Last week, BF held the second Fencing For Change event at the Leon Paul Centre, attended by 30 young people with ASD from schools across London.
Fencing For Change is a programme delivered in partnership with The Change Foundation that uses fencing to improve physical literacy and reduce the risk of social isolation for young people aged 11 – 16 with autism.
For the last 24 weeks, the programme has been delivered in eight different schools across London.
Last week, a number of the schools came together to take part in a fencing competition, with a number of awards presented and certificates for all those who participated.
The day was a huge success, with the young people having the opportunity to meet new people and gain some competition experience.
Also, the event was attended by athletes David Sosnov and Amelie Tsang, who helped referee competitions, supported young people with fencing tips, showed them their medals, and gave a fencing demonstration.
David said: “The event is going really well. I am really happy to see fencing getting more exposure in programmes like this. It’s great to see everyone enjoying it so much and getting really into it. It’s a really great initiative, that brings an awarding feeling to both of us.”
Amelie said: “It was a great experience for the young people, trying a new sport and meeting new people from different schools. I hope they have learned a few new skills and tactics. They also have seen David and I fencing, so I hope they really enjoyed that.”
James Wischhusen, the Senior Coach Mentor at The Change Foundation, said: “All the hard work we have been doing over the last 24 weeks, the young people are now putting into today’s competitions.”
“The day is going really well. It’s very competitive, everyone’s having fun and meeting new people from different schools. Fencing is still quite new to us, it’s our second year now delivering the programme. We’ve had one school here today, and their students don’t participate in any other sport, so for them to be here is quite a big thing.”
A huge thank you to all who came and supported the event.
Related items:
Change Foundation Inter-School Fencing Competition
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