Elgin Duellist Fencing Club set to welcome record entry for Highland Open tournament with Olympian Hugh Kernohan and Commonwealth medallist Lucy Higham two of the star attractions

An Olympian and a Commonwealth fencing medallist will be part of a record entry at this year’s Highland Open in Elgin.

Elgin Duellist Fencing Club will host the competition at Elgin High School on September 28 and 29, with head coach Robin Paterson expecting it to be the busiest yet.

Among those taking part will be Culloden Fencing Club veteran Hugh Kernohan, who competed for Team GB at the Olympics in Seoul in 1988 and won the epee title at the British Fencing Championships the following year.

He won bronze at last year’s Highland Open in the men’s epee and his chances of gold will be enhanced by the absence of homegrown Elgin talent Callum Sutherland due to a broken leg.

Top female fencer on show will be Lucy Higham from the Salle Ossian club in Perth, who won a bronze medal for Scotland at the fencing Commonwealth Games in London two years ago.

The competition will see fencers compete from as far a field as Shetland to London in both the men’s and women’s foil, epee and sabre weapons.

“This is the tenth year that we have hosted this tournament and it is great to see the number of entries steadily increase with each year that passes,” said Paterson.

“One of the attractions for many of competitors is that this is the most northerly-ranked open fencing tournament in the whole of the UK and we like to think one of the friendliest too.”

He has already received more than 80 entries from 15 different fencing clubs with the numbers expected to grow over the days leading up to the start of the event.

“For our own club members, this may be the only time that they have an opportunity to compete against some of the top-ranking fencers in Scotland,” Paterson added.

“With the nearest fencing tournaments usually held in the central belt of Scotland, we are delighted that so many of our club members will take the brave step to compete over the weekend.”

These include Elgin Duellist Fencing Club’s junior champion Edwin Naughton, 15, from Cults Academy, and 14-year-old Forres Academy pupil Owen Lewis - Elgin’s most improved fencer - in the men’s epee and foil.

Paterson added that due to the level of interest in fencing from local primary school-aged children, the club will again host taster sessions in plastic fencing during the tournament, all available free-of-charge to any child of primary age.

Places do not need to be booked in advance but more information is available by contacting Robin Paterson on 07745011337.