Southern Marches Sword Club meet every Thursday night during school term time. The club is a junior foil club, with fencers of all abilities from beginner to national standard. We train from 7.30 until 9pm for the smaller fencers and continue until 9.30pm for the more experienced competitors. Beginners are always welcome and are given a free "taster session" on their first night. All equipment is provided.
Subscription charges:
Students £3.50
Adults £5.00 per night inclusive of coaching and the use of club equipment.
Club Venue:
The gym at John Kyrle High School, Ledbury Rd. Ross-on-Wye
Contact:
Lynne Melia
Club History
In the beginning...................
Southern Marches Sword Club has been in existence for many years. Formerly known as the John Kyrle fencers, the club was run at the school of the same name by a local teacher, Bill Hazelton. Sometime during the late 1980’s the club moved to the Larruperz centre and became the Southern Marches Sword Club. Around 1990/’91 the club was handed over to Welsh squad fencer John Rees, who with the help of a local fencer, Jim Gibb ran the club until 1998. Sometime during that period Jim Gibb left for New Zealand and all previous club records disappeared. In 1998 John Rees left the club in the hands of the new coach, Shaun Garley. S.M.S. club fencers won many county, section and national titles in those years, making it one of the strongest clubs in the West Midlands section.
To the present
In 2004 the club moved back to the gym at John Kyrle. The club has now come full circle. From its' inception all those years ago as a junior foil club, the Southern Marches Sword club continues to providing a base for junior foil fencers from the ages of 8 to 18.
In the summer of 2009, after some 11 years at the club, Shaun Garley decided to move on to pastures new. Fortunately, one of the regions top coaches was able to accept the position of coach and ensure that the club will continue.
Into the future
Lynne Melia will take control of the club in September 2009. Lynne can be contacted via the team Melia website
Redditch Youth Fencing
Many of the fencers who attend the Academy are from Redditch Youth Fencing Club, where we have strong links.
Redditch Youth Fencing club meets on Saturday mornings between 10 & 12 and teaching fencing to children aged 7 – 18. We cater for all ability ranges of fencers from beginners to national level competing athletes.
We run regular beginners course which last 6 weeks each and take place between 10:30 & 11:30 also on Saturday mornings and will result in passing the 1st Grade fencing award with presentation of a certificate and fabric badge.
All kit is supplied by the club and coaching is provided by fully qualified and accredited coaching staff.
All staff have a current CRB and have attended 1st aid and child protection workshops in accordance with British Fencing Guidelines.
Those interested should contact head coach Sam Stockley on 07977 927 637.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 23 June 2009 17:17
Our new venue
Our great new venue at Turves Green Boys School helps us to offer a better training session, and the greater number of coaches and assistant coaches available to us means that everyone gets that little bit more attention than before.
We offer foil and epée on both Mondays (Club) and Wednesdays (Academy). On Mondays, Lynne is backed up by Warren, Jamie and Rhys, who are available for coaching for all or part of the session.
On a Wednesday, we are joined by Glen Golding from the South West Region, who coaches Jamie and Rhys, and gives foil lessons to various of the senior fencers. We are often joined by one or two sabreurs who come for the footwork session, and would invite anyone who is interested to come along and join in to add to the variety of sparring partners available. Details of the training times etc can be found under "Clubs and Squads" elsewhere on the site.
This Wednesday 3rd September saw the Start of the Team Melia Academy, and the restart of the H & W Development Squad in our new venue at Turves Green Boys School.
The Academy is an elite training night with membership by invitation, the aim of the session is to provide regular, high quality competitive training for Domestic and International success. The cost for this training is £75 per term, guests are welcome at a cost of £10 per session, full time students are entitled to a 20% discount on production of NUS card.
The Hereford & Worcester County Fencing Union Foil Development Squad also trains here and all young county fencers (10 - 15 years old) wanting to improve their competitive fencing are encouraged to attend. The cost for this squd is £60 per school term and the session runs from 7 - 9pm.
The venue was opened in Feb 08 and is a lottery funded sports hall with excellent changing facilities, room for 10 training pistes, a dance studio and small gym. Plans are in place to fund disabled fencing equipment at the venue and a selection of drinks are available at a reasonable price.
The evening runs from 7pm - 10pm and is designed to provide elite fencers with a comprehensive training night that covers fitness/conditioning, technical and tactical work, and sparring. Anyone wanting to improve their competitive ability will benefit from the specific focus provided to the extended footwork and fitness sessions. Coaching will be provided by Lynne Melia, Glen Golding (Foil) and Jamie Melia (Epee), who have designed a syllabus geared towards the competitive calendar and the LTAD "Training to Compete" and "Training to Win" stages. Individual routine lessons are available from all coaches on request and longer special lessons can be arranged at an agreed price on a first-come basis.
Contact
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for more information or to arrange a visit.
Turves Green Boys School, Turves Green, Northfield, Birmingham, B31 4BS.
This Wednesday 3rd September saw the Start of the Team Melia Academy, and the restart of the H & W Development Squad in our new venue at Turves Green Boys School. 