BCFA's Top 10 of 2022
This past year has been monumental for fencing in British Columbia. With training and competitions returning to normal in 2022, our athletes, coaches and staff have made some incredible achievements.
Here are some of our Top 10 moments of 2022:
1. Vancouver hosts the first ever men’s and women’s World Cup in December 2022.
Presented by the FIE, CFF, BCFA and Dynamo Fencing Club, this event was the first of its kind to feature individual and team events for both men’s and women’s categories.
2. Alexanne Verret wins Bronze medal at the Vancouver World Cup.
Verret’s Bronze medal at this event was the first time a Canadian women’s epeeist had won a World Cup medal since Sherraine Schalm in 2009. With Schalm as her coach during this event, this medal is a career best for Verret. Earlier this year, she also made a 13th place result at the World Cup in Barcelona.
3. Dylan French makes Top 16 at the Vancouver World Cup.
4. All-B.C. Senior Men’s Epee Team.
The team consisting of Dylan French, Fynn Fafard, Nicholas Zhang and Samuel Gallagher-Pelletier all train at Dynamo Fencing Club. The men's epee team finished 13th at the Senior World Championships in Cairo, Egypt this past summer, with a dominant Top 32 win over the USA.
5. Samuel Gallagher-Pelletier wins individual Bronze medal at Senior Pan American Championships in Asuncion, Paraguay.
6. B.C. athletes bring home 40 medals from the National Championships in Toronto, Ontario.
An outstanding performance was seen from B.C. with 10 gold, 12 silver and 18 bronze medals won at the event.
7. Nicholas Zhang goes triple Gold at Nationals winning Cadet, Junior and Senior Men’s Epee events.
At only 16-years-old, Nicholas Zhang achieved a hat trick of medals at this year’s event - notably a repeat of last year’s December Nationals in Gatineau, Quebec.
8. Dynamo Fencing Club coach, Igor Gantsevich, named High Performance Director for the Canadian Fencing Federation.
9. Nine B.C. athletes and 3 coaches were named to the Cadet/Junior World Championships team.
10. B.C. athletes shine at 2022 NACs. Some highlights include:
Salt Lake City, Utah NAC
- Nadia Hayes - Gold (Junior women’s foil)
- Jack Pan - Bronze (Junior men’s sabre)
Minneapolis, Minnesota (Summer Nationals)
- Nicholas Zhang - Gold (Div 1 men’s epee)
- Dylan French, Eli Lippman, Avery Townsend and Nicholas Zhang - Gold (Senior men’s epee team)
Minneapolis, Minnesota NAC
- Nicholas Zhang - Gold (Cadet men’s epee)
- Bowen Xu - Bronze (Y-14 men’s foil)
There have been so many incredible moments this past year, and we wish everyone a healthy and happy new year.
Looking forward to seeing what we can all achieve in 2023!