(Source: Leon Paul)
In 1986 Barbra Paul, was concerned by the lack of fencing competitions for young fencers and so decided to organise 2 foil competitions in London and, with that, the Leon Paul Junior Series began. There are now over 30 events annually, taking place nationwide and involving all 3 weapons. With over 3,300 individual entries during 2014, it is by far the most popular way for young fencers to start their competitive career in the UK.
Next year is the 30th anniversary of the LPJS. To mark the occasion, numerous improvements have been implemented to modernize and improve the experience for organisers, parents & fencers. At the heart of these improvements will be a totally new website, which is now live at www.leonpauljuniorseries.co.uk . Please note that some features, such as results and rankings, are not yet active because the website is for the 2016 season (for the remainder of 2015 please continue to use the current .com website).
All LPJS competitions from 2016 will be entered online via the new website portal. There will no longer be ‘paper entry’ into competitions, whether direct to the organiser or paid entry on the day. The entry process will be automated, so that if you create an account for your fencer you won’t even have to fill in their details each time you enter an event. Real time entry lists will be available, using fencers’ current LPJS rankings to seed all the entrants.
The certificates which fencers used to receive for taking part in an LPJS event will be replaced with LPJS Passports and stamps. More details about the passports and stamps can be found on the website, including information which explains how to get hold of one ready for the new season.
Not all events for 2016 are on the website yet (some organisers have not held their 2015 competitions!), so keep an eye out for new competition listing. As soon as the 2016 competitions appear on the website you can enter them and get yourself organised for the season ahead.
“The Leon Paul Junior Series is part of our company’s history and we are really proud of it. We hope these changes will make the series even more accessible and exciting, to provide the best possible experience of competition for young fencers and their supporters.” Ben Paul, Director.
