Summer coaching course 2026
August 10 – August 15
York | 10 – 15 August 2026
YORK | 10 – 15 August 2026
Booking for the week long residential course has now closed. However, you may still register to attend on individual days to train with our 3 experienced Fencing Masters .
- If you attend on the Monday, you will be able to join the Master Class by Olympian and former world number one Richard Kruse
- If you attend on the Tuesday, you will able to join Sam McClellan’s Masterclass on referring.
You may also choose to just attend just the masterclasses (Richard Kruse’s Masterclass or Sam McClellan’s Masterclass)
Each day runs from 9am-9pm (except Monday which is 11-9pm) and includes lunch and dinner. Please note that whilst the caterers are able to cater for a wide range of nutritional requirements we can’t guarantee any specifics.
Sam McLellan
Sam is a FIE Licensed sabre and foil referee. A recovering international sabre fencer, he achieved his FIE licence in 2022 (as one of the youngest in the world) and just two years later, was appointed to the FIE’s referee ‘Master List’ – a select group of officials from around the world appointed to referee at senior world cups and championships. He has since refereed finals of Commonwealth, European and World Championships, as well as numerous World Cups and Grand Prixs.
Sam he is known for his calm presence, rigid impartiality and knowledge of the rules – which is combined with a sporadic sense of humour depending on the competition venue’s temperature.
He is keen to support referees and refereeing generally, a crucial practice which he firmly believes should not be confined to people wearing suits. He leads on sabre refereering on British Fencing’s Performance Working Group and sits on the Referee Advisory Board with responsibility for developing new domestic refeering qualifications.
His talk is entitled ‘ The Return of the Jedi: refereering as a tool development and performance’ and hopes to offer a supportive presentation and discussion about key principles of refereeing and the FIE rule books, and seeks to prove beyond doubt that better refeering yields better coaching (and hence better fencing).
Second speaker TBC soon.
Richard Kruse
Hello, my name is Richard Kruse and I am a four time Olympian and a former world No.1.
I have coached fencing since 2004 and became a full-time professional coach in 2021 after finishing my career as an active fencer. For the entirety of my career as a fencer I trained under the tutelidge of Ziemek Wojciechowski. I also hold a diploma in fencing coaching from Semmelweiz university in Budapest (2005) where I studied under the guidance various Hungarian fencing masters including the late Istvan Lukovich. I am currently the head foil coach at Salle Paul Phoenix fencing club in North London.
The venue for the course will be Boothams independent school, a leafy oasis in the bustling centre.
Cost per day (non residential)
- BAF Member: £124
- Non BAF Member: £128
Register for one – or more – individual days on our 2026 summer course.
Once you submit your expression of interest below, one of the committee will get back in touch with you to let you know the total cost (if more than one day) and send you a payment link.
Dr Jonathan Katz
Dr Jonathan Katz is a fencing coach, coach developer and consultant psychologist. His passion in developing coaches started in 1988, since when Jonathan has supported the British Academy of Fencing, British Fencing and England Fencing in facilitating the growth and development of coaching.
Jonathan has been a member of staff on national coaching courses supporting candidate coaches from their first step on the coaching ladder to their final one. He complements this formal coach education with ongoing mentoring and continual professional development of coaches in their own coaching environments. Developing ‘the person’ as well as ‘the coach’ is central to Jonathan’s approach.
Jonathan is also instrumental in supporting the strategic growth of fencing coaching in GBR by developing and co-developing national programmes’ coach education course material. His fencing specific coach support has benefitted from an extensive wider, multi-sport appreciation of the development, performance and high performance environments. Where he has supported personal, squad and national coaches in how they prepare athletes and and associated training systems for performance across sports in national and international settings including world cup events, Commonwealth, European and World Championships and Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Jonathan is a: Professor of the BAF – BF 3-weapon L5 coach – Maitre d’Armes of the AAI; BAF and BF coach developer/educator and BAF coach examiner / BF coach assessor.
Tony Middleton
Professor Tony Middleton is President of the British Academy of Fencing, Chair of the SSTT (Standing Sub-Committee for Technique and Terminology), coach examiner, and Maitre d’Armes in all three weapons. He has coached fencers from beginner to international level in a variety of settings.
He is Head Coach of Hitchin Fencing Club, which has won the 3 Counties League for several years, head coach at St Albans Fencing Club, and Chair of the Hertfordshire Fencing Association.
Highlights of his career to date have included coaching at the Commonwealth Fencing Championships, and seeing students through their entire fencing career from first beginners class to selection for national team.
In his other career he is an accomplished magician. Following a 1st class hons degree in Theatre Studies and MFA in Theatre Directing from the University of London, he headlines his own show in Mayfair. He often draws upon principles of illusion and deception in his fencing lessons.
Phil Carson
Phil Carson BA (Hons), MBA, MSc is a Full Master of the British Academy of Fencing, holding Level 5 Diplomas in foil, epee and sabre.
Over a 40-year coaching career, he has worked with more than 100 Scottish, British and Commonwealth champions and studied coaching systems across France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the USA.
Phil holds an MSc in Performance Coaching from the University of Stirling and has completed both British Fencing’s Advanced Coach Programme and the High Performance Coach Developer Programme in partnership with Sportscotland.
Widely recognised as an innovator in skill acquisition and coach development, Phil is currently working with the British Academy of Fencing, British Fencing and Scottish Fencing to shape next-generation coaching practice.