The men’s match was the first event of Roses Sunday and, unfortunately, began with some shocking refereeing from a Lancastrian who was unable to correctly judge even the simplest of actions. The ref later went on to be kicked off by his own team in a subsequent match for equally outrageous decisions.

Despite this, the men enjoyed a comfortable overall victory with an impressive score of 135-108, boasting success in all three weapons.

The sabre category proved to be an outstanding victory thanks to flawless performances from Tom Jones, Paul Goddard and team captain Bairong Huang.

Foil too was easily secured, with some flashy fencing from Bartek Koryga and Tom Skingle, helping York increase their lead.

Finally, the Epee, despite the diminishing pressure as York’s imminent win became increasingly apparent was a close match, but thanks to George Watkins, Tom Skingle and Phil Sellars, whom the club was sad to see in his final match for the club, won with 45-44.

Watkins added his trademark ‘prime’ attack to the mix, leading to some supremely stylish points. Overall, Captain Bairong Huang’s initial warcry of ‘I want to see blood’ was, though not literally, figuratively satisfied.

The women’s team, unfortunately, had a far tougher time. With Louise Highton, Lizzie Smith and Sophie Mason fencing all three weapons, the size of the team was less than half the size of that of Lancaster. Despite losses in all three weapons, the team gave them a good run for their money with a final score of 135-122.

Finally a special mention goes to the men’s second team. Sadly, their win across all three weapons did not count toward Roses points, but performances from team captain Rob Phillips, Shaun Trill, Max Cheng, Ali McCormack, Dag Corbett and first time competitor Jack Warman made the match a wonder to watch.

All three teams are looking in good stead for the upcoming season of BUCS matches starting in October.

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

Sabre was up first and York got off to a strong start. A broken blade for York’s Adrian Speakman in the 2nd fight delayed things slightly but Harry Whitwell reapplied pressure to the Aberdeen team. The 4th fight saw Speakman easily beat his opponent with an individual score of 5-2 and take the lead for York to five points, with a score of 20-15. Team vice captain Tom Jones struggled a little in the next fight but Whitwell extended the lead to eight points and a superb sabre performance from Speakman, in which he gained another 5 points conceding none, and putting the score at 35-22. Harry Whitwell and Tom Jones finished off the weapon with some strong fencing and put York ahead by 18 points heading in to the foil and a score of 45-27.

Foil proved to be a little more of a challenge for the York team with Harry Whitwell struggling against Scott Chalmers from Aberdeen. Captain Tom Skingle edged forward a little but it wasn’t enough to catch up as Aberdeen gained point after point. Ewan Chipping struggled in the 3rd fight putting the score at a disappointing seven points to Aberdeen’s 15. Some star foil from Harry Whitwell more than doubled York’s score and for a while the team kept the momentum but it wasn’t enough and with one fight to go York were more than 15 points behind. The final fight caused further frustration for York when some controversial refereeing from Aberdeen’s Chalmers saw Whitwell struggle to gain points against the Aberdeen anchor and the foil ended 45-30 in Aberdeen’s favour.

Everything was very much still to play for in the final weapon on epee with York needing a rather high score of 43 to secure victory and guarantee that all too valuable place in the semi final next week. Epee didn’t quite get off to the start York had hoped for. Phil Sellars struggled against the anchor for Aberdeen leaving York seven points behind. Tom Skingle closed the gap but it wasn’t enough to match Aberdeen’s strength. Steven Bainbridge, subbed on for Sellars, fought exceptionally well but York were still five points behind. Whitwell showed why he is such a regular on the team and came from behind to put the score at a nail biting 24-25, meaning York still had the chance of victory. Tom Skingle fought his hardest to keep Aberdeen's lead to just two points. Bainbridge kept pressuring his opponent and even scored a point by retreating off the back of the piste. The 7th fight timed out with a score of 30 points to both teams and there was everything to play for in the next fight that wouldn’t end until a score of 40 was reached by one of the teams. Tom Skingle became the invincible epeeist in the penultimate fight, gaining ten points and putting York in the lead at 40-36. It was all down to the last fight and the team's hopes rested on the shoulders of Harry Whitwell to take the last three points needed. In a very tense final fight, Whitwell fenced with every ounce of skill he could muster and, after losing a couple of hits, got the winning hit. The fight ended the epee on a final score of 45-42 to York.

