The ‘National Fencing Championships 2013’ organized by the ‘National Association of Fencing, Sri Lanka (NAFSL) was held on the 21st & 22nd of November 2013 at the Ahangama Sariputhra Vidyalaya, Koggala.
The ‘National Association of Fencing initiated this last year with the objective of developing, promoting and providing a competitive platform for fencers in Sri Lanka. Chief Guest for the event was Mr. Dian Gomes, Vice President National Olympic Committee Sri Lanka, Past President Amateur Boxing Association & Group Director MAS Intimates.
The championship will comprise of 7 medal events as follows:
1.Foil Men – Individual
2.Foil Women – Individual
3.Epee Men – Individual
4.Epee Women – Individual
5.Sabre Men – Individual
6.Sabre Women – Individual
7.Mixed Weapon / Gender – Team
The Individual events will be conducted with preliminary pool bouts and best 8 fencers in each weapon category will proceed to the direct elimination round. The team events will follow the relay formula and the fencers in a team must fence against the similar weapon/gender fencers in the opposing team. The team composition will be as follows: 1 Male Foil, 1 Male Epee, 1 Male Sabre, 1 Female Foil, 1 Female Epee, 1 Female Sabre, 1 female reserve (open weapon) & 1 male reserve (open weapon).
The fencers will compete for a total of 24 individual medals and 32 team medals as follows:
•Individual: 6 gold medalists, 6 Silver medalists & 12 Bronze medalists.
•Team: 1 gold medalist team, 1 silver medalist team & 2 bronze medalist teams (each team will comprise of 8 fencers)
In addition NAFSL will award ‘The Best Fencer: Male’ of the Championship to the male fencer with highest number of cumulative points in the pool and direct elimination rounds of the individual segment. ‘The Best Fencer: Female’ ward will be similar & chosen among the female fencers across all weapons.
‘The Championship Trophy’ will be awarded to the fencing club leading the medal tally of both individual & team events and ‘Championship Runners-up Trophy’ will be awarded to the fencing club placed second in the medal tally.
About NAFSL
The National Association of Fencing, Sri Lanka is the registered governing body of the sport of Fencing in Sri Lanka. The association is affiliated to the Federation Internationale D’Escrime (FIE), Commonwealth Fencing Federation (CFF), Fencing Confederation of Asia (FCA) and the South Asian Fencing Federation (SAFF). Established in 2008, NAFSL has already achieved great heights for one of the youngest sporting bodies in the country.
NAFSL has 8 registered fencing clubs & conducts regular training for over 100 fencers in the country in Colombo, Galle, Gampaha, Kandy, Kalutara, Kegalle, & Kurunegala districts. In the year 2010 NAFSL produced the first international medals for the country at the South Asian Fencing Championships held in Chennai, India. The team representing Sri Lanka achieved 3 bronze medals in the team categories of Men’s Foil, Men’s Sabre & Women’s Epee.
At the South Asian Fencing Championships in 2012 conducted in Hyderabad India, the Sri Lankan team won 14 medals, including a bronze medal at the women’s individual weapon category for Epee.
In the recent years NAFSL has trained fencers technically on refereeing and coaching with the aim of increasing the resources and support services for the sport. With a stable and focused growth plan for the future, NAFSL aims to make Fencing among the leading medal winning sports in Sri Lanka in the future.
