Latymer Upper School Fencers help to break Guinness World Record!

Latymer fencers help to break Guinness World Record 

By Jack Boteler, Head of Fencing

On Saturday 9th October 2024, 6th Form Fencing Scholar, Demir, and Head of Fencing, Mr Boteler, were involved in (pending ratification from Guinness) breaking the world record for the longest ever fencing team match (fifteen hours), held at the Leon Paul Fencing Centre in North London. 

The match was set up in memory of three-times Olympian James Williams, and as a fundraiser for the James Williams Foundation. James Williams was a former Olympic fencer and coach whose death in May at the age of 57 after a short battle with amyloidosis, a rare and aggressive form of cancer, shocked the British fencing community.

James Williams

 In his glittering career, James represented Great Britain at three Olympic Games (Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000); as a coach his charisma and infectious enthusiasm inspired numerous fencers of all backgrounds. Outside of fencing, as a Director of Public Health for Medway Council he transformed the area’s approach to public health delivery and took a leading role in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The James Williams Foundation was set up by James’ daughter Lauryn to both support those affected by amyloidosis and advocate for its early detection and faster diagnosis. ‘I never imagined a world where my Dad would not get to see me graduate,’ Lauryn said. 

A group of James’ friends, team-mates and pupils banded together to arrange an event and fundraiser in his memory: an attempt to break the world record for the longest ever fencing team match. A conventional fencing team match consists of three fencers on each team, fencing each other in relay format over the course of nine bouts. The score accumulates in multiples of five; the first team to reach 45 points wins. In a match between Great Britain and France, for example, if the first bout ended 5-3 to Great Britain, the British fencer in the second bout would need to score five, whereas the French fencer would need to score seven. A team match generally takes between half an hour and an hour to complete. The world record attempt would require far more fencers and significantly more fights: the record to beat was 12 hours, set by 188 fencers in Serbia in 2016. 

In order to qualify for a Guinness World Record, a number of rules had to be followed, many stricter than those in place at regular British fencing competitions: all referees had to be independent and qualified (in British competitions, particularly smaller ones, it is not uncommon for competitors to take a turn at refereeing in between their own bouts and for some referees to hold no official qualification), all fights had to be witnessed by an independent observer who was unrelated to anyone participating as a referee or fencer, and in order to prevent the record being broken through time-wasting, each bout had to start no more than 45 seconds after the end of the previous one. 

Fencers, referees and observers were invited to sign up for three-hour slots, beginning at 12:00 PM. Over 100 people, ranging from pre-teen to pensioner, beginner to Olympian, travelled from all over the country to contribute to the effort, some signing up for a single three-hours slot, others committing themselves to multiple shifts. When 6th Form Fencing Scholar Demir entered the fray shortly after 3:00 PM on behalf of ‘Team Shenanigans’ (named after one of James’ catchphrases), 84 bouts had taken place and the score was poised at 420-416 to ‘Williams’ Warriors’. Demir’s best performance probably came in his fight against former GBR international Josh Maxwell, against whom he managed a respectable 5-5 draw. ‘It was incredibly inspiring to fence with so many experienced fencers who have competed internationally, and I was very proud to represent Latymer in achieving a Guinness World Record,’ Demir said.

Demir’s participation ended at 6:00 PM, at which point Mr Boteler began his contribution as a referee, presiding over a total of 24 fights during his three-hour shift. By 9:00 PM the score stood at 1,100-1,091 in favour of Williams’ Warriors. Commenting on the experience, Mr Boteler said, “I’ve been fencing for approaching 29 years; in that time the sport has given me so many different opportunities and experiences and taken me to all sorts of places, but never did I think I’d be involved in breaking a Guinness World Record. Sport has the ability to bring out the best and worst in people; this was definitely an example of the best and a testament to the uniqueness of the British fencing community. The atmosphere was electric, and I was buzzing with enthusiasm and energy when I got home. It was the perfect tribute to James: had he still been with us and the attempt been made for another cause, I’m sure he would have been front and centre for the full fifteen hours. I’m so proud to call myself a fencer, and I’m proud that Latymer Upper School had a part to play in making history.”

Fittingly, the final bout was contested between James’ Barcelona ‘92 teammates Ian Williams (no relation) and Kirk Zavieh. Shortly after 3:02 AM, the bout concluded 5-4 to Williams, ending the match 1,950-1,942 in favour of Williams’ Warriors. History was made: 15 hours and 2 minutes, 390 bouts, 3,892 hits scored, and over 100 exhausted fencers and volunteers.

All that remains is for Guinness to ratify the evidence and confirm the new world record.

Full results

Live stream recording

Author: Rebecca Thornton