BW Cutters sponsor the British Fencing Team

Maldon-based BW Cutters are sponsoring a special fund managed by The Lansdowne Club, the training centre for the British fencing team so the top British fencers can attend major international competitions. With the help of this financial support, the British team have high hopes of winning the first Olympic gold medal in fencing for over 50 years.

Dedicated training and competing at national level helps develop fitness and technique, but it is the cut and thrust of top level international competition that really hones the skills of our medal hopefuls. The high costs of travel and accommodation incurred in attending international events is a major limiting factor for even our best fencers. This new support fund initiated by BW Cutters will allow British fencers to attend A-grade international fencing competitions known as Grand Prix and World Cup events and take their preparation for the 2012 Olympic Games to the highest level.

National foil champion, 27 year old Richard Kruse is currently ranked 4th in the world and is our best hope for an Olympic medal for decades. Kruse, together with 26 year old Laurence Halsted (world ranked 22nd) head the British fencing squad which is 10th in the team world rankings.

Ziemek Wojciechowski, coach to the British Olympic team commented; “Getting our best fencers to top international level takes many years of hard work, but it also requires financial help from companies like BW Cutters. Unless our fencers can refine their skills by competing against the cream of the world, achieving Olympic gold will only ever be a dream. Thanks to this fund that dream really can become a reality, and our goal is to have a British fencer on the top step of the podium in 2012.”

Further information:
In July 2010 in Singapore, Richard Kruse won The Singapore Masters Tournament in which he beat the best fencers in the world (Baldini, Kleibrink and Cassara)

2010 was the first time that Britain has won a team medal in the European Championships when the British men's senior foil team won bronze.

Richard Kruse won the silver medal and Laurence Halsted the bronze medal at the European Championships in 2009. These results were historic in that the British team has never had two European medallists in the same weapon at senior level. Britain has now won a silver medal in men's foil at the European Championships in 2006, 2008 and 2009.

Fencing is one of only four sports that have been featured in every modern Olympic Games, beginning in 1896. Six Fencing disciplines are on the Olympic programme, which include six individual and four team events:

The UK fencing team have won 10 Olympic medals, the last occasion being in 1964. In 1956 Gillian Sheen became the first and only Briton to win a Gold medal for Fencing.

Ziemek Wojciechowski was born in Poland and is a former Polish International and Olympic fencer. Ziemek has produced the British Senior Team Champions in women’s foil for the last six consecutive years and three of the last four men’s team champions. Former pupils include World medallists and Olympic finalists. In 1985 he established the first national series of competitions for children in the UK, thereby laying the foundations for the growth and success of fencing across the country.

Situated in the heart of Mayfair, the Lansdowne Fencing Club was established in 1937 with it's own dedicated salle d'arme. Recently refurbished with modern electronic scoring equipment and pistes, the Club focuses on excellence in Foil and Epee, and accommodates all levels of ability.

The Lansdowne Club provides support and training facilities for the Men’s Foil Team as a partner of British Fencing.
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BW Cutters is the only UK manufacturer of industrial flatbed cutting machines. Their world class cutters and plotters range from the Orion, designed for light to medium duty, to the Mastercut heavy duty platform. Available with blade or laser cutters, for a wide range of materials from paper, card and woven fabrics to industrial composite materials. BW Cutting machines are widely used by world-leading boat, car and aerospace manufacturers as well as fabric and digital printing companies in the UK, Europe, the Middle and Far East and the USA.

www.bwcutters.com

Colin Caldicott
Ultimedia PR
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Email: colin@ultimediapr.co.uk
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This release was published on openPR.