The AFF is sad to advise the Australian Fencing community of the recent passing of Australian Olympian Maestro Charles Stanmore.  He passed away on 25^th January aged 87.  Charles Stanmore represented Australia in four events in the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki.  He was a leading coach and influential member of NSWFA having established Sydney Fencing Club.  His students included Craig Phillips, Bill Ronald, Graham Mills, Jeff Gray, Richard Emmerick, and Greg Bayley.  A celebration of the life of Charles Stanmore will be held at 1pm on Friday 3 February at Lake Macquarie Memorial Park, Ryhope via Toronto on the NSW Central Coast.  The AFF expresses its sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Charles Stanmore.

The AFF is seeking interested Fencers for the 2012 Asian Senior Championships and the Senior AFT in selected weapons.    Nominees for the first round need not re-nominate.  Nominations can be provided by the Australian Fencing Portal at http://portal.fencing.org.au/.  If you have not registered with the Portal, you will need to, before you can nominate for these Tournaments.

Both of these nominations close on the 29th January 2012

The AFF is seeking interested Fencers for the 2012 World Junior and Cadets Championships in selected weapons.    Nominees for the first round need not re-nominate.  Nominations can be provided by the Australian Fencing Portal at http://portal.fencing.org.au/.  If you have not registered with the Portal, you will need to, before you can nominate for these Tournaments.

This nomination processes will close on the 27th Jan 2012.

Reminder:  Last chance to have your say.  Closing 26th Jan 2012.

Current elite and sub-elite Australian fencers and their parents (for junior fencers) are invited to take part in this comprehensive survey on Australian fencing. 'Elite & sub-elite' is defined as people who compete or who are training and aspiring to compete in International events for Australia (e.g. Commonwealth Championships, Asian Championships, World Cups, etc).

As part of the High Performance Program of the AFF, this survey is to gather feedback concerning the High Performance Program, the Australian Fencing Team model and the training and development needs of Australian fencers. Your contribution to this survey is critical - we need to hear your experiences and feedback on what is required to change the future of Australian fencing and raise its performance on the international stage. This is YOUR opportunity to have a say in the future of Australian fencing, and to address any issues that are causing you concern, or to throw your support behind ideas that you like.

The survey is voluntary and confidential and will be used to form a detailed review paper for the AFF Executive to consider your development, training and competition needs.

The survey will remain open until 26th January 2012.

To participate in this survey, click on the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/33F3KND

Please note that the current survey for elite and sub-elite cadet, junior and senior fencers is only one of a series of surveys that will be conducted over the following months. There are also plans for coach and veterans surveys to be released shortly, however each survey takes several months of consultation and vetting to prepare, in order to ensure a comprehensive range of questions are canvassed and we are able to capture all the important feedback you have for the AFF. If you are a coach or veteran fencer and you have any particular ideas or areas you would like covered, please email the High Performance Manager at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or speak to Elli Wellings at the Australian Open Championships in Sydney.

The Australian Fencing Federation is calling for expressions of interest from any fencers who may wish to compete in the Senior Women's Sabre or Senior Men's Epee events at the Team World Championships in Kiev (Ukraine) on 13-14 April, 2012.

The Team World Championships will take place only in those events which are not being held as part of the London Olympics.  The Championships do not form part of the AFT program, and as such all fencers would be responsible for a share of costs involved in team entries and (potentially) any Australian team management / coach requirements (in addition to their own travel and accommodation).

In the event that the AFF receives three or more nominations, the selection process will then be undertaken.  Nominations are accepted through the Portal (http://portal.fencing.org.au).  You will need to register if you have not yet done so.

The AFT Epee Camp will be held in Melbourne from the 14^th to the 15^th of January.

• The camp will be addressing the Australian Epee Program in 2012 and outlining the National Coaches direction for our competitive training.
• The cost to invited fencers is $50 per day.
• Camp will run from 9 til 4 on both days and the location is the Victorian State Fencing Centre 204-206 Arden Street, North Melbourne

Please contact Paul Crook (AFT High Performance Manager - Operations) This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  immediately regarding your availability to participate as there are only 10 invitation spots available. The cut off for invitations so that the National Coach can plan appropriately is 25^th December.

The AFF is seeking interested Fencers for the 2012 World Junior and Cadets Championships and the 2012 Senior Asians Championships.  Nominations can be provided by the Australian Fencing Portal at http://portal.fencing.org.au/.  If you have not registered with the Portal, you will need to, before you can nominate for these Tournaments.

These nomination processes will close on the 30th December 2011.

The 2011 National Championships are complete, and the Cyclone cup has been won by NSW.  Picking it up from Victoria after 4 years..  Full details can be found below.