*ARCHIVE

  LONDON OLYMPIC GAMES TO HAVE BIGGEST ASIAN REPRESENTATION EVER

After the final Olympic qualifying competitions held in Wakayama Japan,
a total of 52 fencers from 12 Asian countries are assured of their participation
in the upcoming London Olympic Games.  This is the biggest
ever Olympic representation by Asia in terms of the number of fencers
and federations since the modern Olympic Games were revived in 1896.

In terms of continental representation, Asia likewise continue to
show a strong force out of the five continents, registering a good second behind Europe.

FCA INSTRUCTOR'S COURSE PROGRAMME GOT UNDERWAY

Bangladesh - September 2011

Bangladesh - September 2011

Mongolia - March 2012

Brunei - March 2012

Brunei - March 2012

Bahrain - March 2012

Bahrain - March 2012

SOUTH ASIAN FENCING CHAMPIONSHIPS RE-SCHEDULED

The South Asian Fencing Championships scheduled for March this year was
re-scheduled to be held on April 17 to 19, 2012 in Hyderabad India.
Expected to participate are fencers from Afghanistan, Bangladesh,
Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and host country India.

ASIAN FENCERS BREAK JINK IN DOHA GRAND PRIX

     For the first time in the four years of the Men's Epee Grand Prix and in the
Women's Epee World Cup organized in Doha Qatar, two Asian fencers
and an Asian team reached the finals of their respective events and won their respective honors.
     Korean PARK KYEONG DOO beat Silvio Fernandez of Venezuela to claim the
overall honors in the men's competition bringing home the US$10,000 prize money,
while compatriot JUNG HYO JUNG placed second and won for herself the
prize money US$4,000 after losing a close bout against Italian Mara Navarria in the women's division.
     Moreover, the Chinese Women's Epee team narrowly lost to Russia but won the
second place honors in the Doha World Cup, while the Korean team landed in the fourth place.  
     The performance of these Asian fencers nonetheless assured their
slots in the London Olympic Games

SCHEDULE OF OLYMPIC QUALIFIERS FINALIZED

     In coordination with the FCA, the Japanese Fencing Federation has finalized the schedule of the
2012 Olympic Qualifiers for Asia and Oceania which will be held in Wakayama City in Japan.
     Women Foil and Épée as well as the Men Saber events will be on April 20, 2012 while
Women Saber event as well as the M'en Foil and Épée are going to be played on April 21, 2012.
     This adjustment in schedule was prompted by the request of many federations which
are participating in the World Team Championships to be held in Kiev in the
3rd week of the same month.  With the new schedule, their fencers will now
have enough time to travel between the two cities and re-adjust before
the start of the important Olympic Qualifiers.
     Countries can enter only one fencer per event provided they have no fencers
pre-qualified for the London Olympics based on the FIE ranking.  
The first placed fencer in the Qualifier for Men's Foil and Saber, and
Women's Foil and Epee; as well as the top 3 placers in the Men's Epee
and Women's Saber event, will be eligible to participate
in the London Olympic Games.

GRAND PRIX DU QATAR 2012

     A majority of the world's best Épée fencers gathered in Doha Qatar on
February 10 to 13, 2012 for the annual Grand Prix Du Qatar 2012.  All vying for a
slot in the upcoming London Olympics, a  total field of 144 men and 174 women
fencers representing a record number of 48 countries participated.
     Being the only Grand Prix which offers a price money of US$10,000 for each champion,
and US$4,000 and US$2,000 for the runners up and each bronze medalists, respectively,
the Doha competitions always attract the best competitors to participate.
 A testament to this is the fact that all the top 32 ranked men and women
Epee fencers in the world were présent and competed.

QATAR FENCING FEDERATION HAS NEW PRÉSIDENT

     Mr. SALEH AMER AL-HAMEIDI was recently elected as the new President of the Qatar Fencing Federation,
replacing QFF charter president Shiekh Saoud Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani.
     With his new post, Saleh assumes a double role in the federation as he continues to function
as it's Secretary General in the meantime.  Having graduated in the USA with an Engineering degree,
Saleh also has a rank of Brigadier General in the Qatar Armed Forces.
     Shiekh Saoud was a Vice President and a Member Du Honour of the FIE.
 He also currently holds a Vice President Position in the FCA,
and the Secretary General of the Qatar Olympic Committee.

BALI INDONESIA TO HOST 2012 AJCFC

     During the Special meeting of the FCA and OFC held in Philadelphia on December 03, 2011,
the body accepted the proposal of the Indonesian Fencing Association to organize the
2012 Asian Juniors and Cadet Fencing Championships in the world famous resort province of Bali.  
To be held from October 20 to 27, 2012, the competitions will gather the most promising
young fencers in the two continents, competing for honors in 24 events for Cadets and Juniors.
     The FCA General Assembly and General Elections will also be scheduled during this time.

