Fencer to defend title

Elaine Birse 1594 - 1594 • Published 10 Jun 2009 12:52 0 Comments

Fencer Amy Duffus has received the support of Olympic gold and silver medallist Darren Campbell as it was announced she will represent Scotland in the 2009 UK School Games.

Amy (16) will fence against the UK"s teenage elite in the Women"s Epee event, being held at the University of Wales in Cardiff from 3-6 September.

'I congratulate Amy for her determination in achieving a place at the UK School Games, which will no doubt be the most important performance of her sporting career so far,' said Darren Campbell, the UK School Games Ambassador. 'Reaching the UK School Games is the closest a young person can get to competing at the Olympics.

'Competitors will experience their own Opening Ceremony, Closing Ceremony and Athletes" Village in South Wales. I"ll be there watching Amy and her fellow athletes be the best that they can be.'

Duffus, who is a pupil at Dollar Academy, trains twice a week at West Fife Fencing Club and on weekends with the Scottish Talent Squad to keep her fencing skills at a nationally competitive level. This is the third year that Duffus has competed in the UK School Games, with 2008 seeing her win gold.

'I"m very excited to have once again been selected to fence for Scotland and be given the opportunity to defend our team"s title from 2008,' she said. 'It will be great to experience the event alongside two of my schoolmates Ruth and Michael Clarke, and the rest of our closely bonded and enthusiastic Scotland team.'

'Darren Campbell has obviously put in an intense amount of work to achieve the successes he has had in his life, and that level of dedication is inspirational. Having met other Olympians at previous UKSG, I know how valuable both their encouragement and insight into situations can be.'

Campbell is famed for winning Olympic gold in Athens 2004 and silver in Sydney 2000, arguably one of Britain"s most successful sprint athletes. He retired from competing in 2006 and lives in South Wales.

Now in its fourth year, the UK School Games will attract the best school-aged athletes across ten sports and 2009 will be the first Games to include Track Cycling. The UK School Games is designed to create a legacy whereby young people of all ages and abilities can aspire to compete in sport, become leaders, volunteers and technical officials. The Youth Sport Trust is responsible for the development and organisation of the competition.

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This article appeared in Alloa & Hillfoots Advertiser 18 Jun 09

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