Fencing

Term 2 has been a busy but exciting term for fencing at Rangitoto College, with progress on many fronts.

This year we have expanded our training schedule to include Mondays 5:15 pm – 6:45 pm, in addition to Tuesdays and Thursdays 5.00 pm – 6.30 pm, to account for a larger intake of beginners.

This term we have had an active competitive cycle, with captain Ashleigh Catlett leading teams to the next step up of secondary school and open age band competitions. Highlights include Rangitoto student Euvgenia Abramova placing third in the national under 17s Women’s cadets and first in the U17s women’s cadets teams events. We also entered our first team since Covid-19 to the Auckland Clubs Team Epee Competition.

In Term 2 we have been privileged to have New Zealand Modern Pentathlon come to our school from Hamilton to promote their sport and give the fencing students an opportunity to try some of the other parts of fencing (pentathlon is a combination sport involving fencing, running, shooting, swimming, and equestrian). We hope to send a team to the upcoming September event.

This year we have expanded our coaching staff with the addition of Nour Malak, to take the new Monday classes. Nour has also been selected to take part in a three-month coach training program in Budapest, Hungary, hosted by the international federation, taking one of two spots open to pan Asia-Oceania-America region. Congratulations also to Rangitoto coach Andi Liu, who recently competed in the world cup at Istanbul, the students are learning many insights from his experiences there.

Special thanks to our head coach Kyle Nankivell for his drive and passion within the sport. Kyle has been the backbone of our fencing programme and to see it thrive and grow under his leadership is a credit to the culture he has built for our Rangitoto students.