Outsstanding year for Louth Fencing Club juniors

Young Louth fencers have won a glut of trophies and medals this season EMN-170203-150248002

The Blair brothers have maintained their outstanding form in the junior ranks, the highlight of which brought them both medals at the leading age-group competition of the year, the British Youth Championships.

Going up against an elite 65-strong field in the under 12s category, Joe took home the bronze medal, while older sibling Sam went one better with a fantastic silver in the under 14 which attracted 78 entrants.

The club figured strongly in the national Leon Paul League, with William Lonsdale finishing second out of 105 fencers in the under 15s age group, just one place ahead of his clubmate Sam.

Joe, meanwhile, finished sixth out of 137 in the under 13s with Alex Judge an excellent 13th.

William’s huge potential has seen the 14-year-old entered into adult competitions with impressive results, winning gold at the Much Wenlock Open and bronze in a strong 72-man field at the Leeds Open.

New member Holly Morgan, meanwhile, has already won a silver and two bronze medals in the last few months.

Louth topped the league medals table in the Yorkshire Youth League for the fourth year in a row after winning the most gold and most medals overall.

The last leg of the league saw Wilf Broughton claim the under 14s gold, and Nick Freitas secured the silver medal in the under 10s competition.

The cup winners for the four legs were Joe (under 12s), Sam (under 14s) and Archie Broughton (under 16s), while the medal winners for the year were Nick Freitas (gold), Wilf Broughton (silver), Alex Judge (bronze), and Henry Unsworth (bronze).

All of these excellent results helped Sam top the England under 15s rankings, with William seventh, Joe in ninth and Alex 23rd.

This has earned Sam, William and Joe England team call-ups for the Polish international later this year.

Jim Harris, who coaches at the club alognside his wife kate, said: “It has been another brilliant year for the club with everyone working hard for outstanding results.

“Our fencers are competing against clubs from big cities with top funding and professional coaches, and they are exceeding all our expectations Very well done to them all.”