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...
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!