With a well deserved final match score of 120-114 the York team progress to the semi finals of the Trophy. It is without doubt that if it weren't for the very strong performance from the sabre team of Adrian Speakman, Harry Whitwell and Tom Jones victory for the York team would have been much harder to secure. As a result of gaining the highest indicator (+7) in the sabre and ultimately in the whole match the award of man of the match, for what will hopefully not be the team's last victory, should be awarded to Adrian Speakman. Special mentions should go to Tom Skingle and Harry Whitwell for very strong epee performances.

In the backs of all of the team's minds as they prepare for next week's semi final is the prospect of heading to Sheffield on Friday of week 10 for the finals. But the captains won’t be taking anything for granted in the next week ensuring intensive training sessions for all the team members between now and next Wednesday including a match for Varsity scheduled for Sunday. The team are hopeful they will be able to do enough to beat their opponents, Birmingham, next week but it will certainly be a very tough and undoubtedly very tense match for all involved.

The first weapon up was sabre and York got off to a promising start. with vice-captain Tom Jones taking the lead in a tough first fight. Adrian Speakman was up next and, although Nottingham managed to gain 6 points to York’s 5, York remained in the lead. Some fantastic fencing from newcomer Ryan Brown put York firmly back in the driving seat, which Speakman built on. The next fight, however, proved to be very tough for York’s Jones who, despite some very fierce and skilled fencing, couldn’t break Nottingham’s Julian Small and lost the lead for York, putting the score at 25-22. Even Brown struggled in the next fight, gaining just one point. Speakman fought very hard to narrow the lead, followed by an epic fight from Brown, putting the score at 39-40 with only one fight remaining. It was York’s Jones against Nottingham’s Charles and both teams were determined to win. Both fencers put up a fierce fight but it wasn’t quite enough for York as Nottingham won the Sabre 45-41.

The next weapon was Foil and Harry Whitwell got York off to a good start. The next fight against Small from Nottingham proved tough for team captain Tom Skingle and for a short while Nottingham took the lead. Ewan Chipping fenced very well for York in the 3rd fight, taking the score back to 15-13 in York’s favour. Skingle maintained the lead, followed by Whitwell, who conceded five points but kept a lead of five for the York team. Chipping increased this to ten and York sailed on, gaining point after point to increase the lead. With the score at 40-25 before the final fight, Whitwell fought very well against the anchor from Nottingham to win the Foil for York with a final score of 45-32.

Both teams still had everything to play for, with each team having victory in one weapon. York needed a total of 37 points in the epee, so even Nottingham took the epee, as long as York had scored 37 points, they would still win the match. The whole team had the crucial number of eight in their heads going in to the epee. As long as the team did not lose by more than eight points, victory was York’s and progression into the third round of the trophy was guaranteed.

However, York struggled getting started in the epee, with Nottingham taking the first fight 5-3. The second fight caused some controversy as Adrian Speakman, an internationally qualified referee, enforced a recent rule change that means if no hits have been scored within a minute then it is classified as non combativity or unwillingness to fight. In this case the match is moved on to the next fight, which put York behind Nottingham with a score of 6-3 and gave Tom Skingle a tough fight in the next bout as the score was to reach 15. Skingle fenced very well to make up for a disappointing start from York and took the score to 15-13, meaning that York still had every chance of gaining the crucial 37 points. Phil Sellars prevented Nottingham from charging ahead and Whitwell backed this up by coming from behind to further close the lead. It took a second fight from Skingle to regain control for York, gaining 8 points while only conceding one. The next fights proved tough for Sellars and Skingle but York remained in the lead and took the all too crucial 37th point, with great cheers from the team’s supporters. True to York’s style Harry Whitwell finished the epee off and gave York a final score of 45-40.

