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NEW #BFLEARNINGWEEK 2025 EVENT: WHEELCHAIR FENCING PANEL

Nik Diaper, Piers Gilliver and Dimitri Coutya join #BFLearningWeek 2025 with ‘Wheelchair Fencing Panel: Highest Performing Fencers’, taking place on Monday 18th August at 12pm-1.30pm.

Date: Monday 18th August 2025, 12pm-1.30pm

Guest Speakers:

  • Nik Diaper (Head of Paralympic Performance Support for UK Sports Institute)
  • Piers Gilliver (2024 Paralympic medallist)
  • Dimitri Coutya (2024 Double Paralympic Champion)

Host: Rick Rodgers (BF Inclusion Manager (Disability))

About the session

Join an expert panel including Nik Diaper, Head of Paralympic Performance Support for UK Sports Institute, and Paralympic medallists Piers Gilliver and Dimitri Coutya. Explore the world of Paralympic sport and particularly wheelchair fencing. Hosted by BF Inclusion Manager (Disability) Rick Rodgers, the session promises to be both informative and thought-provoking.

About the guest speakers

Nik Diaper:

Nik Diaper is currently Deputy Director for Performance Planning at the UK Sports Institute (UKSI). Prior to this, Nik was Head of Paralympic Performance and has over 18 years experience working in elite Paralympic sport.

Piers Gilliver:

Piers Gilliver is the 2020 Men’s Individual Epee A Paralympic Champion, becoming the first British Paralympic Champion since Carol Walton in 1988. He was also part of the foil team – himself, Dimitri Coutya and Oliver Lam-Watson – that claimed silver. They also won bronze in the team foil event. Before this, he won silver at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio. More recently, he claimed double silver in epee and sabre at the 2024 Games in Paris.

Piers tried wheelchair fencing for the first time in 2010 at his local club in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Two years later, he attended ParalympicsGB’s Paralympic Inspiration Programme, allowing him to experience the atmosphere of the London 2012 Games.

In 2022, Piers was awarded an MBE for services to fencing.

Dimitri Coutya:

Dimitri Coutya is the 2024 Double Paralympic Champion, claiming the title in both Individual Foil and Epee B. In doing so, he became the first British fencer to win individual foil gold since Cyril Thomas in 1964. His subsequent epee gold took ParalympicsGB’s overall gold medal tally to surpass Tokyo’s 41 medals. He also won silver in the foil team event alongside Piers Gilliver and Oliver Lam-Watson, as well as bronze in the team epee.

At Paris 2024, Dimitri became the first British Paralympian to be selected to fence in all three weapons. Before this, he won two individual bronze medals at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, as well as silver and bronze in the foil and epee team events. Dimitri was selected to train with the squad attending the London 2012 Paralympic Games, being selected as part of the ParalympicsGB’s Paralympic Inspiration Programme.

In 2024, Dimitri was awarded an MBE for services to fencing.

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About BF Learning Week

BF Learning Week is an annual opportunity for our members and wider community to join online developmental and informative sessions in subjects from coaching to community development. Due to the work being made in the para and seated fencing spaces, such as the SwordSeat™, the aim for 2025 is to focus on accessibility and disability inclusion.

The week will take place between the 18th and 22nd August 2025.

A full timetable, updated regularly, can be found here: BF Learning Week 2025