Page 6 - Abingdon News

ARTS
6 January 2014
SPORT
At the beginning the weather was kind
but by the end the heavy rain made life
dif"cult for the boys practising for their
Gold and Silver D of E canoeing awards
on the Kennet and Avon Canal.
Challenging the Elements
Fencing
Successes
Abingdon School Fencing Club
achieved some excellent results last
term epitomized by the selection of
two members, Jack Dawson and Ben
Schneider, to represent GB in the U17
category in the European Cadet Circuit
in Bonn. James Fotherby captained
the Southern Region U17 Sabre team
at the Cadet Winton Cup, and at the
Southern Region Team Championships
Abingdon’s U16 Epee team won both
gold and bronze whilst the U13 Epee
won silver. All this in addition to victory
in all their inter-school matches.
Although practicing their canoeing skills
for the Bronze D of E award was the
purpose of the weekend, the boys found
that necessity honed their tent-pitching,
"re-making and cooking skills too.
At the end of a nine-month training
programme, fourteen boys successfully
completed their qualifying Gold D of E
sailing expeditions last November.
Meanwhile calm seas, steady winds
and cloudless skies was the fate of
those intrepid Abingdonians who
went sailing with in the Aegean over
the summer holidays.
Dif"cult conditions added to the challenge
for those boys who went to the Peak
District on a practice Silver D of E
expedition in October. However, despite
the thick cloud and driving rain everyone
managed to make it to the top of Kinder
Scout (626m).
They conquered both the physical and
mental challenges despite the thick
fog, gale force winds and driving rain.
The U13 Epee team