Fencing

This past year has been a truly amazing year; our fencers have gone from strength to strength and have done Bishop Bavin School proud on many levels.
I am extremely proud of all their fencers; however, special attention must be made of the following learners.

Demi - Lee Schultz, a grade 10, is one of our top fencers. She represented South Africa at the Junior World Championships in Baku in April and has received the top Foil results. Considering that Demi has competed with fencers in a much higher age group shows that she has the potential to qualify for the Olympic Games, and she will!
Some of her brilliant results are as follows:

Pretoria Open                       

U/20                                      Silver
U/17                                      Bronze 

Gauteng Open                                 

U/20                                      Silver
U/17                                      Bronze

Boland Open                      

U/20                                   Silver
U/17                                   Gold

Senior Open                       Bronze

Gauteng Fencing                              Junior Boys                      Silver
Gauteng Fencing                              Cadets Woman’s Foil      Silver

We wish Demi-Lee Schultz all the best for the African Junior and Cadets Championships from the 10th to 16th December. She will be representing South Africa in the U/17 and U/20 individual and U/20 team events.  She has already qualified for the World Championships in Italy in April 2011.

Other extremely talented young ladies are Nathalie Van Der Merwe, Lebohang Makhubedu, Keena Fourie and Resego Bokete has shown great enthusiasm and willingness to fence for the love of fencing rather than for the rewards.
Other impressive results from fellow fencers were the following:

Evitta Ivanov                                U/13 Boys                            Bronze
Nathalie van Der Merwe              U/20                                     Silver
Lebohang Makhubedu                  U/20                                    Bronze

I am extremely proud of Netimar Neto, a grade 6 learner and Keena Fourie, a grade 9 learner, who have been placed 4th in Gauteng ranking.
Another talented fencer is Resego Bokete, a grade 11 fencer, who qualified top eighth twice in the U/17 and U/20 boys’ age group.

We are looking forward to the Junior National Championships on the 23rd October in Johannesburg. Our team is focusing on the Gauteng Open Ranking for 2011.

For so many fencers, the important thing to remember is that it isn’t about winning the medals, but rather about your own personal growth through participation.