The International Fencing Federation’s Club Movement Initiative, designed to take the best practices from the sport’s hotspots and distribute them around the world, has been held for a second time in Modica, Sicily.
The month-long event, which saw young foilists from Armenia, Finland Georgia, Ireland, Serbia and the Netherlands take part in intensive training programs at the long-established Conad Scherma Modica club in the south of the island, wrapped up on October 6.
“We believe that investing in sport, it means first of all help to promote among young people values and sound principles and a healthy lifestyle, made of good nutrition and exercise,” said Natale Lia, the club’s director general.
"Conad and fencing share a common strategy, perseverance and above all loyalty - principles essential to a fencer,” Lia added.
The six U23 athletes, coordinated by the director of the course and fencing Maestro Eugenio Migliore and assisted by Masters Giancarlo Puglisi and Leandro Giurdanella, Stefano Pedriglieri by the instructor and trainer Emanuel Hat, showed great enthusiasm for broadening their technical and tactical knowledge base.
The young fencers, hailing from countries experiencing a boom in fencing popularity, shared their time with local athletes from Modica as well as nearby clubs in Catania, Syracuse and Ragusa.
Over the course of four weeks, they took part in two daily sessions that alternated between physical preparation, fencing footwork and attacks.
They also discovered the Hyblean area on an organised tour, immersing themselves in the rich history of a World Heritage Site renowned for, among other things, its honey.
The course ended at the Grimaldi Palace with a graduation ceremony attended by the Mayor of the City of Modica Ignazio Abbate, FIE Vice President and FIS President Giorgio Scarso and the President of Conad Scherma Modica Maria Monisteri.
CMI was established by the FIE in 2014. The major costs of the CMI are assumed by the FIE, with support from the International Charity Foundation “For the Future of Fencing”, while the national federations and clubs of the network guarantee infrastructure, access to their talent equity and effective participation by their staff.
The CMI’s strategic goal is to identify the most prominent fencing locations and use them as leverage to facilitate the development of top-tier athletes, coaches and referees, enabling them to benefit from better programmes.