fought back to re-establish it at 12-11.  Another step up through the gears from JJ had the desired effect, from his point of view, as three well-worked attacks took him to within one hit of the title.  A clever two-phased attack took him to the 2014 Under 18 Boys sabre title.

Under 12 Boys Sabre

Forty-two fencers took part in this event and Kajetan McDonnell went on to beat Felix Crabtree 10-1 in the first semi-final whilst Orlando Davies overcame Gabriel Dunn 10-2 in the other semi-final.

Nick Howes refereed the gold medal match which saw a nervy start from both fencers.  Kajetan edged the first period 5-3 and started the second period with a lot more confidence.  He was also showing greater variety, hitting his opponent with a combination of attacks, parry riposte and even a couple of stop-cuts for good measure.  It was this variety that saw him take the 2014 Under 12 Boy Sabre title, 10-4.

Under 18 Girls Sabre

Just twenty-two fencers competed in this event.  Kate Daykin beat Laura Gladdish 15-4 in the first semi-final whilst Sarah-Jane Hampson edged past Alice Moffat 15-14 in the second.

Harry Gulliver refereed the final match as Kate established an early lead which she held on to until the break (8-5).  Sarah-Jane was unfortunately unable to continue immediately after the break as a knee injury meant that a medical timeout was called.  After five minutes she returned to the piste but didn’t appear to be completely injury-free which allowed Kate to pull further ahead.  Kate went on to take the title 15-9.

Full results can be found here.