MEDIA RELEASE

3 December 2023

FATHER AND SON SUPPORT EACH OTHER IN FENCING

NORTH MELBOURNE – It was Colin Bosnic’s son Hugo who got him started in fencing. “He was in year 4, and was doing it as an after-school activity, and one of his friends said, ‘You should come fencing at my club,’” the older Bosnic recalls. The friend’s father urged Colin to come along as well, as the children and adults fenced at the same time. “So I thought, as opposed to the Australian thing of drinking coffee and putting on weight every Saturday morning [while the kids do sport], I would do some fencing, too. [Hugo] started maybe two years before me, and then I joined in. It’s the best sport. It’s continuously challenging, and there’s always something to work on. And it gives me an opportunity to spend time with my son. I was very keen to find something where we have a common bond.”

Son Hugo, now 19, concurs. “I enjoyed it [when my father started fencing], honestly. It was good fun because fencing is a very unique sport, and it’s hard sometimes to express what happens and how it is, so it’s great to have someone to talk to.”

Hugo enjoys fencing not just for the workout and the fun, but for its benefits to his well-being. “I like how it’s very intimate: when you’re fencing, everything else usually fades away. It’s a good escape. It’s just you and your opponent. I find it very relaxing that way.”

The two competed yesterday in foil at the Australian National Competition, the latest in a long line of times they’ve faced each other on the piste, with Hugo wining bronze on the day. While Colin is cagey about who beats whom more often, saying only, “No comment,” Hugo is more voluble: “We used to fence each other a lot and it’s usually 50-50. Today we ranked up against each other in the competition and I did win [the bout].”

Results for each event are being posted in real time at https://www.fencingtimelive.com/tournaments/eventSchedule/8284EE098F63431FA0F03B468EE30E0A#today

The 2023 Australian and Oceania Senior, Veteran, and Australian Youth Circuit Fencing Championships continue through Tuesday, 5 December. Photo and interview opportunities with competitors will be available throughout the competition.

Photo credit: Ed Chiu

For more information

Laura E. Goodin
Media Officer
media@fencingvictoria.org