En Garde and Fire When Ready

En Garde and Fire When Ready

By Bruce Dagg

Two nearby activities are archery and fencing.  As sports they have both evolved from ancient battle techniques, and Robin Hood is said to have been proficient at both.  At the archery event, Scouts first learn the safety rules and a bit of technique, then have lots of opportunity to practice their technique under the watchful eyes of the skilled crew, but wait for the proper whistle command! 

The fencing activity is run by a team from Dynamo Fencing, headed by Olympic Gold Medalist (1984) and former number 1 Epee fencer in the world (1987) Eric Boisse.  Like archery, it is safety first at fencing, and the scouts go through a series of humorous drills to learn the steps, safety rules, and importance of following instructions.  Then they get to fence against a couple of different partners, while fully protected with all the proper gear.  But watch out for Eric’s sense of humour!