News!
Here you can find out about all of the news and events that Celtic Sword Club and its members have been involved in!
Scroll down for the latest updates...
First Competition... First Win!
Welsh Youth Championships 2026!
The Welsh Youth Fencing Championships were held in Cardiff on Sunday 1st February and one of our very own youth fencers decided to take up the challenge!
This was Ted's very first fencing competition, so to say he did well would be an understatement! Everyone at Celtic Sword is really proud to announce that Ted WON the Men's U14 Epee!
Not only that, but he went on to compete in the mixed U18 Epee, too!
Always bringing a positive energy and happiness on club nights, we all extend a huge CONGRATULATIONS to Ted and cannot wait to see what's next..!
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM ALL AT CELTIC SWORD FENCING CLUB!
Thank you to everyone who makes Celtic Sword Fencing Club what it is! That means all of YOU! Our members, committee, and everyone who helps to support our club and the sport of Fencing! Below is our Christmas Roundup from our Club Chair and Head Coach, Max...
2025 has been a good year for the Celtic Sword Club!
Club evenings have been getting steadily busier, in particular, the 7-9pm session. Last year we discussed changing to an Epee specific club and this has been implemented.This really helps ensure that club members have a variety of people to fence of different abilities and makes the club evening feel more fluid. It’s really pleasing to see a busy footwork session at the start of the night. With growing membership, we also have more hands to help at the beginning and end of club nights, so thank you to everyone who mucks in and helps to get out kit at the start of the evening, and put away the pistes, sort and tidy the kit and swords before leaving. It makes a world of difference.
This year your committee has updated the English version of the website and thanks to our Social Secretary Abi for putting in lots of hard work updating and maintaining it, to Cath for managing the contacts that come through the website… and to future Cath for the work she will be doing with Abi to translate so we have a live Welsh version, too…
In June we hosted the first Clash in the Castle at Coity Castle, with invited fencers from local clubs attending, bringing their beginner/improvers and experienced fencers.
This was a great event, and we received very positive feedback. It was pleasing to be able to commemorate Simon Rowe with the Spirit of Fencing Award awarded to G-R, who was a very worthy winner. We are hoping that Clash will happen again next year and hopeful that we are able to expand it too – still lots of work to do! Watch this space!
Throughout the year, we have welcomed new members We have also seen some members leave for university with a promise of returning as and when they can. It goes without saying that everyone is welcome. Whilst competitive, we also consider ourselves to be a really friendly, warm and inclusive club, so welcoming all of our new members, and returning previous members has been fantastic.
We recently purchased some equipment. However, one of the biggest achievements this year has been successfully winning a Sport Wales grant of around £7,000. This funding is vital to the success of the club, and we will look forward to investing those funds with the aim of improving equipment for existing members and to grow the club.
Competitive Celtic
Club members have entered several competitions this year and there have been some excellent results and personal achievements. Competitions where Celtic Sword has been represented include the Welsh Open, Welsh Vets, Birmingham International, Cocks Moors Woods Epee, RAF Open, Cardiff Epee Open, Winton Cup, and the O’Sullivan Cup.
Cath won gold at Welsh Vets and was also selected for the Vets Winton.
I was selected to fence in the Senior Winton for Wales. I finished second in Clash in the Castle. However, I won the O’Sullivan cup for the second year in a row.
It was great to see a sea of orange max effect socks at the O’Sullivan Cup.
Aled represented Celtic at the Cardiff Epee Open and battled through a shin injury, but… it’s still on target so tough luck Aled.
Abi has had solid performances in several competitions and achieved her first bye at Cocks Moors Woods. She has continued to steadily climb the senior rankings and is now just outside the top 100 in GB.
The Clash in the Castle is a great opportunity to try fencing and many of our beginner / improver fencers got a chance to fence competitively for the first time, and in the open air in a castle!
The O’Sullivan is similar. Lastly the poules we did at the festive fencing was well received and we will run something like that again more formally and more often throughout 2026.
The club committee will be meeting early in the new year, and we will also be organising a formal AGM.
The Max Effect Awards!
These awards are agreed by the Committee and presented to club members who showed improvement, initiative, sportspersonship throughout the year in specific categories! This year the awards were for, and were presented to:
Angela Jackson – Chair’s award for seated fencing
Ariana Lewis – Growth through sport award
And Finally...
We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful, happy New Year! We cannot wait to see you all back on the piste from 15th January and in the meantime... yes, mince pies are considered carb-loading..
