Siobhan Silke is chairperson of the UCD fencing club committee and one of the leading members of the women's team. Since joining the club as a beginner in 1996, she has moved up through the ranks and last year finished third in the national championships.
The club was founded at the start of the 1955 academic year and has produced a string of international and Olympic fencers. This season the club hosts the Inter-varsity championships and has also been invited to the Bayer Cup competition in Germany and to training at the CREPS School of Excellence in France.
Membership: There's about 90 actually enrolled with the club, including graduates and staff, but most of those would join more for the fun rather than the actual competitive side.
Status: There are three main national team competitions during the year. The colours with Trinity is the other big competition, of course, and we've won that more times than we can remember. Right now I think the team is stronger than it's ever been.
Honours: We've won the Inter-varsities about 19 times. The Duff Memorial Epee is next to the national championships and an international event as well and the women's team have won that the last two years and became the first university team to do so. Club captain Eamonn McGratten has been national Epee champion twice and the youngest ever winner as well and recently our other top men's fencer Daragh Quinn has gone abroad for training and fenced for Ireland as well.
Finest Hour: Winning the Inter-varsities two years ago with the team stands out for me because it was my first major competition and I won most of my matches but to have any of the club members go abroad for training or competition is a great achievement.
Worst Moment: The Trinity Cup began three years ago and involves all the clubs in the country but we've lost in the final on each occasion including last month after being ahead in most games so that obviously was a big disappointment.
Club Hero: Everybody on the committee plays an essential role in everything from making phone calls to working the scorebox but we also get great support from UCD as a whole and Tony O'Neill deserves special praise for that.
Greatest Rivals: That would have to be Trinity. In the Inter-varsities either they win or we do although that could be different this year because DIT are looking very strong. Overall, there is a lack of coaches and competition in the sport which makes it so difficult to make it to the major championships such as the Olympics without going away for proper preparation.
