Mepstead Secures Tokyo Qualification Slot
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BRITISH FENCING MAGAZINE APRIL 2021 MEPSTEAD SECURES TOKYO QUALIFICATION SLOT OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION UPDATE P8 BF COMMUNITY AWARDS PP10-12 TOP TEN MOMENTS OF THE DECADE PP18-19 WELCOME TO THE SWORD 4 ON BOARD 20 DEVELOPMENT with Yashmin Harun Spotlight On Funding 32 OBITUARIES 6 COMMERCIAL Crown Hills Ahead of Schedule David Anthony Heaton A Financial Perspective The Stories Behind the Numbers David Kirby 8 INTERNATIONAL NEWS Green Light for Marcus Mepstead Working in Schools Beryl Goodall 9 NEWS 27 CLUB 34 LETTER TO THE EDITOR British Fencing Image of the Year Club Spotlight 2020 35 RESULTS 28 FEATURE British Fencing Community Diary of a Fencer Awards 2019-2020 30 BOOK REVIEW IOC Statement on Gender Equality in the Olympic Movement IMAGE OF THE YEAR UK Sport Confirms 1 Year Investment of £418k into Fencing P9 16 FEATURES Photographer: Graham Cormie Fencing Women My Top Ten Editor: Safeguarding Hotline: Cover photo: Overseas airmail £26 - direct Karim Bashir, British Fencing Liz Behnke, Equality and Mepstead qualifies for Tokyo Olympics. from HQ. Contributions are 1 Baron’s Gate, Safeguarding Manager © Mehta Judd welcome. Photographs should 33–35 Rothschild Road, M: 07526 003030 include the names of those London W4 5HT British Fencing accepts no pictured and the photographer. T: 020 8742 3032 Typeset by: responsibility for the contents of E: [email protected] JS Typesetting Ltd advertisements and reserves the right Views expressed in The Sword T: 01656 788551 to refuse inclusion. do not necessarily reflect those Print: E: [email protected] of British Fencing. No part of the Cambrian Printers, The Sword, a quarterly magazine magazine may be reproduced Llanbadarn Fawr, Advertising: founded in 1948, is distributed to all without permission from the Aberystwyth, Karim Bashir individual and club members of British editor/photographer. Ceredigion, SY23 3TN M: 07855 252546 Fencing and its affiliates. It can also be T: 01970 613059 E: [email protected] obtained on subscription - UK £20. Next deadline: 7 May 2021 April 2021 | 3 THE SWORD ON BOARD On Board With Yashmin Harun We recently spent some time getting to know Yashmin Harun who has been on British Fencing’s Board as an independent Director since 2018. Here is what she had to say. Tell us about your journey to the I entered the room and saw three white Board of British Fencing. female faces staring back at me. All older and all much more experienced than me. When I began my journey into the sports I came out of that interview and knew I industry, I never had any long-term plans had not prepared myself enough for the or direction of where I wanted to go. I questions or done enough research into the began as a volunteer because I really organisation I had applied to. No surprise, I missed playing sports. But the glaring wanted to join and what I could bring. My did not get the role. under-representation across the industry application was then proposed to the Board from participation, coaching, volunteering and I was invited for an interview. This Soon after, the role at British Fencing and at leadership level was astonishing to time there were five interviewers but I had came up for a Non-Executive Director. I me. As I began attending more and more prepared myself better and I came out of had been working with Virginia and the networking events, I began using my voice the interview feeling more confident. The team for a while and together we created to raise my concerns about the lack of rest, as they say, is history! a female only level one coaching course to representation and how the sports industry engage more diverse women into fencing. should be changing mindsets to engage What is your role on the Board and I felt confident that British Fencing were with communities they classified as ‘hard what does that involve? an organisation who were pushing the to reach’. boundaries and thinking outside the box to As a non-executive director my role is grow the sport to become more inclusive, to check and challenge the other Board In 2017 the FA approached me to attend to increase ethnic diversity and female members and the Executive team. As a their ‘On the Board’ programme. This was diversity. I decided to contact Mark the Board we also set the strategy for the a six-month certified course to make Chair and discuss the role and have an Executive to work towards. The papers you ‘Board Ready’. The course covered open and frank conversation about why I for each meeting are sent in advance subjects such as the role of a Director, for review and for any questions to be Governance, and the Sports Code, as well prepared for the meeting. As a director you as other aspects to prepare you for being should check and understand the papers a board director. The course took place that are sent so that you are fully prepared in Birmingham which meant I had to take for the meeting. This can involve several time off work and commute there every papers such as the Risk register, the month to attend. We had a wonderful tutor financial statements, policy reviews and who made the course interactive and fun strategy update. and we had a great cohort of people who contributed so much to each session. We I really enjoy the discussions we have - all learned a lot from each other as we saw because we have such a diverse Board, not everything from different perspectives as just ethnicity, but also age, experience, and we all came from different backgrounds in cultures. So the discussions are always the sports industry. The exam took place interesting and varied with different at St George’s Park which is the national insights. Each board member offers a training ground for the England Football different perspective and at first, I would teams. be really reserved and quiet, just assessing and reading the room. It took me several Luckily I passed and I was eager to start meetings before I found my confidence to looking for a role straight away. However, I fully engage but I am glad to say this is not was still very unsure whether I was doing unique as many new board members feel the right thing. Although I had passed the same. the exam and I was running my own association, I was still not sure if I was As a director you can be asked to also be ‘Board ready’. involved in other committees. I am also a member of British Fencing Sports for Social I applied for another role first. It had been Change group which specifically looks a long time since I did an interview and at how fencing can engage a diversified audience. I really enjoy being a part of this small group as I feel this is where I can April 2021 | 4 offer my strongest insights. The MSA is a fantastic organisation THE SWORD that has seen rapid growth since On Board launching. Can you tell us more about the objectives and goals of the organisation? Muslimah Sports Association (MSA) was set up in 2014 and got its charity status in 2019. The aim of the charity is to engage my thinking and contribution in the Muslim and diverse ethnic females into Boardroom. I have learned that for a Board sports and physical activity either through to be successful it has to have diversity of participation, volunteering or coaching. The thought rather than all thinking the same charity has only three trustees who are all and speaking the same. I constantly push volunteers. the agenda of opening the sport up to the wider communities. The sport has a unique Since its inception we have grown the history and is perceived in a particular way organisation to offer over fifteen weekly from outside of the fencing community. sessions across a range of activities Fencing is a brilliant, intelligent sport and including fencing, engaging over 150 the opportunity to try it at a social level females. We have also run many level one especially, should be available for all. I coaching courses in football, badminton, think that is very important to me as a tennis and fencing as well as increased the Director, that we open fencing up to as number of volunteers. MSA supports our many communities as possible for them to participants to get involved in volunteering experience this exceptional sport. and social action opportunities outside of our own communities to break down What are the biggest challenges that barriers and perceptions. We love working you face as a Board Director? with partners and in collaborations with NGBs and other organisations to increase CouchTo5k, Go Walk challenges, and a six My biggest challenge, which may sound what we offer and that has contributed to week learn to cycle course. We have also clichéd, is having imposter syndrome our huge success. been able to move some sessions online, and the feeling that I am not experienced such as fencing fitness, with the support enough or educated enough to have that COVID has had a significant impact of British Fencing and Maslaha. We have seat at the table. However, as I started on our community and participants. recognised the importance of mental well- to grow in confidence and contribute The safe haven we provided, where being and have run weekly Positive Minds more to discussions and offer my insight participants could keep active had suddenly workshops to address low morale and to and perspective, I began to feel valued stopped.