The Western Cape is at the forefront of developing South African fencers to be internationally competitive in elite competitions, as illustrated by a recent Cape Town training camp, led by double world champion and Olympic silver medalist Paolo Pizzo, for many of the country’s top epeeists.
Twenty-two senior and junior fencers from around South Africa, including 14 who have won Commonwealth and African medals in epee, attended the intense four-day camp in Cape Town, which is part of a long-term project to develop world-class fencers.
Pizzo, one of Italy’s most famous fencers and now a coach with the Milan-based Future Champions Academy (FCA), worked with the fencers and local coaches to identify technical and tactical areas that needed to be strengthened and develop programmes to help the fencers progress towards the podium in major international competitions.
Pizzo said he was impressed with the dedication and hard work of the fencers and looked forward to continuing their development. “I will be by your side in every moment,” he said.
The project, a private initiative run with the blessing of Fencing Western Cape, has aligned the project timeframes with the government’s interest in hosting either the 2036 or 2040 Olympic and Paralympic Games in South Africa.
The camp, held 27 – 30 April, was visited by JP Naude, president of the Western Cape Provincial Sports Confederation, who spoke to the coaches and fencers. Naude congratulated the organisers for the initiative and praised the commitment and hard work of the fencers, saying they had “ticked off another notch on the road to high performance”.
He told the fencers it was important for them to learn from Pizzo, one of the greats of world fencing. “Paolo, it is a privilege for us,” Naude said. “We’re looking forward to what comes next.”
Patrick Collings, head coach of Blues Fencing, which hosted the camp and is managing the project, said they had partnered with FCA, founded and run by Italian Olympic medalists and world champions, because they brought the expertise needed “to consistently be competitive in the biggest competitions in the world”.
Although it was a long-term project, the competitive longevity of epeeists meant that many in the programme could be in their prime in the latter stages of the project. Currently, six of the top 10 women epeeists in the world are in their 30s, and four in the top 20 are over the age of 35.
For more information, please contact Patrick Collings at patrick@bluesfencing.com or 083 616 0967
Photo A – Double world epee champion and Olympic silver medalist Paolo Pizzo and the fencers and coaches attending the high performance epee camp in Camp Town. To the right of Pizzo is JP Naude, president of the Western Cape Provincial Sports Confederation.
Compiled by Western Cape Fencing
