Bath-based Great Britain wheelchair fencing squad gets permanent home

A new dedicated training facility for the Great Britain wheelchair fencing squad has been opened.

The fencing centre, based at the University of Bath, also includes a rehabilitation studio for athletes from other Olympic and Paralympic sports.

Dimitri Coutya, triple European champion in wheelchair fencing, said it was a "huge milestone" for the sport.

The facility will provide a fixed home for the team which has not had a permanent base for seven years.

Mr Coutya said: "I think for us personally, and as a squad, this facility is a huge milestone.

"It symbolises the work and the consistency that we have put in to earn the right to have somewhere where we call home."

The 25-year-old is aiming for two gold medals at the Paris 2024 Paralympics.

He said that the training facility was a "massive aid" to the squad.

"It is what we have been working for, so it's good to see what hard work can bring and it makes me feel more responsible that we have to carry on that work," added Mr Coutya.

He was part of the Great Britain team that won six gold medals at the European Championships in Warsaw last month.

The squad has been based in various locations around the Team Bath sports training village during the past seven years.

Adjoining the centre is a new rehabilitation studio which will also be used by Team Bath's swimmers, pentathletes and the British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association.

Piers Gilliver, 28, who won four gold medals at the 2022 European Championships, said: "It's a huge deal to have this facility. When I started this programme in 2015 I was the only one.

"I think it's fantastic to see the progression of how the sport has grown in the country, it's built and built and now to have our own purpose-built centre is really fantastic."

Mr Gilliver said he's looking ahead to the 2024 Paralympics where he hopes to defend his epee gold medal.

"The more disabled people that we can get into sport is fantastic. It's helped me in so many ways.

"Life is tough as it is, especially for disabled people.

"I think sport gives you so many different things and it's helped me a lot as a person. I'd say to anyone give it a go," he added.

The project was funded by an investment of just under £500,000 from Sport England via UK Sport.

Matt Hammond, performance manager, said he hoped the facility would give the team "the edge" as it allows a more dynamic training experience.

The university's director of sport, Stephen Baddeley, said he was "proud" to host the team.

"It has been truly inspiring to see the hard work of athletes, coaches and support staff...translate into phenomenal success on the international stage," he added.

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