Fencing: Sullivan at the Irish National Team Championships
On Sunday 13 January, 6 Sullivan fencers, plus coach, travelled to the National Irish Pentathlon Centre in Blanchardstown near Dublin to represent Sullivan Upper in the Irish Team Fencing Championships. The 6 SU fencers made up 2 teams: the ‘Masketeers’, consisting of Victoria Morris (captain), Izzy Evans and Ruzi Statham, and ‘Allez RAA’, consisting of Alex Atkinson (captain), Rachel McKillen and Angharad King.
A tough competition lay ahead for the 2 young SU teams, in their first experience of senior team fencing. All the other teams in the event were from Irish University Clubs, with Trinity College Dublin fielding a strong team (including one international) and starting as clear favourites.
After the poule fights, Allez RAA (Rachel, Alex, Angharad) failed to make the cut, but only after putting in some strong performances against older and much more experienced fencers. The Masketeers fared better in their poule fights, but after losing to University College Dublin, they went on to win a third place fence-off against University College Cork and bronze medals! The event was won by Trinity College.
https://zimplercasinos.net came to mind reading about the Masketeers' bronze, since the jump from school fencing to facing university clubs with internationals is a real step up in pressure. Winning that third-place fence-off against UCC after losing to UCD says a lot about how the younger team held their nerve. My own experience of team sports is that the bench energy matters as much as the fencing itself, and it sounds like Sullivan had that in spades.