A 2021 UPDATE ON THE WORK OF THE EPEE CLUB CHARITABLE FUND
So, just because the world has stopped and lockdown has restricted us all to on-line exercising and watching British Fencing training videos, it does not mean that the work of the Epée Club Charitable Fund has ceased!
If I may refresh your minds as to where we stood at the end of 2019, the Epée Club had announced a £15,000.00 training package for the GB épée fencers in conjunction with their Lead Coach and their Coordinator. This was explained in an article in the January 2020 SWORD and across the social media platforms. (a copy of this is attached below to jog your memory!). Then, lockdown happened; International competitions, World Cups and training all ceased and other than some small outlays for existing training camps, this training package remained largely untapped.
However, the appointment of Johnny Davis as the British Fencing Olympic Team Manager with a vision for the 2024 Olympics in Paris and the reinvigoration of the British Fencing Athlete Development Programme Pathway at the beginning of this year under Steve Kemp have brought a new impetus to épée fencing within the UK. Our very own Georgina Usher, as CEO British Fencing, gave a clear positive message to the membership in January 2021 that we now have a clear and effective pathway ahead of us that includes all the weapon disciplines. This has been reinforced time and again by regular communications between the Trustees of the ECCF and the Olympic Team Manager to demonstrate how épée is very much in the forefront of his Pathway to Paris programme.
As a result, a new ECCF budgetary planning matrix amounting to over £20,000.00 a year has been agreed to support the training and competition participation of our GB épéeists between now and 2024. This includes legacy planning and a solid number of high level coaches and support staff dedicated to the development of épée. This is exactly what the Epée Club had been working towards since the formation of the ECCF in 2017. We have been very fortunate that our Charity donors have continued to keep the faith over these past long months and the Trustees are certain that their loyalty will pay dividends over the next few years. We are all longing to see the new young épéeists of this new age succeeding on the international stage and to hear the National Anthem in the Olympic Stadium once more.
The Trustees of the ECCF are continuing to play their part in ensuring that the funding is well spent and is in line with the British Fencing aspirations for our épéeists. We are confident that they will have every chance to grasp success and victory in the next few years leading up to the Paris Olympics.
We still need more regular donors to ensure the continuing viability of the Fund and, if you are interested, you can contact me through this website. The ECCF is in a strong healthy state and the Epée Club badge will be on every one of our GB épée fencers as they compete. This is all good news.
Lawrence Burr OBE
Trustee Epée Club Charitable Fund
SWORD ARTICLE – February 2020