At last Northern Ireland is to benefit from the National Fencing Academy which has been running successfully in England for the past year. Young fencers with promise who are recommended by their coaches will receive additional coaching and should complete the application forms to be considered.
If you are eligible and interested please ensure you complete the attached application form and submit it to the BFA in order to be considered for entry.
1.All applicants must have been born between 1991-1998 (see invitation letter). Unfortunately there can be no exceptions.
2. All applicants must be of National or near to National level and regularly take part in competitions . If you have a question then please ask Mike Westgate.
3. Fencers interested must fill in the application form explaining why they feel that they should be accepted for Academy training. Please complete application ASAP and send to British Fencing (see application). The applications will be considered by British Fencing and Mike Westgate. Successful applicants will be informed in time for 6th November.
4. A cost of £10 per session is charged by British Fencing and the money has to be sent to them. This money will pay a small percentage of the cost of sending over to Northern Ireland specialists. On 6th November it is hoped that a strength and conditioning coach is coming.
Further information. This is an exciting development and will play a major role in the development of fencing in Northern Ireland.
The first meeting of the Regional National Academy is at Foyle College on Sunday 6th November 10. 00 until 5.00. Fencers should arrive about 9.30 and be ready to start on time. There are 5 session a year- the dates are in the invitation letter and fencers interested have to attend all sessions. If there is a problem then Mike Westgate must be informed.
The Academy is also playing a role in coach development. At least 2 coaches are required to assist with the training and others who have pupils accepted on the Academy can request to attend. Coaches assisting should be level 3 and above, although anyone interested should contact Mike Westgate.
Application Form below:-
British Fencing National Academy, Northern Ireland
This document contains essential information for all fencers and coaches who would like to take part in the National Academy, Northern Ireland training programme.
Background
Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) is a holistic training and education framework which seeks to give British fencers the education and skills they need to reach their full potential as successful senior athletes. The National Academy is the catalyst for British Fencing to achieve this.
The formal launch of the British Fencing National Academy took place in 2010 with 2 pilot training days and a residential week at Nottingham Trent University. The programme was repeated in 2011 and now includes regional centres offering monthly training.
Upwards of 1000 fencers will be included within the National Academy activities by 2013 aligned with the aspiration to have all National Squads and National Teams selected from the National Academy fencers.
The National Academy has been established to deliver British Fencing’s vision of becoming a “world leading fencing family”, and has three areas of focus:
· Talent Development
· Workforce Development
· Club Development
With the development ofNational Academy Regional centres we are developing a national programme which will start to roll out nationwide over the next few years. It will deliver support to fencers, coaches and parents through a national and regional framework and in time will have support through a “virtual National Academy” with online resources.
The National Academy aspires to bring together world leading experts in a range of fields such as psychology, strength and conditioning, injury prevention, recovery, physiotherapy, nutrition whilst balancing education with sport and planning, to achieve the aim of producing successful senior International fencers.
The LTAD document for British Fencing is available on the British Fencing web site atwww.britishfencing.com/academy/ltad/.
N.B. There is a standing invitation to the personal coaches of any National Academy fencer to attend any National Academy session (providing these coaches are suitably registered).
Coaches
Lead coach Mike Westgate runs the British Fencing National Academy, Northern Ireland. He will be assisted by 2 weapon coaches, details TBC
Foyle College
British Fencing has made an agreement with Foyle College to help deliver the National Academy on a regional level.
Foyle College has been a great supporter of fencing in Northern Ireland for many years, many fencers trained at the school have represented Northern Ireland at all age groups and several have been in the Great Britain team.
Costs
The setup of the programme has been part of the England Development Project and as such has used resources and expertise developed for the Academy as well as officer time assigned to this project. However the programme must be set up in such a way that will be sustainable for the long-term goals and processes that are being put in place now. Because of this the sessions will cost of £10 for each fencer.
This payment can be done by posting a cheque to British Fencing or over the phone to the British Fencing office (there will be a £2 surcharge for this).
Timetable
Each day will start at 9am and will finish at 5pm. Full timetable will be published for each training day.
Personal Coaches
This information is for all the coaches who have been identified by the fencers selected to take part in British Fencing’s national academy programme.
Firstly, thank you for the work you have done to be in this position. We understand the time and effort this takes and know that you are the coaches who are supporting British Fencing’s activity on the world stage.
You are invited to attend all sessions with the fencer(s) you coach. Please note that coaches will need to be properly registered with British Fencing to take part in any academy sessions or activities. As you will know this is a minimum standard of:-
· Membership of British Fencing
· A recognised coaching qualification
· A valid British Fencing CRB
· Attendance on a scUK safeguarding and protecting children course within 3 years
· A first aid qualification or England Fencing declaration
The registers are held by each home country so please contact the respective office if you are not sure of your status. The British and England Fencing register is available to view athttp://www.britishfencing.com/academy/academyskilldevelopment/coach/
Application Process
Applications are now sought from fencers who would like to join this British Fencing programme. Fencers will need to complete and return the application form in this document. Fencers who are taking part in the regional sessions will become part of the National Academy and are expected to adhere to the standards this programme will set.
Initial selection will be largely based on national rankings and will focus on the cadet age group (born 94-98). There will also be spaces open to some junior fencers (born 91-93).
Fencers who are selected for the National Academy regional programme will be normally be expected to commit to attend all the sessions in the calendar. The dates of these are available on the British Fencing web site at http://www.britishfencing.com/academy/national_academy_calendar/and below. Not every fencer who trains with the National Academy in each regional will be able to attend the National sessions.
In order to take part in the National Academy regional training fencers will need to do the following:
· Complete and return the fencer information spreadsheet to the British Fencing office, by email toevents@britishfencing.com(this document needs to be sent in for every session). Download here
· Complete and return the British Fencing annual youth athlete agreement (only needs to be done once and is the same document as for international trips with the British squad). Download here
· Complete and return the application form at the end of this document (only if this is your first National Academy session)
· Pay, £10 per day. Cheque payable to British Fencing or payment can be made over the phone at a cost of £2.
All forms and payment must be returned by the weekend before the National Academy training day. Fencers should not bring money or registration forms to the activity.
British Fencing National Academy, Northern Ireland. Training days 11-12
6 Nov, 22 Jan, 22 Apr, 24 Jun, 9 Sept
Application form for fencers new to the National Academy regional sessions
For fencers born 91-98 only
These fencers should complete the online application and return the form below to Katie Dolan at the British Fencing office, events@britishfencing.com. Selections will be done by the national and regional coaches.
