Leon Hill receiving his MBE from the Lord-Lieutenant of Greater Manchester, Mr. Warren J. Smith

Academy News - An Apology   A number of members have been asked to pay excess postage on the recent mailing of Academy News, with the Bob Anderson Tribute.  If this has affected you, the Editor, Bob Merry, wishes to apologise.  Whilst preparing the nearly 300 envevlopes for mailing, the weight was checked, using a previous edition of the News as a guide - the current issue was still at the printers.  Whilst this seemed to show that we would be under the 100g limit, it would seem that this edition was printed on a different stock and this took us over that limit.  Again, we apologise for the oversight, but hope that the content of this enhanced mailing compensates for the inconvenience it may have caused members.  If you wish to comment further, please contact Bob direct on bobmerrybaf@aol.com.    

Contrary to some online speculation, it is NOT compulsory to attend a residential course in order to take a BAF exam at any level (though it is highly recommended). It is even possible to schedule a BAF exam at your own convenience and at your own location though of course you would have to cover examiners' fees etc.

The British Academy of Fencing will be running a course on Fencing Beyond the Basics on June 2nd/3rd 2012.  This course will focus on helping coaches and fencers become more tactically effective in their actions, and will be held at Staffordshire University in Stoke on Trent.  More info here