Beginners Courses & Coaching
Coaching is run at Wellesbourne on a special training time for beginners and is currently on Thursdays 7 - 9pm. The venue is the High Wycombe Sports Centre. The sports centre is located near the M40 J4 (Handycross roundabout) on the A404 to Wycombe. See map.
Beginners
If you are interested in starting fencing please book on a course by clicking on the link below. Courses run several times during the year. Coaching starts with Foil taught by a British Fencing Association qualified coaches. This is the normal way to commence fencing.
Next Course: Click on the link below to see the dates and/or register.
A typical evening consists of a 15 minute warm up and stretching session followed by a 90 minute group lesson with one of the coaches. After these sessions you will have free time to practice what you have learnt. Courses last 8weeks.
Booking Process
In order to book on the course you need to follow the procedure below:-
- Reserve a place using our online registration form by clicking here.
- You will be sent by email the Indemnity/Booking form once you have registered, send the completed indemnity form with a cheque for £95 (Including £10 for social membership of British Fencing Association) (£10 for taster sessions) (you will be given the address after you have registered online), with the cheque made payable to Wellesbourne Sword Club.
Please contact Membership Secretary (via e-mail) if you have any further queries.
Important: Places are allocated on a first come first served basis. Refunds are not normally available within 14 days of the start of the course. Therefore If you drop out after the start of the course, for any reason, you will not get a refund. This is due to the high demand for the courses as you would be then be denying somebody else a place on the course.
Completed forms and course fees must be received before the first night of the course.
Once you have completed the course you can join the club and you then set up a standing order for membership at a rate of £22 (adults) per month and a one off joining fee of £30. The joining fee is waived if beginners join the club immediately after the course. NB Club membership requires that all members must comply to BFA safety rules. As the club only provides certain items of clothing, prospective members may need to buy certain items of equipment before they join the club after completing a course. This applies especially to fencing breeches.
Important Guidelines.....
As with most sports, you need to be moderately fit and agile in order to maximise your enjoyment and reduce the risk of injury. A thorough warm up is essential and fencing oriented exercises are covered during the course. You can start fencing at any age, but the minimum age for courses at Wellesbourne is 13. If you are younger you could try phoning the High Wycombe Sports Centre who run children's classes on a Wednesday or Friday.
All equipment (sizes small to large) is provided for the first few weeks. You will need to wear a T-shirt and fencing breeches, Jacket and plastron will be provided. Indoor training shoes should be fine. Glasses are OK. When joining a course on the first night please turn up at 6:40 (latest) to start getting kitted out and to complete the joining formalities.
On the first night some time is spent completing the formalities and introducing you to the protective kit and the weapons. NB. We provide a reasonable quantity of kit but it is impossible to guarantee every body kit that fits them comfortably. In certain cases you may not be able to attend the course or we may have to buy additional kit for the 2nd or 3rd week of the course (This is not a problem as protective gear is not actually required in week 1.) Exceptionally large people may need to purchase their own equipment as we do not stock extra large sizes. If you think you might fall into this category then please make a note on the registration form or check with us beforehand!!
Either at the end of the course, or on the advice of the coach you may attend the normal club nights which are on a Thursday night. We will hold a special welcome competition on the night that the latest group of beginners formally join the club and after the first night of the course we hope to see you on the following Thursday in the club (with the appropriate gear). In the meantime pop down on any Thursday night to see us in action.