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BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2025: PAT AIYENURO

BF celebrates Black History Month with BF President Pat Aiyenuro. We find out how she got involved in fencing, her favourite part of the sport, and her message to the fencing community.

Pat Aiyenuro at the Cadet (U17) & Junior (U20) World Championships, Wuxi (Image: Luca Pagliaricci / Bizzi Team)

October is Black History Month in the UK, an annual month that celebrates and reflects on Black history, arts and culture, as well as recognising the achievements and roles of Black people in shaping history.

To celebrate Black History Month, throughout October we are asking some of the members of our community to tell us more about themselves and their lives in fencing.

Introduce yourself.

My name is Pat Aiyenuro and I’m President of British Fencing.

Tell us what you love about fencing.

I love fencing because, actually it’s a sense of community. You meet some really nice people doing an activity where people are getting healthy, and I love watching the development of fencers from beginners all the way through to elite fencers. I think they’re all important, and it’s just the friendships that you make, and I love competition as well.

How did you get involved in fencing?

My son started fencing first and so I started helping out at the local club, taking him to competitions. Then I started doing team manager, joined the Board, and now I’m leading as President.

What’s your message to the fencing community?

We’re one family actually, so keep up the fencing family, keep going, spread the word because we want more people to fence and experience such a wonderful thing, and make friends from all over the world.