Running, walking & exploring with a little bit of music production and fencing analysis.
A competition I’ve not been involved with before, so it’ll be interesting to see how it goes and if we can build this up to be comparable to the Surrey Youth Championships. Two weapons only, foil and epee, as there are no acutal sabre clubs in Sussex. 17th December at Longhill Sports Centre just on the outskirts of Brighton. Entry is through Sport80 – https://bf.sport80.com/
I don’t remember what year exactly it was that I became involved in running this event – possibly 2020 or maybe earlier. In that time though it had changed significantly (for the better). The venue is now settled at the excellent Triangle Leisure Centre in Burgess Hill after we lost Whitgift School due to a change in policy relating to external organisations hiring their facilities. There is an amazing team of people involved in putting together this competition, and it has now become one of the largest youth fencing competitions in the country. Last year we over 300 entries across all the weapons, up from just over 200 in 2020.
Entry for the 2024 event is now open on Sport80 – https://bf.sport80.com/v/3308/e/events
I recall a few years ago I thought it would be nice to see competition videos next to the results listings but never actually got round to sorting it out. As it goes, there aren’t that many domestic finals videos on youtube, but there are enough to make it a worthwhile feature I think, so this morning I coded it up and created the first few results pages with embedded videos.
If you have any links to historic Open finals, please drop a comment below and I’ll add them in.
As Junior World Cup events go, this has to be one of the best, if not the best in my opinion.
This competition seemed to come and go really quickly. We flew in relatively late the day before, went straight to weapons control and then to dinner. We flew back the evening after the fencing, so we were in Udine for probably less than 24 hours.
However, it was a great competion with a really high standard of fencing, plus plenty of emotions on display throughout the day from both the fencers and the coaches. As Junior World Cup events go, this has to be one of the best, if not the best in my opinion.
Years attended – 2020
It’s a fantastic venue with a good space between the pistes, seating along the back with some food/drink on sale, but what really makes it is the big window with an amazing view out to the alps in the distance.
I stayed at the Hotel Ramandolo which was around a ten minute walk from the venue. It did the job nicely. There were some restaurants and shops nearby which was handy. No complaints really, would stay there again if I was going to this competition.
Top tier competion. great venue, plenty of hotels nearby and some wonderful places to eat.
Located right on the France and Switzerland border and only a short journey from EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg. Our one visit here was fantastic – would have been 2 but due to Covid and a different application of restrictions by France and Switzerland it decided the competion should be moved to Winterthur in 2022. Top tier competion. great venue, plenty of hotels nearby and some wonderful places to eat.
Years attended – 2020
A modern sports facility that quite literally is half in Switzerland and half in France. Inside, it’s quite imposing – almost like a gladitorial arena with it being sunken in to a very imposing concrete structure, with banked concrete seats one side and a viewing balacony all around. There was a smaller side hall, but I didn’t get any pictures of that.
I stayed in the Hôtel ibis Aéroport Bâle Mulhouse which was a walkable distance to the venue. No complaints there – note that it tends to be slighly cheaper staying on the French side of Basel.
We had an excellent meal at Restaurant Tilleul and a few drinks and snacks at Week-End Brasserie. We also gave La Diligence a go, but they literally ignored us for about 15 minutes, so we left.
One of the smaller competitions on the calendar, but one I’d definitely recommend to anyone looking to get some more International experience.
One of the smaller competitions on the calendar, but one I’d definitely recommend to anyone looking to get some more International experience, as this is definitely a great development event.
Very welcoming, reasonable facilities and Thessaloniki is a nice place to visit, even in the winter!
Years attended – 2022
Functional venue for the size of the competition with enough space for fencers and spectators. Fairly centrally located, we took a taxi there in the morning from the hotel but walked back in the evening.
We stayed at the Blue Bottle Boutique Hotel which I could not fault. It was was fantastic hotel and I would recommend this as a place to stay in Thessaloniki every time. The rooms were wonderful and the breakfast was sensational. The guys on reception were super helpful in arranging transport for us for competion day and airport transfers.
Breakfast at the hotel was a real treat as it was all pretty much made on site – great tasting and super fresh. For lunch we visited Spoon which was also very nice, but also very busy so we had to sit outside under the heaters. Worth it though as the food was great. At the venue there was a food van outside that served some snacks and drinks. As we stayed very centrally in Thessaloniki there were plenty of shops to get anything needed and the venue was also near a fair few shops, all within a few minutes walk.
In 2021 the Belgrade Fair hosted the event – a large complex of event halls next to the Sava river on the outskirts of the city.
This was the second International event we went to after the Covid restrictions were eased for travelling. At that time in Belgrade there were still many measures in place and the competition was quite obviously affected. However, despite this, it was still a great weekend and is definitely one I would recommend.
In 2021 the Belgrade Fair hosted the event – a large complex of event halls next to the Sava river on the outskirts of the city. It was quite spectactular with all the glass, as you can see in the pictures below.
It’s worth noting though that venues can change for events in Belgrade.
Years attended – 2021
A stunning hall next to the river. Not really walkable if you’re staying in the city centre, so a taxi is needed to get there. Plenty of space for all the pistes and for spectating. The only negative really was that it was quite hard to get a taxi back to the hotel at the end of the day, but that may have been down to covid and there not being many taxi drivers working.
The Courtyard Marriott Belgrade City Center was where we stayed and it’s an excellent hotel which I would highly recommend. It is very well situated in central Belgrade with a plenty of restaurants and shops nearby and is only a short taxi ride to the venue which was easily arranged for us by the hotel reception.
