Louth Fencing Club juniors ready for England duty

Louth Fencing Club. From left, back - Abbie Johnson, Kate Harris, Emily Goolden, Connor Webster, Jim Harris, Paula Webster, Kim DeLarge; middle - Joe Blair, Alex Judge, Sam Blair, William Lonsdale, Archie Broughton; front Wilf Broughton, Henry Unsworth, Nick Freitas, Aaron Stacey, Catelin Hall, Ben Crick. EMN-160218-164933002

Under 14s fencers Williams Lonsdale and Sam Blair have both been selected to represent England in February, as has under 12s clubmate Joe Blair.

William qualified to fence for England in the Paris International this month, and will also travel to Wratislava in March to compete for his country.

He will be joined in Poland by the Blair brothers who both qualified after a successful 2015.

The club had a successful year overall competing in both the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Regional Youth League and on the national scene.

After all four regional league events, Louth had a clean sweep of the podium positions at under 12s and under 14s.

Wilf Broughton was the under 12s winner, pushing Alex Judge and Joe Blair into second and third respectively, while Henry Unsworth was close behind in fifth place.

In the under 14s, William Lonsdale won from runner-up Sam Blair and third-placed Archie Broughton, while Robert Kemp helped Louth dominate the top four.

Nick Freitas in is debut season of competition, finished fifth in the under 10s age group.

Abbie Johnson, meanwhile, narrowly missed out on a title as she finished as runner-up in the under 16s girls’ division.

In the prestigious national Leon Paul League, Joe Blair secured a superb second position at under 13s level, while in the under 15s age group there were excellent results for fourth-placed William and Sam (seventh).

Also in 2015, Sam Brougham won gold for a record third time in the prestigious Yorkshire Senior foil.

The result maintained the club’s amazing record in the event with Sam and Andrew Chu winning four gold and three silver medals in the last six years.

Among Louth’s ladies, Kate Harris had a creditable fifth place with Emily Goolden in seventh.

* In the Regions Under 14s foil, William won a tense final against team-mate Archie, with Sam and Robert finishing in joint third. Wilf was fifth and Joe sixth.

Kate Harris and Paula Webster both won bronze medals at the British Veterans Championships with Kim DeLarge fifth in very strong age groups.

The result helped Kate to qualify for the World Fencing Championships, in France.

Coach Jim Harris, who works alongside wife Kate, said: “The club has had another outstanding year in all age groups.

“We are delighted with all the hard work our fencers put in to achieve these results.”