Gwent Sword Club

Please note the following club documents are held by the secretary and can be viewed on request: Constitution; Minutes of previous AGMs; Confirmation of affiliation to British Fencing; Insurance certificate details; Members' code of conduct; Coaches' code of conduct; Child (and vulnerable adult) protection policy; Photo / video consent policy; Club session risk assessment; Accident / incident reporting procedure. In addition, Club registration forms are held by the secretary; the session register is held by the treasurer and all elected club officers have accident/incident reporting forms (all completed forms held by the secretary).

Club Rankings

Here the Club Rankings can be found, updated regularly (in theory).

Rules of the Rankings

• All fencers fencing challenge matches (or any other fencing with electric foils or any epees or sabres) MUST wear the correct kit - that is they must be wearing an 800N plastron, 350N jacket, breeches and mask, socks and a glove.
  These rules apply equally to each weapon unless noted otherwise.
• You may issue one challenge per week. This may be fought on any night.
• You may only challenge people one or two spaces above you, unless the rankings contain 10 or fewer people, in which case you may only challenge the person directly above you.
• Winning a challenge you have made will normally result in the two fencers swapping places, defending a challenge succesfully means the positions remain as they were previously.
• You must fight challenges in the order they are delivered to you as far as immediately possible. The Challenge Master shall be arbiter in any dispute.
  This means that if a challenge is made against you by a person who can fence you immediately before you make a challenge yourself, you must fight the challenger (and win, obviously) before you can fight the person you have challenged.
  Equally if you challenge someone you can fence immediately, and are then challenged yourself, you can fight the challenge you have made before the one made against you.
  This rule does NOT apply if the challenge cannot be fenced immediately. For example, you cannot challenge someone who is not present to avoid a challenge, nor can you be delayed in a challenge of your own by a challenge made against you by a person not present.
• You may NOT challenge a person who has just beaten you, or beaten you previously in the same week.
• The week begins on a Monday.
• You may be added to the list by asking the Challenge Master.
• Failure to attend any fencing for an extended period of time is reason to be removed.
• Refusal to fence counts as a loss; genuinely running out of time, or not fencing for reasons of illness or fitness reasonably outside of your control does not.
• You can challenge someone in their absence, provided they attend the same fencing night(s) as you do. If you do this, and repeat the challenge in the following week, then as soon as it is clear that the person will again   be asbent throughout the second week, you will count as having won in the previous week, and so will be able to issue a new challenge.
  For example, if someone fences Monday and Friday, you can challenge them on Monday. Should they be absent on both Monday and Friday, then you can challenge them the following Monday. If they are still absent on Friday, or you have reason to believe they will also be absent on Friday, you can declare yourself to have won the challenge the previous week and challenge another person that second week.
  Should it then become possible to fence the absent person during the second week, any challenges you have made by declaring yourself the winner are null and void, and you must fence the previously absent person as a normal challenge before proceeding.
• Should you find yourself stuck behind two people who do not fence on the same night as you, contact the Challenge Master who will attempt to resolve the situation by allowing you to make a special challenge as far ahead as required. Should you win this, you will simply be inserted above the person you have beaten, and everybody below you will be moved one space down. The loser will NOT swap positions with you.
• Anybody caught taking it too seriously shall be mocked viciously.
• Notwithstanding the above rule, everybody has a moral duty to beat Ceri. :)