The Alleynian 706 2018

SPORT

Day Two saw the Tan brothers in the Foil, and both seemed unstoppable, dominating the pools and the first elimination bout in the top 32

physical opponents with intelligence. Tom reached the round of 16 and unfortunately the calls didn’t quite go with him as he made numerous attacks that went unrewarded. Tom heads to the national finals in Sheffield full of confidence following this performance, and his silver in the London South East Championships. Theo Pos, who isn’t yet old enough to fence at the Public Schools also deserves a mention for his bronze medal in the National Championships held in Sheffield. We very much look forward to seeing him fence for the College over the course of the next six years.

Gerald also bowed out of the tournament in the last 16 and he will have been disappointed not to have continued his progress, but will have learnt valuable lessons along the way. In Epee, Felix Schneidemann started slowly in first pool, but soon recovered and started to follow the tactical advice given. Emotionally he was charged, and was clearly hungry for success, showing some excellent moves and collecting important victories. His run ended in the top 16 where he met probably the only opponent in the room who had a style that was Felix’s perfect counter, resulting in Felix struggling to find a way to score points. It was bad luck but he gained a valuable and prestigious 11th place overall. Will Holmes performed admirably in his first fencing competition, and it was a pleasure to see him score points and learn as the day progressed. I have no doubt he will be back for more next year. Day Three saw the start of the Sabre competitions, and this is where most of our fencers entered, given that our focus for beginners has been on this weapon for the past two years. James Lyon, Sunrise Foster and Alejandro Galdez were all outstanding in their first competitions and raised expectations as to what the future might hold for them. Sunrise was clearly nervous, but managed to pull out a victory and scored some excellent points as his confidence grew. James and Alejandro showed great maturity and understanding of the fight, winning both 3-4 fights and fencing with intelligence. Freddie Lesley will have been disappointed, as he seemed to lack the spirit he showed last year, despite having a good technique and the skills to go further. Xander Tuck and Dexter Lachmann both managed to overcome their problems with Dexter showing some good tactics and great determination, while Xander finally broke free of the fear that often grasps him come competition time. Simon Sun and Aiken Furlong will both have been disappointed with their lack of preparation, which clearly inhibited their progress. Both physical and mental fitness are required to achieve medals at these championships, and they weren’t quite there with either. Tom Borrett took the bull by the horns and displayed an outstanding attitude in varying his tactics, conserving energy and overcoming larger and more

Phil Greenaway

Squash

T he use of the courts at Dulwich Squash Club has improved accessibility and lifted the standard of Squash this year. Mr Purchase was the main driver behind these changes and we will always remember with fondness the time, energy and enthusiasm that he dedicated to Squash here at Dulwich. Andre Nowaczek and Mr Clancy ensured that Squash continued to grow throughout the year and it was a pleasure to see our U13s, U15s and U18s all playing regularly throughout the year. An early win against Westminster and an excellent performance at the Roehampton Schools Tournament saw Dulwich lay some excellent foundations for the years ahead, as Mr Clancy will no doubt look to build the fixture list and ensure we have more boys involved under the watchful eye of Mr Jaffe.

Richard Clancy

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