Excalibur Masters 2018

The Excalibur Masters Competition will be held on 28 and 29 April this year. This is an annual standalone event for all fencers 30 years and over. Medals will be awarded for overall places, and for each age group: 30s, 40s, 50s and 60+. Fencers 40 and over will receive FencingWA Veteran ranking points for their overall placings.

Schedule of events

Saturday 28 April
Foil 1:00 pm

Sunday 28 April
Epee 9:00 am
$2 sausage sizzle for lunch
Sabre 2:00 pm

Team events to follow individual events, subject to numbers and time permitting. Teams drawn by random selection.

Please use the entry form.

Vale Frank Kocsis

It is with deep regret that we note the passing of Excalibur sabre coach Frank Kocsis on Thursday 23 November after a battle with cancer.

Frank was an extraordinary man who lived an extraordinary life. Risking his life to escape from Communist Hungary as a teenager, Frank went on to live in the Netherlands, England, Spain and Australia. His careers included professional soccer player, teacher and administrator. He was fluent in many languages and loved reading, music and photography.

At Excalibur, Frank will be best remembered as an enthusiastic sabre coach. He placed an emphasis on the Hungarian style, using the fingers to manipulate the sabre.

Always return to the en garde position, even after you score a touché.

Frank had a role in the coaching of many Excalibur fencers, and he particularly enjoyed teaching children and veterans. Several of Frank’s students went on to win national and international championships in various categories, including Sutherlan Scudds, Jadryn Dick, Esteban Hourau, Gary Sudran and Steve Johnson.

Frank will be greatly missed by his students, friends and family.

The funeral will be held at Fremantle Cemetery on Thursday 30 November. Meet at Carrington Pavilion at 2:45 for a 3:00 start.

Excalibur Masters 2017

The Excalibur Masters Competition will be held on 15 and 16 July this year. This is an annual standalone event for all fencers 30 years and over. Medals will be awarded for overall places, and for each age group: 30s, 40s, 50s and 60+. Fencers 40 and over will receive FencingWA Veteran ranking points for their overall placings.

Schedule of events

Saturday 15 July
Foil 1:00 pm

Sunday 16 July
Epee 9:00 am
$2 sausage sizzle for lunch
Sabre 1:00 pm

Team events to follow individual events, subject to numbers and time permitting. Teams drawn by random selection.

Please use the entry form.

Under 13 & Under 15 Events at Excalibur on 22 and 23 October

The FencingWA Under 13 and Under 15 Foil and Sabre Final events are being held at Excalibur on the weekend of 22 and 23 October. Excalibur encourages its young fencers to get involved!

Timetable

Sat 22 Oct
1:00 PM Under 13 Sabre
3:00 PM Under 15 Sabre

Sun 23 Oct
9:00 AM Under 13 Foil
11:00 AM Under 15 Foil

Fencers are considered Under 13 if they were born in 2003 or later and Under 15 if they were born in 2001 or later. Under 13 fencers can enter both events. This is a State level competition, so ranking points won during these events contribute towards determining the State Champions for 2016. As these are Finals, the ranking points are worth 1.5 times the usual amount. Under 13 fencers receive Under 13 ranking points from Under 15 events at 1.8 times the usual amount.

How to Enter

First, make sure the fencer is a Junior Affiliated member of FencingWA using this link ($45). You need to do this even if you don’t enter competitions to cover insurance; it’s mentioned on your Excalibur membership form.

To enter the events themselves, click here. Normal entries (U13 free, U15 $15) close at 10 PM on Sunday 16 October. Late entries ($30) close at 10 PM on Wednesday 19 October.

Make sure you turn up early and fully equipped for competition! This means full safety equipment including breeches and long socks. All FencingWA events use electric equipment. Size 2 electric foils will be available for loan for Under 13 Foil. Ask Andrew, Richie or another senior member of the club if you are unsure. A copy of the FencingWA Competition rules for 2016 can be found here.

Young Excalibur fencers excel in Sydney

Excalibur fencers formed a substantial part of the Western Australian team that attended the 2016 Australian Under 15 & Cadet Fencing Championships held in Sydney from 6 to 10 July and achieved some excellent results. Also in attendance were Andrew Scott and Steve Johnson as two of the three team coaches and Hugh McCrackan as Team Manager.

Here is the full list of results from Excalibur fencers. Medal performances are shown in bold.

U15 Girls’ Sabre – 3 Emma Johnson
U15 Girls’ Foil – 11 Emma Johnson
U15 Boys’ Sabre – 10 Estéban Hoarau, 17 Raphael McCrackan
U15 Girls’ Epee – 3 Emma Johnson
U15 Boys’ Sabre Teams – 2 WA (inc Estéban Hoarau, Raphael McCrackan)
Cadet Women’s Sabre – 9 Emma Johnson
Cadet Men’s Foil – 16 Tom Harvey
Cadet Women’s Epee – 7 Emma Johnson
Cadet Men’s Foil Teams – 5 WA (inc Tom Harvey)
Cadet Women’s Epee Teams – 3 WA (inc Emma Johnson)
Cadet Women’s Foil – 34 Emma Johnson
Cadet Women’s Foil Teams – 10 WA (inc Emma Johnson)
Cadet Men’s Sabre – 10 Alex Brown, 15 Estéban Hoarau, 21 Daniel Monaco, 33 Raphael McCrackan
Cadet Men’s Sabre Teams – 3 WA A (inc Alex Brown, Estéban Hoarau, Daniel Monaco), 6 WA B (inc Raphael McCrackan)

Congratulations to all our fencers for representing our state, upholding an excellent standard of behaviour and cheering each other on to maintain WA’s reputation as the state with the strongest team spirit.

Entering Next Weekend’s Under 13 & Under 15 Events

The first Under 13 and Under 15 Foil and Sabre events are happening on the weekend of 2 and 3 April and Excalibur encourages its young fencers to get involved! Fencers are considered Under 13 if they were born in 2003 or later and Under 15 if they were born in 2001 or later.

Timetable

Sat 2 Apr
9:00 Under 13 Foil
11:00 Under 15 Foil

Sun 3 Apr
9:00 Under 13 Sabre
11:00 Under 15 Sabre

These events will all be held at Belmont City College.

How to Enter

First, make sure you are an affiliated member of FencingWA using this link. You need to do this even if you don’t enter competitions; it’s mentioned on your Excalibur membership form. If you intend to enter national events (e.g. this year’s Under 15 and Cadet Championships), you can also use this link to pay for AFF capitation.

Here is the direct link for entering next weekend’s events.

The cost of entry is free for Under 13s and $15 for Under 15s, with late entries at $30. The deadline for normal entries is 10 PM on the Sunday before the event (in this case Sunday 27 March), with late entries closing at 10 PM on the Wednesday before the event (in this case Wednesday 30 March).

Make sure you turn up early and fully equipped for competition! This means full safety equipment including breeches and long socks. For Under 13 Foil, the event will be non-electric and foils will be available for loan but for all other events you will need to bring full electric equipment. Ask Andrew or another senior member of the club if you are unsure. A copy of the FencingWA Competition rules for 2016 can be found here.