Hotel Srbija often comes up as being the recommended place to stay for competitions in Belgrade – I’d suggest far better options exist and staying there wouldn’t be desirable. Some of the GBR squad did and they really regretted it.
If you are staying central then there are many small stores and mini-marts to pick up any needed provisions all within a short walk of most hotels. One thing you may need is a Serbian prepaid mobile SIM card (we used A1). These are available from any of the small kiosks dotted around the city.
For places to eat, you are really spoilt for choice. There are many great restaurants around the Republic Square and the surrounding area, We ate at Restaurant Duomo, Restoran Mihailo and Monument Restaurant on this particular trip and I’d happily recommend all three.
I’d also like to mention Red Bread – this is one of the top places I’ve eaten in anywhere in the world. If you have some free time in the morning, then do pay them a visit for some breakfast. It’s sensational.
Back in 2017 this event was a dry run for Luxembourg to host a FIE Junior World Cup.
If my memory is good, this event was a dry run for Luxembourg to host a FIE Junior World Cup, so there were some extra processes, like accreditation and a more thorough weapons control to go through when entering this event.
Since then I believe another cadet event has taken place in Luxembourg at a different venue.
Years attended – 2017
A somewhat fragmented venue, but it appeared to work. Part of the competition was in the foyer of the school and the finals hall, like in Geneva, was in another smaller room (not pictured). The bulk of the action took place in the main hall, as seen below.
It was a late booking as we got a reserve spot on the GBR squad for this event and there was very little hotel availability in Esch-sur-Alzette. With only a week or two before we were due to fly out, Hôtel Acacia was the only viable option. It was OK, but was double the price of what we usually pay.
It was a 30 minute pleasant walk to the venue – don’t make the mistake of getting a taxi as they were eye-wateringly expensive!!
The hotel was situated in the heart of Esch-sur-Alzette so there were no problems picking up the needed provisions from the town centre shops.
The two restaurants we ate in were equally nice, but somewhat worlds apart cuisine wise. First up was Restaurant Moustache which served traditional French style dishes, and then on the second night we visited Gangnam Restaurant – a Korean BBQ.
One of the smaller competitions but also one of the best.
One of the smaller competitions but also one of the best. Not only is this in a great location – it snowed for both of our visits and was really picturesque looking out over the lake – but it’s also really well organised and a very friendly event to attend.
Although it can attract fewer entries than many of the other events, it makes up for that with quality – expect strong entries from all the Scandinavian countries and the Baltic states as well as the potential for travelling squads from USA and Japan.
Years attended – 2017 & 2019
A fantatsic sports hall with loads of space and all the facilites you could need – definitely one of the best venues on the cadet circuit.
Essentially there is only one place to stay for this competition, and that is the Radisson Blu which is next door to the venue. I’d say the vast majority of fencers choose to stay there. The even organisers also lay on a transfer bus to and from the airport which makes the whole process very slick.
It’s really nice hotel but when a bus load of fencers arrive to check-in, it can be chaotic. The bar and restaurant area also seemed to struggle to deal with the increase in guest numbers.
Although the Radisson Blu has a restaurant, the food is quite high end (ie, small portions) and it did take a long time to be served, so I’d suggest taking a walk towards Aalto University and the checking small shopping centre there – we had pizza in Who The xxxx is Alice which is definitely recommended. Walking a little bit further (maybe 20 minutes or so from the hotel), we had a great dinner at Ravintola Fat Lizard which again, was really nice – but if you plan on visiting there, make a reservation as it’s very popular.
The colossus of all the EFC cadet events – expect all the top fencers from around the world to be attending this competion. Generally considered to be the toughest event on the circuit.
The colossus of all the EFC cadet events – expect all the top fencers from around the world to be attending this competion. Generally considered to be the toughest event on the circuit.
Originally based in the Hala Elan, after Covid it moved to the film studios just around the corner. Both venues are just not quite big enough for the number of entries, but somehow it works itself out.
If you’re serious about fencing at cadet level, then you have to experience Bratislava at least once, in my opinion.
Years attended – 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 & 2022
A sunken indoor athletics space with a few rows of banked seating around the perimeter. It’s super cramped with often nowhere to sit and finding a spot to warm-up can be a real challenge. That being said, I always enjoyed the competitions here and it’s better than the newer venue in the film studio. A special mention also to the on-site cafe owner who sold the best chicken in Bratislava – I wouldn’t argue with that!
The competition moved here in 2022 after the break for Covid. It just wasn’t a big enough for the competition + there were a lot of teething issues leading a long wait for registration to open. Hopefully they’ll have got that resolved now.
There are many hotels to choose from within a short walk to the venue(s). My personal favourite was the Lindner Hotel. A modern hotel on top of a large shopping centre, conveniently situated with just a 15 minute walk to the venue. As an added bonus it also has a fantastic sky bar with great views out over Bratislava.
We also had great stays in the DoubleTree Hilton (this gets booked up very early) and for our last stay, the Mercure (Clarion) served our needs very well although it was quite a long walk to the venue from there.
There are two places that I would strongly recommend – firstly, Brick Beer & Restaurant is an absolute must. The quality of the food and drink served there is off the charts. Secondly, if you’re in the old town then drop in to Urban Bistro for some great coffee and amazing slow cooked beef. A popular place to eat in Bratislava is Slovak Pub – I’d definitely give it some consideration if you’re interested in traditional cuisine.
As for shops, there is a big BILLA supermarket near the venues and plenty of other small shops near all the hotels.
