On the weekend of the 24-25th October Jethro and Morys Ireland participated in the annual Hallebardiers team epée fencing tournament in Bruges, Belgium. Linking up with Roland Brackx and Johann De Ridder from Brussels Fencing Club they formed an international team under the name of the 'Lansdowne Club', where Morys fences most frequently. For Jethro and Johan this was their first team fencing experience, indeed Johan's first competition, while for Roland and Morys this was the first time they'd fencing together in 7 years.
The team faced a tough draw from the start with the eventual champions, the Brussels Fencing Club team, in their group. That said, they got off to a good start - winning their first match and getting off to a strong start in the second before eventually being defeated by the 2nd team from Maison d'Escrime, also from Brussels. The final group match saw a 44-31 defeat to the tournament winners, an excellent performance against a strong team and a closer match than the semi-final Brussels got through later in the day to reach the final.
The knock-out stages saw Jethro and Johan play a big role in getting the team through to the last 16, before being knocked-out in a hard-fought match with the Maison d'Escrime 1st team. The team ended up in 15th place out of 28 teams. Great performances were put in throughout what was a long day's fencing, with three out of four team members being left-handed and with a real mix of styles the group was able to cause real problems even for more seasoned opponents.
The competition was followed by an excellent meal in a hall over one of the medieval city gates, part of what remains of the old city wall. The Hallebardiers fencing club actually fences each week in this amazing setting and, importantly, they've even installed a bar - which was much appreciated after a hard day's fencing. You can see their setup in the gallery on their site:
http://www.hallebardiers.be/fotogalerij/kruispoort/
Our thanks go to the organisers from the Hallebardiers club for being such excellent hosts. This was the first time any of us from CCFC had been to the tournament but it looks like it could be a great annual event. It's certainly well worth the weekend away, so look out for messages next year if you'd like to participate in this very friendly, mixed team epée event.
The team faced a tough draw from the start with the eventual champions, the Brussels Fencing Club team, in their group. That said, they got off to a good start - winning their first match and getting off to a strong start in the second before eventually being defeated by the 2nd team from Maison d'Escrime, also from Brussels. The final group match saw a 44-31 defeat to the tournament winners, an excellent performance against a strong team and a closer match than the semi-final Brussels got through later in the day to reach the final.
The knock-out stages saw Jethro and Johan play a big role in getting the team through to the last 16, before being knocked-out in a hard-fought match with the Maison d'Escrime 1st team. The team ended up in 15th place out of 28 teams. Great performances were put in throughout what was a long day's fencing, with three out of four team members being left-handed and with a real mix of styles the group was able to cause real problems even for more seasoned opponents.
The competition was followed by an excellent meal in a hall over one of the medieval city gates, part of what remains of the old city wall. The Hallebardiers fencing club actually fences each week in this amazing setting and, importantly, they've even installed a bar - which was much appreciated after a hard day's fencing. You can see their setup in the gallery on their site:
http://www.hallebardiers.be/fotogalerij/kruispoort/
Our thanks go to the organisers from the Hallebardiers club for being such excellent hosts. This was the first time any of us from CCFC had been to the tournament but it looks like it could be a great annual event. It's certainly well worth the weekend away, so look out for messages next year if you'd like to participate in this very friendly, mixed team epée event.
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