ASIAN UNDER 23 CHAMPIONSHIPS PREPARATIONS UNDERWAY

     The organization of the first ever Asian fencing competition for fencers under 23 years old
are scheduled to be held in Manila from June 2 to 9, 2012.  
     This new competition to be added to the calendar of fencing competitions in Asia
was officially adopted during the 2011 FCA General Assembly held in Bangkok.
 The decision follows the success of a similar competition which started in Europe,
with the end in view of providing an incentive for fencers beyond the junior level
to continue training in the hope of graduating to and being part of their
respective national teams.

SOUTH ASIAN FENCING FEDERATION BEGINS WITH A HIGH NOTE

Founded only in 2009, the South Asian Fencing Federation already has so much
accomplishment to speak off. Todate, five fencing federations in the region
officially make up the SAFF - India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka,
Nepal and Afghanistan – while the federation in Pakistan is in its final stage of organization.

Credit must be given to Fencing Association of India Secretary General ARUN KUMAR VIJ
who has personally taken the initiatives of convincing NOC officials of member countries
in the region to adopt fencing. India provided technical and equipment support to the other
federations, and spearheaded the organization and hosting of the first SAFF Championships
held in Chennai India in July 2010 with around 175 fencers and
officials from the 5 participating countries in attendance.

The incumbent officers of SAFF are led by President D.D. BORO and Secretary General ARUN VIJ
(both from India), while Ms. KASUNI SILVA (SRI) is Treasurer.

CHINA AND KOREA LIFT ASIAN PRIDE IN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

In the recently concluded 2011 World Fencing Championships held in Catania Italy , China
and Korea carried the cudgels for Asia in winning a combined total of eight medals
– two golds, two silvers, and four bronzes.

China led the medal honors finishing with both the gold and the silver medals.
China 's LI NA got the gold in the women's individual Epee competitions
beating compatriot SUN YUJIE who finished with the silver medal.
It was a double victory for the Chinese women's Epee team as they
also dominated the competition also winning the gold in the team events.
Not to be out done, the Chinese men's Foil team finished with
a gold medal performance, which entered the competitions as the favorite team.

On the other hand Korea brought home four bronze medals in the persons
of NAM HYUN HEE in the women's individual Foil event, PARK KYOUN DOO
in the men's individual Epee, and GU BON GIL in the men's individual Saber.
Completing the medal winners were the Korean Women's Foil Team.

ABU DHABI HOSTS THE ARAB JUNIORS AND CADETS CHAMPIONSHIPS

For the first time ever, the United Arab Emirates has organized its first international
fencing competition by hosting the 18th Juniors and Cadet Arab Fencing Championships
in the capital city of Abu Dhabi . The competitions which run from
October 22 to 27, 2011 saw the participation of the best young fencers from
the Arab world representing federations from Asia and Africa.
More than 200 fencers participated representing twelve countries.

We congratulate Shk. Abdulrahim Said who is the President of the
Arabic Fencing Federation and Eng. Shk. SALEM BIN SULTAN AL QASIMI,
President of the UAE Fencing Federation for this accomplishment
by a new fencing organization.

JORDAN ORGANIZED THE FIRST WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

The Kingdom of Jordan successfully organized the 2011 Juniors and Cadets
World Fencing Championships from March 29 to April 6, 2011.
Held in the famous Dead Sea Resorts, the best young fencers from around the
world not only gained from the experienced of a strong competition,
but also enjoyed the unique setup and ambiance of a resort
which is 462 feet below sea level.

Congratulations are in order for the good works of Dr. KHALED ATIYAT,
President of the Jordanian Fencing Federations and the great help and
hospitality of HRH Prince FAISAL AL HUSSAIN, IOC Member
and President of the Jordan National Olympic Committee.

WEST ASIAN FENCING FEDERATION REORGANIZED

Fencing federations in the West Asian region recently met in Amman Jordan
to re-activate the West Asian Fencing Federation in an effort to strengthen
the further development of fencing in the region. Elected
president of WAFF is DAOUD AL-METWALY ( Palestine )
with HAKAM AL-KHALIDI (Jordan) as Secretary General.

Also elected as vice presidents are: SUHAIL SAED ( Lebanon ),
ABD AL-BASET ZAKAREIA ( Syria ) and SALEH AL-HAMIDI ( Qatar ).

West Asia is made up of Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon,
Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

EAST ASIAN GAMES FEDERATION INCLUDES FENCING IN ITS NEXT EDITION

The organizers of the 2013 East Asian Games has decided to include fencing in
its calendar of events. This is the first time that fencing will be played
in these regional multi-sport competitions which are held every four years.

East Asian region is made up of China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong,
Japan, Korea, DPR Korea, Macau, and Mongolia .

Hosts of upcoming events in Asia Finalized

2011 Asian Fencing Championships – Seoul Korea (July 7 -13)
2012 Asian Olympic Qualifiers – Wakayama Japan (April 12-13)
2012 Asian Fencing Championships – Wakayama Japan (April 14-19)
2012 Asian Under 23 Championships – Manila , Philippines (June)
2012 Asian Junior and Cadet Fencing Championships – Jakarta , Indonesia (October)
2013 Asian Junior and Cadet Fencing Championships – India (March)
2013 Asian Fencing Championships – Beirut , Lebanon (July)
2013 Asian Under 23 Championships – (to be finalized)