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The second blog for The Yorker from the University of York Riding Club
Events began in October when Harry Whitwell and Louise Highton organised the first University of York Open. With 72 entrants over 4 categories the competition was a highly successful event raising nearly £800 for club funds which will hopefully be put towards buying a new electronic scoring box in the near future.
The first week of the season was a struggle for both the Men’s First team and Women’s team as without a full complement of fencers neither teams managed a victory. The next week saw a glimmer of hope for the Women’s team who managed to win their second match 123-107 against Manchester but the Men’s 1sts weren’t quite so lucky again losing in their away match to Newcastle.
The next few weeks were quiet for the women but the men’s team were still in action. In their 3rd match of the season the team proved why they deserved to be promoted last season by beating a strong Leeds team 131-86. Week 5 broke the Men’s 1sts winning streak with a loss away to Keele but when they returned home in week 6 they managed another convincing win against Sheffield (135-92) putting them 3rd in the league at that stage. The women however didn’t share in this good fortune as without the two best fencers on the team they faced a very strong team in Durham, losing 135 – 75. The rescheduling of fixtures saw York’s fencers compete 3 times in 8 days in November. The Women’s team faced Northern Premier League champions Edinburgh in one of the toughest matches this season, and despite a strong Epee performance from York, Edinburgh won 118-104.
The next week saw Lancaster travel to York, and incredible fencing from Tom Jones, Harry Whitwell Adrian Speakman and Nathan Gibson secured victory for York with a final score of 135-98 in a match which at times resembled the War of the Roses itself. Once again it was not such a good week for the girl’s team who, without Katharine Gracey, their second-best fencer, lost away to Birmingham. It seemed at this stage that life in the Premier League was to be short lived for the women’s team as they struggled to juggle match fixtures and give themselves the best chance.
As with so many of the “winter” sports this year snow caused the fencing club big problems. Not only were fixtures being cancelled but sessions also had to be cancelled and so the teams all lost valuable training time. But in the final match of the first term the men’s team secured victory against Leeds to put them 2nd in the league with 3 matches left to play, and a promotion push was definitely on the cards. The girl’s team in contrast had everything crossed that the weather wouldn’t interrupt their visit to Edinburgh, as a yet-again weakened team lost against Manchester in the previous week, putting them in a difficult position of fighting to escape the relegation zone with 2 matches left.
January came and yet more sessions were cancelled as at one point the tent reached a rather chilly -7 degrees. YorkSport regulations state that if the temperature in the tent is below 3 degrees the team aren’t allowed to fence and so many members of the fencing club were willing the weather to warm up enough for training to take place. At the end of January the Men’s 1st team had a busy week with their final league matches all within 8 days. The first against Newcastle resulted in a 121-116 loss, leaving the men 4th in the league with 2 matches remaining. Meanwhile the Women’s team were at home for their final league season match against Durham which resulted in a 65-135 loss. This meant that the Women’s team were at the bottom of the league after their first season in the Premier League and would now have to fence against the team that were eligible for promotion from the Northern Conference.
The end of January brought the final league match for the Men’s 1st team against Keele who gave them a tough fight but York came through to win their final match 135-102 putting them back in 2nd position.Having done so well in the league season the team had also qualified for the Men’s Trophy. York got a bye through the first round where Nottingham defeated Lancaster and so played Nottingham in mid February. In a tense but relatively easy match the team defeated Nottingham’s fencers 131-117 progressing to the final 8 in the Trophy. The next week bought a strong team from Aberdeen, and York again managed a 120-114 victory, with the winning point scored in the final fight of the Epee by Harry Whitwell. However, it proved to be semi-final heartbreak for York, as despite throwing heart and soul in to every point, they were defeated 132-115 by a strong Birmingham team.
Last weekend brought the sporting extravaganza that is Roses to York and both the Men’s teams and Women’s team were ready to try and win 8 points for York. The Women’s team also had their final match, the dreaded relegation playoff against Aberdeen. However, York were able to put the strongest team they had fielded all season forward and won the playoff 128-82. This means they will again be playing in the Premier League but doubts remain as to whether they will manage to maintain this position or face relegation next year. The good fortune of the Women’s team rubbed off on both theirs and the Men’s 1sts Roses match, with both teams winning (Men’s 1sts 125-112, Women’s 127-86) and gaining 8 valuable points.
Unfortunately this season hasn’t quite gone to plan for the Men’s 2nds team who again placed bottom of their league and lost the exhibition Roses match. However, some excellent fencing throughout the season from Oli Whear, Alisdair Scott, Chris Ashfield and David Harvey has certainly contributed to the strong team efforts, and there appear to be high hopes for the boys next season.
WOMEN’S TEAM Louise Highton (Captain), Katharine Gracey, Becky Ellis, Lizzie Smith, Kate Horner, Miranda Smith, Stacie Sachs, Victoria Somers, Ethne Grey-Still
MEN’S FIRST TEAM Tom Skingle (Captain 2010-March 2011), Tom Jones(Captain from March 2011), Harry Whitwell, Adrian Speakman, Nathan Gibson, Phil Sellars, Steven Bainbridge, Paul Goddard
MEN’S SECOND TEAM Tom Cronin (Captain 2010-March 2011), Paul Goddard (Captain from March 2011), Will Paterson, Chris Todd, Oli Whear, Alasdair Scott, David Harvey, Chris Ashfield, Samuel Nadler
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