Daisy is going to Games
Daisy Foniciello only got involved with the sport three years ago.
But now the former Kilgraston School student has been named in Scotland’s Commonwealth Fencing Championships squad.
A flight to Australia is pencilled in the schedule for November where Daisy, from Kinross, will compete in the women’s epee competition.
Performances on the piste have been promising this year and now the 17-year-old hopes her progression can continue in Canberra.
“I’ve done better this year than any other but I am still wanting to build up,” said Daisy, who has just started a biomedical engineering degree at Glasgow University.
“Six or seven people were up for selection in Scotland and I think I ended up being the top selected. That was nice.
“It took quite a long time for the selection to come through. But it was amazing when I found out and it was really exciting.
“It’s going to be very tough but I’m going over for the experience and to improve my fencing. Getting to fence new people is always good.”
Daisy’s love for fencing was triggered after getting involved with modern pentathlon. She has never looked back.
“A coach called Andy Alderman came in to give us a fencing lesson,”said Daisy, of Edinburgh Fencing Club.
“It was proper fencing tuition to see if any of us would be interested in going into modern pentathlon.
“He was so inspiring and was really motivated. From there I really enjoyed the fencing and ended up focusing on that.
“Andy is now my coach and I see him at training about three times a week.
“You need to train quite a lot. I think, because I did a lot of sport beforehand, I found it easier to start up a new one.
“It’s not just a physical sport, a lot of thought also goes into it. There is always so much room for improvement.
“Even when you think you are getting better, you still know you have got miles to go.
“At the moment I’m focusing on smaller goals. I want to keep my results constant.”
Bridge of Earn-based former school Kilgraston played their part in the fencing journey.
The school’s director of sport, Pauline Stott MBE, says Daisy always showed a strong aptitude towards sport in general.
“Daisy was at Kilgraston for four years,”Pauline said.
“She has always been a great athlete, taking part in and contributing a huge amount to the usual school sports of hockey, netball, swimming, rounders and athletics.
“As a natural all-rounder she was encouraged to try the sport of pentathlon, consisting of fencing, swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting and cross country running.
“She very quickly progressed to national competition level, particularly enjoying fencing, so decided to concentrate her efforts on that discipline.
“In addition to her fencing, Daisy worked hard on her strength and conditioning programme at school, which is so important for every athlete.
“It goes without saying that we are really delighted for Daisy. Everyone at Kilgraston will be watching closely.”
The Commonwealth Fencing Championships take place in Canberra, Australia from November 23-28.