‘We are growing as a community', says SA fencer Lexiy Lancaster
Talking about where South Africa stands compared to the rest of the world, she said it's a very small fencing nation and far from the big European and Asian clubs and tournaments, but was still having an impact.
'Recently, an Egyptian became the head of the FIE, our international governing body, and a South African is the deputy head. We also have some very strong fencing nations in Africa, particularly Egypt who medalled in the most recent Olympics and consistently has high world rankings for their teams. South African fencing is still very small. It's going to take a while to build to where we want to be, not just in South Africa but in the Southern African Region. We are growing as a community.'
Lancaster, along with Phumza and Phakama Yantolo, make up three-quarters of the women's epee squad competing at the African Championships in Nigeria this June. Travelling with them to Nigeria will be Blues and UCT head coach Patrick Collings.
'I am incredibly excited, and I'm particularly excited because I get to go with my teammates and friends. We fence together in training and in local team competitions, so it makes it extra exciting to be able to compete with them. I have put so much work into making the team, getting the opportunity to test myself against the best in Africa is a dream.'
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