The 2016 Norfolk Open marked the return of the Open to the BFA calendar after a year’s break. The months prior to the open were nerve racking for the committee, partly due to concerns that fencers may have forgotten about us after our year off and partly because fencers like leaving entry to the last minute and keeping organisers on edge!
The nerves were not needed as the event as a whole was well attended and fencers came from all over the country. The third weekend in July at the UEA Sportspark was returned to normality as it was overtaken with people in white kit and spectators with picnics 😀 – The current format of the competition sees foilists competing on Saturday and epeeists and sabreurs taking to the pistes on Sunday.
The men’s foil is one of the most hotly contested weapons with various different winners over the years, in contrast the women’s competition has been won consistently over the last few years by Chiara McDermott. Follow the links below to see who was victorious this year;
In the run up to the competition the number of sabre entries can be the most unpredictable. In previous years numbers have been low and the decision was made to hold both genders on the same day in case we needed to combine them, however as you can see from results below numbers this year exceeded expectations (partly due to a contact in the RAF who helped us by bringing lots of fencers!)
The mens epee is almost as hotly contested as the foil with lots of different winners over recent years and this year was no different. The womens competition this year did not necessarily follow the expected plan with one of the RAF fencers being victorious.
During the two day competition we have a few dedicated photographers who takes LOTS of photos of poule rounds, direct eliminations and the all important medal ceremonies. The best of these can be seen below