Presented by Standard Chartered Bank, 140 young fencers from seven countries crossed blades at the 2010 YMCA International Fencing Cup from 11 to 12 December 2010 at Raffles Institution.

Organised by the YMCA of Singapore and the Y Sparks Fencing Interest Group, this year’s tournament featured four categories:  U10, U12, U14 Foil for Boys and Girls respectively, and also a U15 Epee for Girls. In addition to 70 local fencers, 70 fencers from Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Taiwan also participated in the competition.

Prior to the fencing cup, an inaugural YMCA Sparring Camp was also organised at YMCA from December 6 to 9, 2010. The four-day camp saw over 30 fencers from Australia, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore enriching their technical and tactical knowledge of fencing. 

Denise Fu and Thalia Lee from YMCA’s very own Y Sparks Fencing Club took the gold and silver respectively in the U14 Girls Category.

In his Opening Address, the Guest-of-Honour, Mr Seah Kian Peng (MP for Marine Parade GRC) said that “Despite being a relatively young fencing nation, fencing has been identified by the Singapore Sports Council as a sport that Singaporeans can excel in internationally”. Mr Seah also noted that YMCA’s programmes are largely volunteer driven and staff facilitated, and saluted them for the organization of the International Fencing Cup event.

Coach and YMCA Fencing Programme Director Maria Bobok said, “The YMCA Fencing Cup is a platform for young fencers to be exposed to a regional competition without having to go overseas.  The opportunity to spar with fencers from other countries is important for a young fencer’s development.  Half of the 140 participants at this event are from overseas”.

The competition was covered in Lianhe Zaobao on 12 December. Please click here to read the article.

Click here to view more photos from the event.

YMCA conducts a structured fencing programme for both kids and adults. Click here to visit the website for more information.