Firebirds fencers harvest medals at tough tourney
The KwaZulu-Natal Open Fencing Championships in Durban, a national ranking event, saw 12 fencers of the Firebird Fencing Club in the city excel.
POLOKWANE – The KwaZulu-Natal Open Fencing Championships in Durban, a national ranking event, saw 12 fencers of the Firebird Fencing Club in the city excel on February 14 and 15.
The club made a clean sweep in the u/17 women’s foil category of the champions with Danica Opperman in first place, Moné McCabe in second place and Jana van der Walt in third place.
Danica was chosen for the South African youth and cadet team and said she looked forward to the Africa Youth Fencing Championships that will take place in Algeria in March. She obtained South African colours for this achievement.
In the women’s u/17 épée category, Danica won second place with Moné in third place.
Danica and Moné also took second and third place in the women’s u/20 junior foil and epée categories. Danica won first place in the foil category, with Moné in third place. Moné won second place in the épée category, with Danica in third place.
In the men’s u/17 foil category, Charl Venter had spectators on the edge on their seats in a tightly fought match that saw him win this category with one point.
Two of the Firebird Fencing Club’s coaches, Steve McCabe and Wallace Goosen, attended a specialised coaching course in December at the well known Tychler Fencing School in Johannesburg.
Both club coaches passed this course with flying colours and said they were looking forward to the year ahead where they would help the members of the club hone their skills.
