British Fencing is pleased to announce that they have entered in to a partnership with Leon Paul for an Elite Training Centre for the World Class Programme.

Sport England has provided capital funding to the World Class Programme to develop and enhance the facilities at the Leon Paul Centre to enable it to become their designated ‘Elite Training Centre’.

From 1st April 2015 the Programme will move their current operation from Lee Valley to the Centre.  The Programme will have exclusive use of Pistes 8-12 and shared access to the wider centre facilities (changing and reception) during designated training times.

In addition, the grant from Sport England has allowed a dedicated facility to be developed for the World Class Programme which includes a medical treatment room, S&C facility, consultation room for one-to-one’s, a kitchen and a drying room for kit.  There will also be a hot desk facility for WCP athletes alongside an office for the permanent staff.  A new meeting room is also being installed upstairs within the training venue.

Alex Newton, Performance Director said “We are delighted that we have entered in to a partnership with Leon Paul to move the World Class Programme to the centre.  I would like to thank Sport England for the significant capital funding they have provided, alongside the increased revenue funding from UK Sport to enable the move to take place.  I would also like to acknowledge the help and support provided by Alex and Ben Paul in making this move happen.  With the support of Sport England, UK Sport and Leon Paul we can now all look forward to a real fencing ‘home’ for the Programme as we build towards Rio and Tokyo.”

Speaking of the move Alex Paul said “Having the best athletes training every day in the centre will allow the Leon Paul design team to develop and improve our products and will hopefully allow British Fencers to be at the cutting edge of fencing technology.”

“It has always been our dream to have a dedicated fencing centre so British fencers can experience the same training advantages as athletes from other top fencing nations.  After the 2012 games we decided that our contribution to the Olympic legacy would be to build a world-class training facility in London.  We are very excited to welcome the British Fencing World Class Programme to the centre and hope that it helps to develop current and inspire future generations of fencers in the UK.”  Barry Paul, Director LP and former member of the British Team.