Two Maties fencers came back with a gold and a bronze medal, after the fencing team competed in the Fencing Western Cape (FWC) provincial fencing competition. The team competed in Bonnievale, on 15 and 16 March.
The competition included three different weapon categories: foil, épée and sabre. Each category has different rules for valid target areas, leading to significantly different styles for each.
Julianne Pereira, a first year BA (Visual Art) student, won a gold medal for Senior Women’s foil, a specific weapon category involving a smaller sword and the smallest target area. Pereira, who has been a fencer for five years, was chosen for the South Africa Under 17 Women’s foil team in 2023, and competed in the Junior Africa Championship in Ghana. She hopes to qualify for the under 20 team and fence for South Africa once again.
Eli Abreu, a First year B(Medicine) student, won a bronze medal for senior men’s foil. Abreu has been fencing for three years, and is proficient in two weapons: foil and épée. Épée swords are heavier, and the allowed target area is the largest of the three. “I’m happy with my win, but would have preferred a better position in épée. My proudest moment was qualifying well into DEs [Direct Eliminations] in épée,” said Abreu following his win.
“I am very proud of all the fencers who participated in the tournament in Bonnievale … and I am especially proud of our two fencers who medalled in their respective weapon categories and age groups,” – said the team captain, Philip Heinz Lütge, a fourth year Bsc (Computer Science) student.
The fencing team plans to go to the next provincial competition, happening on the 24th and 25th of March, and bring back more medals. “I look forward to building on this momentum for the rest of the tournaments to come in this year,” said Lütgr.
By Nina Goosen
