Who are we?
British Fencing is the National Governing Body for the Olympic sport of fencing in Great Britain. We are responsible for developing the sport in the UK, looking after our membership and supporting performance athletes who aspire to compete and suceed on the international stage.
In 2016, British Fencing's World Class Programme oversaw the team's first ever qualification for Olympic Games in the modern era of the sport. James-Andrew Davis, Laurence Halstead, Richard Kruse and Marcus Mepstead claimed a place for TeamGB at the Rio Olympic Games. Richard Kruse achieved the best result in 50 years - 4th place in the individuals - and the GB team came 6th in the team event. Recognised by UK Sport for having a world class set-up public funding was increased to support a young team of sabre athletes targeting Olympic qualification in 2020 and beyond.
Despite this, UK Sport announced a complete removal of funding from our elite programme in December 2016, requiring the close down of the programme and withdrawal of any programme support to our athletes mid-season.
Why are we raising money?
This funding appeal is specifically to maintain our performance programme for the rest of the season so that we can send a well prepared team to both the European and the World Championships.
All money raised will be used to support the senior athletes on our international performance programme both in training and competition. Funds will be used in two areas:
- the continuation of our training programme which is designed to help our athletes maximise their potential and ultimately win medals at the European Championships in Tiblisi and the World Championships in Leipzig
- international travel and competition expenses including the European and World Championships
In order to achieve our goals we will need to pay for a dedicated training facility, coaches, plus support staff (e.g. a strength and conditioning coach).

Our Team
The campaign is being led by our Chief Executive, Georgina Usher, who is a ten time British Champion, former GBR international fencer and Commonwealth Champion. She is being supported by a core group of staff across all departments of the organisation.
Georgina said, "We must do everything that we can to support this talented group of athletes for the rest of this season at the very least. Every penny of support will be gratefully received and spent solely on giving these athletes every chance of success at the European Championships and World Championships."
Our Athletes
All money raised will go directly to the British Fencing International Programme to support athletes currently on our World Class Programme. They are:-
Men's Foil
Jai Birch
James-Andrew Davis
Richard Kruse
Alex Lloyd
Marcus Mepstead
Rajan Rai
Men's Sabre
Soji Aiyenuro
Harry Boteler
Will Deary
Curtis Miller
Kirk Slankard
Jonathan "JJ" Webb
Events Calendar
By supporting our campaign you will be assisting athletes who will be competing at the following events:
- 31 March-1 April - Seoul Grand Prix (Men's Sabre)
- 5-7 May - St Petersbourg World Cup (Men's Foil)
- 19-21 May - Shanghai Grand Prix (Men's Foil)
- 19-21 May - Madrid World Cup (Men's Sabre)
- 2-4 June - Moscow Grand Prix (Men's Sabre)
- 12-17 June - European Championships Tiblisi
- 19-26 July - World Championships Leipzig

Why this is so important?
What happens if we don't reach our target?
Every penny of the money raised will be going to support athletes representing Great Britain. We will prioritise supporting the athletes preparing for and competing at the Senior World Championships, then the European Championships. Any funds allocated to each competition will be equally split between the athletes competing, regardless of their WCP status at the time.
What they say


If you support our campaign, not only will you have the pleasure of supporting our international athletes but you may also be eligible for some money-can't-buy rewards!