GBR WHEELCHAIR FENCING WCP TRANSFERS FROM UKSI TO BRITISH FENCING

The GBR Wheelchair Fencing World Class Programme (WCP), funded by UK Sport, has transferred from the UK Sports Institute (UKSI) to British Fencing (BF).

The move unifies management of the Olympic and Paralympic Fencing pathways into one organisation for the first time, creating opportunities for a more efficient and effective use of resources to support current and future performance success.

In 2022, BF took over responsibility for wheelchair fencing in the UK from British Disability Fencing (BDF).

Whilst BF has been responsible for wheelchair fencing since the transfer of responsibilities, the Wheelchair Fencing World Class Programme (WCP) (which is responsible for the selection and training of athletes on the Paralympic Pathway), remained under the management of the UK Sports Institute (the UKSI).

The WCP is based in the Wheelchair Fencing National Training Centre, which officially opened in December 2022 at the University of Bath Sports Training Village. The Training Centre is the base for reigning double Paralympic champion Dimitri Coutya and Tokyo 2020 gold-medallist Piers Gilliver, who, with team-mate Oliver Lam-Watson, brought home 11 medals between them from the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

During the time it has been managed by the UKSI, the programme has continued to develop. The UKSI actively supported the development and improvement of the training environment at the University of Bath. The UKSI has also supported specific innovation projects in wheelchair fencing, including improving sports equipment and targeted athlete-focused preparations for the Paris Paralympic Games.

The programme will now be governed and managed by British Fencing.
Sara Pantuliano, Chair of BF, said:

“This is a unifying moment for our sport, creating a connected journey for athletes and coaches, from early participation through to world leading performance. We will continue to protect the future of the Wheelchair programme, building the pipeline whilst investing in our coaches and athletes. The team at UKSI has built an extremely successful programme which we look forward to building on, and we will continue to work with the team at UKSI as part of their system role in supporting World Class Programmes. We would also like to thank UK Sport for their ongoing support and confidence in British Fencing on our journey to becoming the National Governing Body for the Olympic and Paralympic Sport of Fencing.”

Matt Archibald, CEO of the UKSI, said:

“Moving the Wheelchair Fencing World Class Programme to British Fencing is the right decision and for lots of reasons and we are fully supportive of this move. We have been very proud to run the programme over two cycles, during which time we have seen performances go from strength to strength and athletes perform consistently at the highest level. We look forward to continuing to support the programme with our practitioners who will remain involved, and we wish everyone involved the very best for the LA cycle and beyond.”

Dr Kate Baker, Director of Performance & People at UK Sport, said:
“This is a positive and unifying move for fencing, one which will support efficiency of investment whilst maximising performance expertise to deliver on Olympic and Paralympic ambitions.”

Dimitri Coutya, double Paralympic champion, said:

“This is great news for the sport as we can now see the complete pathway opening up for more people to join. I’m looking forward to what this will do for our sport as we set our sights on LA success.”

Since the transfer of responsibilities from BDF in 2022, BF has:

• Run the first senior international Wheelchair Fencing World Cup event in Great Britain for a decade, and the first ever Wheelchair Fencing World Cup in Wales, in Cardiff 2024. Over 180 athletes from 30 countries participated in this vital part of the Paris qualification journey.
• Developed and launched the SwordSeat, an affordable way to introduce seated fencing, reducing the cost barrier for clubs (compared to metal frames and wheelchairs) by 95%.
• Delivered 22 sets of metal wheelchair frames, and 30 RMA wheelchairs to clubs wanting to include metal frame wheelchair fencing, with the number of clubs listed as having wheelchair equipment growing from 16 to 50.
• Developed the workforce, offering coaches new CPD and resources, increasing the number of UK referees through ongoing wheelchair fencing training and assessment, and increasing the number of trained classifiers in the UK from one to four.
• Assisted clubs in creating accessible and welcoming environments, growing the list of self-declared accessible clubs from 30 to 160.
• Grown the pathway, increasing the number of fencers who are ‘active in wheelchair fencing’ and more than doubling the number of classified wheelchair fencers on the domestic classification and WPF international classification master list.
• Increased domestic competitions from one per year to four, adding Wales and Scotland to the calendar.

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