East Cape fencers to cross swords with the best
A DOZEN young fencers from the Eastern Cape will cross swords with participants from all over the country at the SA Junior Championships to be held in Soweto tomorrow and Sunday.
They are up against a strong field as this competition is a qualifier for the Junior World Championships later this year.
According to the organisers, a record entry was received, making it the biggest junior nationals in South Africa.
Bella Archibald, 14, is a modern pentathlete who participates in the various disciplines of the sport – biathle, triathle, laser run and tethrathlon, which includes fencing, swimming, laser shooting and running.
She is also included in the national high performance squad in tetrathlon.
Rachel Beukes, 13, is fairly new to Olympic sport participation at national level.
Last year, she received the provincial award for most promising young fencer following her performance at the Eastern Cape Open, a national ranking competition.
She has found her niche in fencing while her sibling, Jessica, is a top national swimmer.
The following fencers will compete in the junior nationals tomorrow: Sesethu Dawudi (U20, captain), Salmaan Schmidt (U20), Tristan Torr (U17), Angelo Barkhuysen (U15), Keegan van Heerden (U13), Tristan Marais (U11) and Jayson Archibald (U11).
On Sunday, Isabella Finestone (U17, captain), Archibald (U15), Beukes (U15), Paola Signorile (U15) and Keira van Heerden (U11) will strut their stuff.
Finestone, Barkhuysen and Archibald have all won medals at previous junior nationals.
Finestone is ranked seventh in her age group in epee fencing.
Preparation for nationals coincided with a high-performance epee fencing course that was held over three weeks in three districts.
In total, more than 30 children from Nelson Mandela Bay, Sarah Baartman district and Buffalo City were exposed to Olympic fencing.
Sello Maduma, the only black South African fencing Olympian, was the visiting coach and course presenter.
Maduma competed at the Beijing Olympics.
Although the provincial fencers are members of Team Eastern Cape, they all compete individually in various age categories.
Eastern Cape head coach Jessica Raper said: “We believe the junior nationals will be a great learning experience showcasing the bigger picture of fencing.”