RUPERT SEWARDS and Rosie Milner won the men’s and women’s Master at Arms Championships for the best aggregate result over all three disciplines at the Island Fencing Championships. Both fencers gained impressive results in all three weapons, with Milner winning both the women’s foil and sabre events and gaining a silver medal in epee, while Sewards won the men’s sabre and achieved silver and bronze medals in the foil and epee respectively.

The weekend’s events opened with the sabre in which Sewards came through two contests 15-14 – against Tom Carey and Fraser Ward – to set up a final with Eoin Rizutto.

The bout was fenced aggressively and at high speed, with Sewards’ attacks matched by Rizutto’s stop hits and ripostes.

Hits were exchanged on a regular basis until Sewards was able to take a two-hit lead which he never relinquished, winning the title 15-13.

In the women’s final, Milner proved too fast and mobile for her game opponent, Daisy Stevens, as the former gained her first title of the weekend by 15 hits to 10.

Next up, the island’s foil fencers took to the piste.

Sewards’ fast renewed attacks and cunning stop hits earned him another final place while Alex Harlow came through an even semi-final with Sam Parish 14-12, time having run out.

The final bout started at top speed, with both fencers anxious to take first blood and impose their game on their opponent.

As the contest progressed, Harlow began to get the measure of his opponent and he eventually won the foil title 15-11.

The women’s event was fought as keenly as the men’s, with Milner and Julie Dyer eventually progressing to the final – the latter coming through a particularly tough last four encounter with left-hander Helen Dack.

In that final, Milner always had the edge in gaining her second title of the day, overcoming her game opponent, 15-12.

The epee events rounded off the weekend the following morning.

The contest between Adam Bonner and Sam Parish for the men’s title was a classic match between an epeeist and a foilist.

Bonner, the conqueror of Sewards in the semi-final, used his superior reach and point accuracy while Parish used timing and better blade manipulation as both fencers struggled for an advantage over their opponent.

The fencers reached 14 hits apiece at the end of the bout, with fencing time fast running out.

Bonner’s skills proved the stronger when he then gained the title by scoring a winning hit.

In the women’s final, Stevens gained revenge for her defeat by Milner in the previous day’s foil event.

Both fencers showed considerable spirit and skill but Stevens won a deserved title by a comfortable 15-4 margin.

When the results of all the weekend’s events had been tallied up, Harlow gained the men’s Master at Arms silver medal ahead of Parish in third position.

Stevens achieved a well deserved second place in the women’s standings while Batiste and Ball tied for the bronze.

The excellent fencing on show during the weekend gave a clear indication of the overall improvement in skill achieved by the island’s fencers.

This was particularly true of the younger ones, several of whom are now proving to be a real handful for Guernsey’s more experienced competitors.