A fit, impressive team of Canadian Armed Forces fencers proved difficult to beat at the CISM Nordic Cup in Halmstad, Sweden, 1-4 October 2014.

In a tough field that included the renowned Polish Olympic fencing team, the Canadian team reached the podium in several events. Cpl Hughes Boisvert-Simard of 1 Battalion, Royal 22nd Regiment won a gold medal in the Men’s Épée, while Lt Jean Lelion of 4 Intelligence Company, 2 Canadian Division followed closely behind, earning the silver. Rounding out the men’s competition was Cpl Clément Féménias-Métivet (Combat Engineer) of 35 CER Quebec City, who placed 9th overall.

In the team event, the Canadian Men’s Épée team also won the gold medal. “It was a nail-biting competition,” says the Team Captain Maj Marilyne Lafortune. “Sweden had defeated Poland, and our men’s team had beaten Sweden. In the Canada- Poland match, our Canadians came just short of being undefeated with a 4 to 5 bout loss. With Canada, Poland and Sweden having the same number of team victories, it came down to the number of individual bouts that were won, and the Canadians came out on top!”

The Canadian Women’s Épée team also achieved success at the competition, with three top-ten finishes: Capt Jacklyn Girvan of 2 Field Ambulance placed 5th, Maj Marilyne Lafortune of 3 Wing placed 6th, and Capt Sarah McRae of 2 Wing placed 7th. Thanks to their solid showing and excellent sportsmanship, the Canadian women won the team silver medal and were honoured with the Fair Play trophy.

“We used our experience from previous CISM competitions together and strategically chose the order in which we would fence during the relay portion,” says Maj Lafortune. “That allowed us to win decisive bouts early in the competition, such as against Denmark.”

Congratulations to the Canadian team on their excellent performance!