10 October 2026 | Round 1 of 6
The 2026 Northern Ireland Junior Foil Series got off to a great start on 10 October, with young fencers competing across four age categories. The opening round produced excellent fencing and some closely contested bouts, setting the scene for the five rounds still to come.
Under-10 Mixed Foil – William Cao Takes the Opening Title
William Cao of Pembroke FC took gold in the Under-10 competition, overcoming Cato Yap of FLO 10–3 in the final.
Yap had made an excellent start, winning all three of his poule bouts, including a 5–1 victory over Cao. However, Cao reversed that result when it mattered most, winning the final to take the first Under-10 title of the series.
Theodore Cleaver-Davis of FLO finished third, with clubmate Austin Dong fourth.
It was a good start to the series for our youngest competitors, and we look forward to seeing how they progress over the remaining rounds.
Podium
🥇 William Cao (Pembroke FC)
🥈 Cato Yap (FLO)
🥉 Theodore Cleaver-Davis (FLO)
Under-12 Mixed Foil – Impressive Victory for Samuel Wu
Samuel Wu of Pembroke FC produced an excellent performance to win the Under-12 competition without losing a bout.
Wu won all three of his poule matches, conceding just three hits in total. He continued that form through the direct elimination stage, defeating Max Watterson of FLO 10–1 in the semi-final before winning 10–5 against fellow Pembroke fencer Timothy Miller in the final.
Miller took a well-earned silver, while Beau Trouton Benson of Grosvenor FC secured bronze with a 10–3 victory over Watterson in the third-place fence-off.
Wu’s unbeaten performance was particularly impressive, although there will be plenty of opportunities for the other competitors to challenge him as the series continues.
Podium
🥇 Samuel Wu (Pembroke FC)
🥈 Timothy Miller (Pembroke FC)
🥉 Beau Trouton Benson (Grosvenor FC)
Under-14 Mixed Foil – Vincent Vezelis Wins a Competitive Event
The Under-14 competition attracted 14 fencers, making it the largest category of the opening round.
Vincent Vezelis of ZFW took gold after an excellent day’s fencing. He won all six of his poule bouts, conceding just eight hits, before progressing through the elimination rounds to defeat Aleph Patino-Yap of FLO 15–7 in the final.
Oisin Yang of Pembroke FC also completed the poules unbeaten, winning all six of his bouts. Patino-Yap was similarly impressive, recording five victories from six poule matches.
Yang went on to finish third, while Ella Murphy of Sullivan Upper School took fourth place after a strong performance.
With several fencers showing good form in the opening round and a sizeable field competing, the Under-14 category should provide some interesting contests as the series progresses.
Podium
🥇 Vincent Vezelis (ZFW)
🥈 Aleph Patino-Yap (FLO)
🥉 Oisin Yang (Pembroke FC)
Cadet Mixed Foil – JJ McConnell Claims Gold
JJ McConnell of Pembroke FC won the Cadet competition following an excellent performance in a field of 11 fencers.
McConnell was unbeaten in the poules, winning all five bouts with an impressive +18 hit indicator. William Penny of FLO and Sullivan Upper School was also unbeaten in his poule, setting up the possibility of a meeting between the two in the elimination rounds.
The pair duly reached the final, with McConnell securing gold following a closely contested 14–11 victory over Penny.
Axel Jacquet of Pembroke FC took bronze after defeating Luis Galvan Lopez Garcia of FLO 15–10 in the third-place fence-off. Grace Tsang of Sullivan Upper School completed the top five.
The Cadet event produced some excellent fencing, and it will be interesting to see whether McConnell can maintain his winning form in the next round.
Podium
🥇 JJ McConnell (Pembroke FC)
🥈 William Penny (FLO / Sullivan Upper School)
🥉 Axel Jacquet (Pembroke FC)
Five More Rounds to Come
The opening round has provided a very encouraging start to the 2026 NI Junior Foil Series, with some excellent fencing and strong performances across all four categories.
Congratulations to all our medallists and to every fencer who competed.
We look forward to welcoming everyone back for Round 2!