Latest wheelchair fencing referee seminars prove big hit

Coaches, officials and current able-bodied referees from 27 countries took the opportunity to find out more about the nuances of the sport with the aim of starting or developing their own programmes.

The seminars, in English, follow on from the same sessions held in Spanish in November. They were hosted by Jon Moss, Chair of the IWAS Wheelchair Fencing Referee Commission; Carolina Anzolin, international referee and instructor and Development Officer Alberto Cruz.

A general introduction was given before epee, sabre and foil were covered.

Recordings of all the talks are available on the IWAS YouTube channel for anyone to watch.

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Cruz said: “These seminars have proved to be very popular with people from all over the world keen to learn about wheelchair fencing. We think this shows the thirst for knowledge that exists in countries where the sport is growing or is yet to be launched. We are delighted to be able to meet that demand.

“We hope that we have given the participants the information they need to start building wheelchair fencing, combined with the other resources we have available, and are excited to see what develops from it.”

In addition to the seminars in English and Spanish, videos are also available which describe coaching wheelchair fencing as well as how to build a do-it-yourself fencing frame.

Get more help with developing wheelchair fencing

IWAS Wheelchair Fencing is also working on educational videos and other content which will help grow the sport into the future.