A BIG THANK YOU
Dear Committee and Members of the Epee Club
I wanted to write personally and convey my personal thanks to you all for everything you continue to do for our epeeists and, more widely, for British Epee; it really does make a difference. One of the things we are working hard to do at British Fencing is better connect our pathway with senior performance. Indeed, we want our younger epeeists to be able to look ahead and see a genuine route from competing domestically, through the pathway and age-group teams, and ultimately into a senior GBR team capable of competing with the best in the world.
There have been some encouraging signs of that this season. The Men’s Epee team’s performance at the World Championships in Hong Kong was one of them. Finishing 14th from 46 nations, and beating the world number one ranked Japanese team 45–44 along the way, showed what this group is capable of.
It was one result, and we shouldn’t make it more than that, but it gave us a glimpse of what might be possible if we can create greater consistency around this group. Susan Sica’s performances are another important part of that picture. Her Last 32 at the Senior European Championships in Antony demonstrated the individual senior potential within the weapon and, importantly, gives the younger female epeeists coming through something tangible to look towards. We are also looking forward to welcoming Susan’s brother as he transfers from the Italian Federation to compete for us too. For me, this is where the pathway and performance environments have to connect. Growing a weapon isn’t simply about the athletes who are currently at the top of it. It is about creating something that those coming behind want to be part of. If a young epeeist can see British athletes competing successfully at Senior Europeans and World Championships, training together, challenging each other and progressing internationally, the next step on their own journey becomes that little bit more real.
The senior athletes should be setting the standards and showing what is possible, while the pathway should be producing athletes who increasingly challenge and eventually replace them. When that begins to happen consistently, we start to create genuine depth in the weapon. None of this happens through British Fencing alone, it requires athletes, personal coaches, clubs and organisations such as the Epee Club working together with a shared ambition for the weapon.
There is plenty still to do, and we certainly don’t have all the answers. But I do believe there is an opportunity in front of us to build some real momentum in British Epee.
Thank you for being part of that journey and for helping us turn some of that potential into something more sustainable.
Dusty Miller - Head of Performance (Olympic) & Performance Coach Development – British Fencing.
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