The match ended on a score of 131-117 and puts York through to the next round of the trophy next Wednesday when they will face a team from Aberdeen in York. If the team continue at the standard they have fenced for the rest of the season then it is hoped that they will progress all the way to the final.

Yesterday was not quite such a successful day for the other York teams as the Women's team were knocked out of the Women's Championship in Cambridge, with a score of 134-70. The Men's 2nds unfortunately got knocked out of the Northern Conference cup by Bradford, with a score of 125-98. However a special mention should go to this team as it was comprised mostly of freshers who only began fencing in October and they gave the Bradford team a very commendable fight in the Foil.

The club will now look ahead to the next round of the Trophy for the Men's team and the Premiership relegation playoffs for the women’s team.

After losing the match away against Newcastle in November the team were focussed on trying to win this time and keep 2nd place in the league. However York had a depleted team due to some members being unable to attend and another member with a potentially broken toe. Tension between the teams was high as the fencers began their warm up in the rather cold tent. After a small debate about the order of weapons the teams agreed and the fencing commenced.

Sabre was up first and as it is known to be Newcastle’s strongest and York’s weakest weapon there were not any great hopes of York gaining an early lead. York’s vice captain Tom Jones got off to a strong start, conceding only one hit. But the next few fights proved why sabre is Newcastle’s strongest weapon. With a broken blade for Nathan Gibson in the 2nd fight things were really proving tough for the York team. Gibson gave a good 4th fight but Newcastle remained in the lead. Jones made a little headway in closing the gap but Harry Whitwell unfortunately failed to score any points against the anchor from Newcastle. Even in the final fight, with both team’s strongest fencers against each other, Jones only managed to score one point. Sabre went to Newcastle with a final score of 45-27 but everything was still to play for and with their strongest weapons still to come the York team remained upbeat.

Next up was Foil and Whitwell gave York a strong start, conceding just one point. Team captain Tom Skingle struggled in the second fight but kept hold of the lead for York. New addition to the team Ewan Chipping proved why he was chosen and increased York's lead with a score of 15-9 in the 3rd fight. The 4th fight again proved tough for Skingle as Newcastle gained 11 points to overtake York. Whitwell restored faith for the York supporters as York retook the lead and Chipping furthered this by extending York's advantage over Newcastle to 7 points. The final fights for each of the team went in York’s favour and Whitwell finished off with a final score of 45-31 to York.

With only epee remaining and York behind in terms of total points both teams knew that this would be the deciding weapon. York were confident they could win but Newcastle brought on another team member. The start for the York team was not as strong as they would have hoped as Newcastle took the lead 5-2 in the first fight. However some excellent wrist hits from York’s Phil Sellars put York back in the lead. Whitwell and Sellars then continued to keep York in the lead and even timed out on the 4th fight. Skingle then proved he has some excellent fencing skill in the 5th fight as he put York up to a score of 25-21. In the next two fights Sellars and Whitwell kept the lead and York looked as if they could steal the match. With just the final fight to go nerves were sky high for both teams. York needed just five points to win the epee and secure the match while Newcastle needed at least six to win. The anchor epee fencer for Newcastle proved to be very tough opponent for York’s Tom Skingle. Both teams’ supporters were cheering their fencers on but unfortunately for York, Newcastle stole the match from them with a final epee score of 45-43.

The final score for the match was 121-116 to Newcastle, which is a rather disappointing result for the York fencers, who are now placed 4th in the league with two fixtures to go. All fingers are crossed for this Wednesday when the men’s team will be fencing away in Sheffield while the women’s team have their final fixture of the Premier league season at home against Durham. The Men’s first team will also face one final opponent, Keele, next Saturday in the hope they can regain a place at the top of the league.