VRI Fencing Club located near the heart of Melbourn at 141 Burnley Street Richmond, Victoria is an Australian fencing club distinguished as being the only club in any Olympic sport to have continuously produced athletes for every Olympiad between 1952 and 2008.
The club was founded a week after the
International Olympic Committee awarded Melbourne the 15th Olympiad on 28 April 1949. Formed by employees of the
Victorian Railways, VRI Fencing Club was funded, equipped and accommodated under the auspice of the Victorian Railways Institute, an organisation dedicated to providing self-learning, social and sport opportunities for railway employees. In addition to encouraging public participation in the sport of fencing, the club sought to train and develop competitive athletes in three weapons to represent Australia at the Melbourne
1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...
.
The club produced five athletes for the Melbourne Olympiad. Overall it has produced 35 athletes for 15 consecutive Olympiads, including most recently, three athletes for the Beijing
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
. VRI Fencing Club produced a representative Australian athlete for every Olympiad since Australia first competed in fencing at Helsinki in 1952 up to Beijing in 2008. Overall the club has produced 48 per cent of Australia's total number of Olympic fencers.
Today
VRI Fencing Club operates seven days a week. It is accessible to beginners and social fencers, and provides frequent beginner classes. The club's ongoing children's and schools programs make an introduction to the sport an easy and fun social occasion for children. It caters for all levels of skill - beginners young and old (from Musketeers aged 7 to 13; to elite athletes looking for cross training options; to fencers in their fifties, sixties and seventies); social fencers and competitive fencers. Many junior and senior athletes compete nationally and internationally. The club attracts many visiting fencers from around the world who travel to Melbourne to combine work or combine university study with an opportunity to train with the club's athletes. Fencers from the US, UK, Italy, Kuwait, France, India, China, Japan, New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore are frequent visitors. The club operates an annual residential 'Ultimate Fencing Club' that involves guest international coaches and young fencers from across Australia, Asia, the Middle East and the Pacific.
Home of Australian Fencing and State Centre for Excellence
In 2011 the VRI Fencing Club and its Tigerland training centre was named the Home of Australian Fencing. The name reflects the club's status as the oldest, largest and most successful fencing club in Australia. The Australian Fencing Federation has recognised VRI Fencing Club as the nation's High Performance Club of the Year every year since the award was introduced in 2002.
[Australian Fencing Federation. High Performance Awards. Best High Performance Club 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011.] On 19 April 2012 the VRI Fencing Club training centre at the Punt Road Oval became the State Centre for Excellence in Modern Pentahlon, providing elite level fencing training and development for the fencing component of the Olympic multi-sport discipline.
Commonwealth Games
VRI Fencing Club provided a number of competitors to the 1954 and 1958
British Empire Games
The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
and the 1962, 1966 and 1970
British Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
. VRI club members achieved a number of podium finishes.
Medal Tally
Overall total of medals achieved by VRI Fencing Club members for individual and team events at the British Empire Games (1954–1958) and British Commonwealth Games (1962–1970), prior to the establishment of the Commonwealth Fencing Championships in 1974.
Commonwealth Fencing Championships
VRI Fencing Club has provided competitors to every
Commonwealth Fencing Championships The Commonwealth Fencing Championships is a fencing event held in the Commonwealth of Nations. Following the removal of fencing as a core sport within the main Commonwealth Games, the first Commonwealth Fencing Championships were held in 1974 and th ...
since the club was established. The club has produced eight Australian gold medalists and contributed members to five Australian gold medal teams.
Gold Medalists - Individual Events
*Glasgow 1978
Helen Smith (foil).
*Shah Alam 1998
Seamus Robinson (épée),
Evelyn Halls
Evelyn Halls (born 18 August 1972) is an Australian fencer. She competed in the women's individual épée events at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ...
(épée).
*Newcastle 2002
Nick Heffernan (épée),
Evelyn Halls
Evelyn Halls (born 18 August 1972) is an Australian fencer. She competed in the women's individual épée events at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ...
(épée).
Gold Medal Teams
*Shah Alam 1998 Men's épée, Women's épée.
*Newcastle 2002 Men's foil, Men's épée, Women's épée.
Medal Tally
Overall total of medals achieved by VRI Fencing Club members for individual and team events at the Commonwealth Fencing Championships from 1974 to 2010.
See also
*
Australia at the Olympics
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vri Fencing Club
Fencing in Australia
Fencing organizations
Sporting clubs in Melbourne
Sports clubs established in 1949
1949 establishments in Australia
Fencing clubs
Sport in the City of Yarra