Fencing champ to teach scheme kids using foam blades

Published on Thursday 29 July 2010 12:01

It's not a sport you'd expect to find in areas such as Pilton, Granton, Niddrie and Muirhouse.

British fencing champion Keith Cook wants to take his talents into schools in some of the Capital's most deprived areas though, to give children as young as five the chance to experience it - with foam swords.

Mr Cook, who grew up in Pilton, first got interested in fencing at the age of 12 when a friend who attended one of Edinburgh's private schools introduced him to it.

He soon discovered he had a talent for it, working his way into the Scottish team at just 14 and making it to the European championships just a few years later.

He is now one of only nine members of the British squad in line for representing the UK in the 2012 Olympics.

But despite following a stringent training regime - which sees him travel down to London from Edinburgh every week - he is launching his fencing school in September to give children in Edinburgh the chance to learn new skills.

Mr Cook, 29, said: "I realised when I was younger that fencing was fun and this is about trying to make it fun for kids.

"People don't really know a lot about fencing in Scotland.

"We want to work in disadvantaged areas like Muirhouse, Pilton, Granton and Niddrie because these kids there probably have never seen fencing before.

"There is an image of fencing being a posh sport but there's only one guy in the British team who went to private school."

He added: "Some people might find it dangerous but it's not at all.

"We use foam swords for P1-3 and they don't hurt at all and then we use plastic foils with beepers on them so you can see who has scored for P4-7.

"The classes are also taken in a structured and supervised environment."

eleven schools have already signed up to Fencing Fun including James Gillespie's and Liberton primaries, and the prestigious Loretto School in Musselburgh.

Mr Cook and his business partner, the former Scottish fencing team manager Sean Walton, will also take the venture to several of Edinburgh's special schools.

The classes are part-funded through Active Schools, leaving parents with just a small fee to pay for their children to take part.

The pair will also run open classes at weekends for primary school-aged children at Juniper Green church hall and the Mary Erskine Sport Centre.

Mr Cook, who lives in Currie, has two children, Jaimie, five, and Imogen, three, who both enjoy watching him fence.

He said: "My son loves transformers and Power Rangers and the main people in them have a sword. I used to give him a rolled-up newspaper but now he uses the fencing kit."

Mel Coutts, Active Schools Manager at the city council, said: "It is fantastic to see pupils take up fencing in our schools.

"The variety created by less well known sports like fencing might attract children and young people who normally don't participate in sports.

"It also offers them different skills and may appeal to children who don't normally take an interest in team sports."

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