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2025-26 ANNUAL REPORT - GBR PATHWAY PROGRAMME

This article forms part of a series of reports accompanying the 2025-26 BF Annual Report.

Please note that all financial figures in this report are subject to final audited accounts. 

In this report:

  • GBR Pathway Programme’s objectives
  • Camps and other GBR Pathway activities
  • GBR Pathway Coach Development
  • GBR Paralympic Pathway
  • GBR Pathway Athlete Engagement
  • DiSE (Diploma in Sporting Excellence)
  • Grants
  • Looking Ahead

GBR Pathway Programme’s Objectives

Funded predominantly by Sport England, the goal of the pathway programme is to nurture and retain talented athletes, ensuring a continuous pipeline of world-class fencers while keeping those who exit the pathway engaged in the sport.

Reflecting the new 2030 Strategy goal 3: Deliver GBR Success and the previous evolution and growth of the programme, the 2025-26 objectives were defined as:

  • Build on the success of the athlete-centred, development-driven and competition-supported approach from previous years
  • Identify and develop a generation of athletes who are competitive on the international stage
  • Provide a developmental pathway which enhances skills, knowledge and behaviours to be successful on and off the piste
  • Encourage athletes to play a full and active role in the fencing community
  • Continue to be a safe, fun, and welcoming talent environment

Camps & Other GBR Activities

In 2025-26, there were 276 athletes on the GBR Pathway.

GBR Performance Camps – designed to bring together top‑ranked senior, junior, and cadet athletes, and provide high‑value, collaborative training environments shaped jointly by coaches, athletes and clubs; their purpose is to expose athletes to enhanced performance standards, strengthen team cohesion, and prepare them effectively for major international competitions.

GBR Prep camps – delivered ahead of the Cadet & Junior European and World Championships, these were held in Bath (epee), London (foil), and Hertfordshire (sabre), providing selected athletes and reserves with focused competition preparation. These camps emphasised tactical sharpness, scenario‑based fencing, and mental and physical readiness, ensuring athletes were equipped for the demands of upcoming major events. Approximately 65% of athletes who attended the Cadet and Junior Euros attended the Prep camps, mirroring engagement levels from the 2024-25 season. Total number of attendees across the season = 52.

GBR Development Camps continued to evolve, offering structured sparring, holistic skills development, and alignment with the Diploma in Sporting Excellence (DiSE). Five camps took place throughout the year, complementing Cadet and Junior calendars and integrating wheelchair fencing athletes in line with BF’s commitment to inclusive pathway delivery.

Feedback from athletes indicates a small year‑on‑year improvement in satisfaction with Development Camps, with an overall score of 8.4 out of 10 in 2025-26.

Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) screening – Over 70 individuals were targeted to take part in CRY’s screening process in March 2026. Looking ahead, the intention is to offer all athletes on the GBR Pathway this screening as part of our ongoing commitment to athlete wellbeing.

GBR Pathway Coach Development

2025-26 saw the exploration and introduction of the coaching team model within the Pathway. This approach shifts the system from a reliance on individual coaches at camps towards a GBR Coaching Team to encourage shared learning between the coaches. During the 2025-26 season, nine new coaches were integrated into the GBR Pathway, bringing the total to 26, demonstrating continued growth in both coaching depth and expertise across the Pathway.  In turn, learning is put at the heart of athlete development, ensuring the camps are athlete-centred, development-driven and competition supported.

GBR Paralympic Pathway

As of June 2025, BF assumed responsibility for the Paralympic (Wheelchair) Fencing World Class Programme, enabling deeper alignment between para and standing fencing within the GBR Pathway.

This also brought renewed focus on developing the next generation of world‑class Paralympic fencers. The first Accelerate Camp, January 31st-1st February 2026, provided a performance‑focused training environment for seven fencers within the programme. The  Accelerate Camps are designed to accelerate the development of classifiable wheelchair fencers who are working towards, or demonstrating readiness for, the demands of the World Class Programme and will continue into 2026-27.

Athlete Engagement

We reinvigorated our Athlete Rep Panel to engage with our athlete community to better understand their experience, which will shape the GBR Pathway. Six new members joined the panel, an increase from five holding positions in the previous term. Looking ahead, the panel will engage with the wider GBR Pathway Programme to understand how best to use their experience to improve the Pathway.

DiSE (Diploma in Sporting Excellence)

The DiSE programme runs over two years, with fencers starting in August with the first GBR Pathway training camp, and finishing in July two academic years later. Applications are open from May to the end of July each year at https://www.britishfencing.com/gbr-pathway-programme-zone/dise/

We currently have

  • 28 places to allocate starting in September 2026
  • 27 fencers in year two of the programme and
  • 28 fencers in year one.

More about DiSE – The multi-sport DiSE programme is managed through SportsAid, using Department for Education (DfE) funding, offering 1550 places over 26 sports. See more at https://dise.org.uk/ and https://www.britishfencing.com/gbr-pathway-programme-zone/dise.

Grants

Supporting athletes to access funding and performance services remains a key component of the GBR Pathway. During the 2025-26 season with the support of BF, pathway athletes secured more than £80,000 in grant funding, helping to offset the significant costs associated with training and international competition.

This included 18 SportsAid awards through the Backing the Best programme and a SportsAid pilot scheme. Additional grants were awarded through the BF Charity and the James Williams Memorial Fund, with further funding secured from the British Olympic Association.

Our most talented athletes also benefit from access to TASS, with 27 athletes receiving support during the season. TASS provides access to strength and conditioning, physiotherapy, performance nutrition, sport psychology, and personal development services. This year, we strengthened our approach to TASS engagement to ensure athletes made the best use of the support available.

The Pathway team also helps athletes access external funding opportunities, including schemes such as the GLL Sport Foundation.

Looking Ahead To 2026-27

We will;

  • Refine the GBR Pathway offer by developing a coherent, season‑long plan for Development Camps, Prep Camps, Performance Camps and Accelerate Camps.
  • Further define the roles of GBR coaches at both camps and competitions, ensuring continuity across the pathway activities (in collaboration with the wider workforce).
  • Grow the Para Fencing talent pool by accelerating athletes currently on a trajectory towards the World Class Programme, while also broadening the depth of the athlete base, potentially leveraging the Cardiff 2026 Para European  Championships in October.
  • Establish and activate the Epee and Foil Weapon Steering Groups to provide consistent strategic leadership, direction, and collaboration across all three weapons.
  • Continue to engage the GBR Coaching Team, providing development opportunities through international competition trips to support consistent coaching delivery throughout the season.
  • Looking ahead, talent identification initiatives will look for the Paralympic Fencers of the future, including Talent ID days that will be announced in 2026-27.
  • Further development of the Pathway curriculum aligned with the Pathway model and exploring digital delivery to maximise engagement.
  • Start work on the funding strategy to attract future investment into the GBR pathway (note: Sport England talent funding cycle ends in March 2029).

Thank You

BF would like to thank:

  • Our funding partners (Sport England and UK Sport) and all the organisations that we work with to create and deliver the services of the GBR Pathway, including the Home Nation Fencing bodies, The True Athlete Project and UKSI.
  • The BF Charity and The Epee Club.
  • All the coaches and athlete support personnel who have engaged in the programme and support the athletes in their pathway journeys.

This post is related to the BF 2030 Strategy goal to Deliver GBR Success

Click here for the full 2025-26 Annual Report.