This year the Fencing Club held its first Christmas Ball at the Coors Brewery in Burton-on-Trent on Thursday 1st December 2005. The event included a sit down meal, speeches, DJ, and dancing. Transport to and from the event was also provided.
The formal affair is hoped to be the first of many balls and dinners held by the Fencing Club. It was an opportunity for members and friends of the club to don their glad rags and get together outside of the close confines of the NSH Balcony and away from the clash of steel and beep of scoring box.
And party we did. Surprisingly inviting forty individuals who routinely attack each other with swords to a black tie event did not descend into chaos (well not too much anyway). The Brewery is still in one piece, and so are most of the fencers. It was a wonderful evening, a chance to reflect on the accomplishments of the Fencing Club and its members.
The Fencing Club already had a hugely active social calendar with almost all training sessions finishing in JC’s as well as several more dedicated socials such as the classic ‘pirate-themed’ night (we do wield swords after all!). As a more formal gathering the Christmas Ball marked a turning point for the club. It was a celebration of the continued enthusiastic commitment of the members, particularly Tom Haslehurst the Social Sec responsible for organising the ball.