b'THE ELLESMERIAN 151FencingI began coaching fencing at Ellesmere 10 years ago as part of a start- Ellesmere fencers in the latest Shrewsbury match will be able to up Modern Pentathlon project with maybe half a dozen students.attest. Now there must be at least 30 fencers from Year 5 up to Year 13 and weve developed into a full-on fencing club, meeting in two sessions,This is a good place to pay tribute to the Sixth Form fencers who one for Lower School mostly and a later Senior squad session.helped me coach the Lower School fencers. Ed Astburys and James Joynsons contributions have been invaluable and the Lower School Looking back over the decade, Ellesmere fencers have regularlyfencers seemed to really enjoy working with them too. qualified to represent the West Midlands in the British Youth Championshipsevery year theyve been held, in fact. Ed AstburyWeve got a couple of fixtures planned already for 2023 and there has been selected for four National Championships over the years.must be enough Old Ellesmerian fencers out there to have an Old v. Several have kept fencing and represented their universities too. ACurrent match too. And, especially Year 11s and Sixth Formersregular fixture list has developedprobably the termly match withyoud be very welcome to the later Friday sessions! Shrewsbury School is the most keenly fought. In the most recent match the combined score was 18-7 to Ellesmere, which is probably the best result weve had. Ellesmere fencers were Ed Astbury, Alex Norris, Louis Reardon, Oscar Crossen, Julia Smith, and Oliver Earl. What attracts people to fencing? Talking to students, there are a lot of different motivations. In my own case, 50+ years ago, it was the fact that it was indoors and individualI was not a good team player. For some fencers its the fighting aspect they enjoy, others the challenge of doing a sport that is a bit more unusual, or its simply that swords and the kit look good. Theres a sense of responsibility toobeing responsible for each others safety, having to make your own decisions when you are fighting, having to plan, having to referee, helping to coach and train each other. Winning is a great feeling too, as the'