If you are really enjoying the sport of fencing and the club in general than LUFC would recommend purchasing your own kit. One particularly good supplier of fencing equipment would be Leon Paul and we would also recommend purchasing at the least a glove, plastron and breeches. This is particularly useful because having own kit makes it much easier for individuals to take part in Opens and BUCS matches. Own kit is usually superior to club kit. We do however suggest that purchasing own kit should only be chosen if you are serious about the sport of fencing and really do enjoy it. Kit can be an expensive but worthwhile investment. Should you need any advice on kit contact the coaches or chat to already existing members for their own advice.
The team captains choose members for the first team squads based on the ability level of the fencer. The only other requirements is that, for BUCS matches, players must be STUDENTS of the University of Liverpool (not John Moores or Hope) ONLY, staff members are barred from participation in BUCS matches. Fortunately for the men of LUFC there also exists a men’s ‘seconds’ team. This team is considered as a valuable training team for potential first team members as well as giving match and competition experience to new fencers. The men’s seconds team is ran by the first team captain but for matches a rolling captaincy is in place to give existing members captaining experience. An important note to remember is that ANY male fencer is eligible to play for the men’s seconds team regardless of experience. It is a fantastic social experience and a great way to make friends. Do not be afraid of losing, just try your best and have fun, it is a learning experience which will develop your fencing ability leaps and bounds.
The only other requirement is that you have a valid British Fencing Association Licence (BFA) which can be purchased online or by filling out a form. This provides insurance should you injure yourself in any BUCS or Fencing Open competitions.
The fencing opens are national competitions open to all fencers over the age of 13 which take place all over the country. LUFC encourages attendance at these competitions as it develops fencers abilities and are also incredible fun. Two of LUFC’s favourite opens are the Merseyside Open and the Glasgow Open to which we aim to take as many fencers as possible to. The club will generally contact members with regards to opens coming up so if you are interested get in touch with members so that travel and accommodation arrangements can be made. News on opens and events can be found on the Facebook group aswell as the upcoming events.
Don’t panic too much if kit breaks, especially if your a new fencer, just take the kit to one of our three armourers who will fix it. In this sport equipment can break particularly easily but we do have the capabilities to fix it. All we ask is that you take as much care as possible in using kit and report all broken kit to the armourers. It would also be helpful if members returned kit to the correct locations in the armoury cupboard.
