Sam Neal, 11, made a sound start to his competitive fencing career by coming home from the Plymouth Allstar Competition with a bronze medal.

Sam Neal, 11, made a sound start to his competitive fencing career by coming home from the Plymouth Allstar Competition with a bronze medal. Fencing in the U13 boys' Foil category he won four of his six fights in the first round and was seeded third for the direct elimination. Particularly encouraging was his ability to take on board coaching advice after each fight and his resulting progress was excellent. In the semi-final he narrowly lost 9-12 to the number two seed who went on to win the competition.Also fencing was 15-year-old George Evans who competed in the U17 boys' epee event. Following some strong victories in the poule he was seeded fourth for the direct elimination. He was knocked out of medal contention after a close quarter-final fight, but overall put in an amazing performance in this, his first epee competition.