On Friday, UK Sport will be announcing the 2014 milestone targets for each funded Olympic and Paralympic sport for this season.  Milestone targets are set with UK Sport at the beginning of each funding year for the identified and agreed ‘milestone event’.  In most sports this is the World Championships and fencing is no exception.  
 
For the coming World Championships in Kazan our milestone targets against which, amongst other factors, our performance progress will be measured are:
1 x L16 – individual event – any weapon
1 x L8 – Men’s Foil Team
1 x L16 – Men’s Sabre Team
 
As with any target it is just that, a target. The results will be discussed in detail whether the target is met or not.  All the results from the milestone event will be discussed with UK Sport at our annual review meeting in December alongside a number of other key indicators relating to the progression of identified athletes, results across the season, the implementation of a world class science and medicine programme and the overall confidence UK Sport have in the performance programme that is in place.
 
Whilst we are confident that we will hit these targets, particularly given the performances across the board at the Europeans, we believe that the agreed target for the men’s foil team is challenging.  However, we are up for this challenge and will do everything we can to push our performances at the World Championships to meet our ultimate objective of delivering a much wanted World Championship Title for Great Britain.  
 
Alex Newton
Performance Director