ZFW Fencing Club has made a strong start to the season with podiums at key competitions, along with other recognition away from the piste.

Ham & High: Junior National champion Carolina Stutchbury and bronze medallist Amelie Tsang with piste coaches Dominic de Almeida and Peter Barwell (ZFW Fencing Club)Junior National champion Carolina Stutchbury and bronze medallist Amelie Tsang with piste coaches Dominic de Almeida and Peter Barwell (ZFW Fencing Club) (Image: Archant)

Foilist Carolina Stuchbury, 13, won gold medals at both the National Cadet (U17) and Junior (U20) Championships at University of East London, despite her tender years.

And clubmate Amelia Tsang, also 13 years old, won bronze in the Junior category and was just outside the medals in the Cadet event, placing fifth.

Dario Stenbeck-Schiavo was fifth at both events, while Matthew Abrahams was sixth in the Junior Championships.

"ZFW fencers are continually improving their results in competition," said head coach Ziemek Wojciechowski, who also saw members excel at British Fencing's Under-23 Championships at Hendon's Leon Paul Fencing Centre.

Ham & High: ZFW head coach Ziemek Wojciechowski at the Under-23 Fencing Championships with gold medallist Dominic de Almeida and bronze medallist Cameron Evans (pic ZFW Fencing Club)ZFW head coach Ziemek Wojciechowski at the Under-23 Fencing Championships with gold medallist Dominic de Almeida and bronze medallist Cameron Evans (pic ZFW Fencing Club) (Image: Archant)

Dominic de Almedia repeated his gold medal-winning performance of 2018, while Cameron Evans won bronze.

Abrahams placed fifth and Edmund Howlett took sixth, while Tsang was the only entry in the women's competition and finished in 23rd place.

De Almeida, 20, said: "It's never easy coming into a competition as defending champion. There is a certain amount of pressure.

"I was particularly proud of how I kept my composure in the key moments, when I was trailing 12-10 and managed to bring it back to win 15-12."

ZFW's senior foilists were also in action as Alex Tofalides, who competes for Cyprus, battled his way through an international field of seasoned competitors to take silver at the Trekanten International in Copenhagen.

Off the piste, club secretary Sheryl Chiu-Sosnov was awarded honours at the annual general meeting of British Fencing, the sport's governing body, for her work in creating community within the club and fostering the spirit of sport more widely.

And club founder Wojciechowski, an Olympic competitor who has coached some of the world's most successful fencers, marked the publication of his book on advanced training and performance techniques.

The book is called 'This Is Fencing!' and Wojciechowski is well known for this phrase, often using it in competitions when an athlete has performed particularly well.

*ZFW aims to boost the standard of fencing in Britain by providing a centre of excellence for elite fencers training for Olympic, international and national teams.

It also provides a learning programme with an emphasis on youngsters. ZFW operates from various venues in North London and elsewhere around the capital. For further details, visit zfw-fencing.co.uk.