Yes, Christmas/twixtmas can be a great test of stamina, strength and character
And yes, swords make the perfect Christmas gift - shiny, pretty and useful... what more could you want‽
Celtic Sword Club Awarded 'Be Active Wales' Funding!
Celtic Sword Fencing Club have received a share of National Lottery funding aimed at supporting grassroots sports clubs in Wales.
Celtic Sword were awarded the Sport Wales' Be Active Wales Fund to help them purchase additional club fencing kit to ensure all of our kit meets current British Fencing Standards, and enable us to extend the opportunity to try fencing to more people within the local area!
By distributing money from The National Lottery, the Be Active Wales Fund offers clubs grants to get more people participating, or to help keep people taking part at clubs and activities into the future.
Celtic Sword Head Treasurer, Ruth, said "This funding will make a massive difference for our club. We hope to use it to ensure our club can be more sustainable which will no doubt attract more people to reap the benefits of sport our existing members already enjoy".
To find out more about the Be Active Wales Fund please visit www.sport.wales/beactivewalesfund
Celtic Sword Club at The Welsh Open 2025!
The Welsh Open took place on 8/9 November in Cardiff with all six weapons, including wheelchair fencing, across the weekend!
Three of our members, Max, Cath and Abi, represented Celtic Sword in Men's and Women's Epee.
Cath and Abi fought in Women's epee on the Saturday, with some mixed pool results and fierce competition.
Abi fought hard in her first Direct Elimination (DE) and lost 12/15. Cath also fought well, with tough competition in her DE and lost 6/15, placing Abi and Cath 67th and 70th in the day!
Max followed with Men's epee on the Sunday, with fierce pools, taking him through to his first DE fight which he won 15/4. The second DE was against the day's number one seeded competitor which was lost 5/15, placing Max within the top 64, at 58th!!
The Welsh Open is always a fun and challenging weekend. Celtic Sword was well represented both on and off the piste, and Max, Abi and Cath were delighted to see so many friendly faces from Celtic and other local clubs. The Welsh Open is a wonderful competition to attend and spectate, and shows off the breadth of people fencing can attract, as well as how friendly and warm everyone is whether they are competing against each other or not.
In conclusion - another wonderful weekend of fencing! Same again next year!
You can see the full results and find out more about the Welsh Open here: https://welshopen.cymru/
GOLD MEDAL for Cath Bowd in Womens Epee Welsh Veterans Championship!
The Welsh Veterans' National Championships took place in Cardiff over the weekend of 6th-7th Setember with Women's Epee on the Saturday. After winning all 5 of her pool matches, Cath went on to win her three direct eliminations and take the Gold!
Cath isn't just our Club Secretary, Welfare Officer and Coach, she's also an integral part of Celtic Swords, always bringing fun and happiness to club nights and competitions! We're delighted with her win and wish her all the congratulations!
Well done, Cath!!
Levelled Up!
Max gains Level 3 Epee Coaching Qualification
Congratulations to Head Coach, Maxwell Rowe-Haynes, who recently attended British Fencing's 5-day, weapon specific, level three coaching course!
Based in beautiful, historic Stratford-Upon-Avon, the course started with a one-day Intro to Coaching Fencing Course followed by the five day, Weapon-Specific Level 3 (WS3) course, for which Max specialised in epee. Including some home study, this was an intensive week of learning and training to gain the Level 3 qualification.
Congratulations to Max on levelling up! And good luck to everyone coached by Max..!
If you want to find out more about Level 3 Coaching Course, you can find more information here
Our very own Club Chair and Head Coach, Max Rowe-Haynes was selected to represent Wales in the Men's Epee Team for the 75th Senior Winton Cup, held over the weekend of 12-13 July 2025 at Nottingham Trent University (the hottest weekend of the year so far!!)
Max and team mates Rhys Jackson, Will Ferguson and Oliver Massey fought well against the other 10 regions.
Overall, Wales came 5th and you can read the full report here.
Congratulations to Max, and all of the Welsh fencers on a great weekend!
You can take a look at some of the action in the photos below!
Celtic Sword Club hosted its inaugural Clash in the Castle on 22 June 2025 in the beautiful grounds of Coity Castle. With thanks to Cadw for granting permission and British Fencing for providing the community license.
This is a friendly, non-ranking, invitation only competition which we hope will become an annual highlight in the Celtic Swords calendar!
The full match report can be found here and you can check out the awesome pictures from the day below!
