A SQUAD of 16 u/17 and u/20 South African fencers recently participated in the Cadet and Junior World Fencing Championships in Taebaek, South Korea.
Out of the squad of 16, eight were from the Western Province, with four of these - Ashley Marais, Jay New, Matthew Snelling and Skye Pym-Siljeur - from the False Bay area.
It was the first world championships that Skye and Matthew participated in and the experience was invaluable.
Ashley and Jay were participating in their fifth and fourth world championships respectively. It was also their last as junior competitors, and they will now be fencing at senior level, both locally and internationally.
Overall, the SA squad performed well, finishing in 22nd spot out of 73 participating countries. This final placing is remarkable, as it means South Africa beat many established European and other fencing nations.
Noteworthy individual and team performances came from Ashley Marais, who came 67th out of 100 in the Junior Men's Foil (Individual) Competition, and the Junior Men's Foil Team, consisting of Western Province fencers Ashley Marais, Jay New and Jacques Viljoen, which finished an unexpected 16th, having beaten the ninth Ranked Spain in the process.