Chichester Community Fencing Club was created in 2005 by four local fencers, myself included, who were keen to increase participation in the sport. Our main focus has always been to reach out to those who have never had the opportunity to even try the sport before. We believe fencing is a great sport no matter what your age, ability or social background and the key to increasing participation is to increase the number of grass-roots coaches.
Not long after it's formation, the club was awarded nearly £10,000 by the Lottery Fund, enabling us to buy enough equipment to become a fully-fledged fencing salle. The money also went some way to paying for coach education, from which I myself benefited, for the volunteer coaches. With newly qualified coaches and a set of dedicated volunteers the club quickly took off. We increased the participation on our organising committee and this gave us the coordination needed to launch phase two of the operation - helping local schools set up their own fencing clubs and creating a network of local school clubs.
The Chichester Community Fencing Schools Development Scheme was awarded £15,000 by The Woodger Trust, with the aim of setting up just such a network. Spearheaded by club volunteers and Sports Development Officers within the local area the scheme has been a great success and is set to expand even further. Schools involved are situated around Chichester in West Sussex and include both primary and secondary schools.
More recently, the number of club coaches has begun to grow exponentially with some of the original coaches now taking higher qualifications or focussing on an additional weapon. This idea of home grown coaches, who are always instructed by more experienced external coaches, has given rise to a family atmosphere within the club that is however extremely welcoming toward beginners. The club runs two sessions a week (Thurs and Fri evenings) and can be found at Chichester College's fantastically modern sports hall. Everyone is welcome to come along and give fencing a go.
Visit the club's website to find out more!