Hey everyone, my name is Anton Uzunoff, and I’m running for the position of Social Secretary.

I’ve been in this club for more or less 5 years, with 3 more to go, so I believe it’s about time I put my name in for a committee position. As your social secretary, I will strive to create a more varied environment for social interactions beyond just training twice a week. As it stands, the fencing club has become a very odd space – people come in to fence and that’s about all the interaction they get with their clubmates and teammates. This does not facilitate proper bonds and friendships, ones that were present when I originally joined.

I’m a very dynamic and active person to begin with, so the role seems quite well-suited for me. Should I be elected, you can expect quite the number of gatherings, be they alcoholic or not, throughout the months. I will be communicating with the captains of both the first and second teams to not only encourage their members to come to these socials, but also to organise in-club competitions, where anyone with any level of experience can participate. This will not only help active team members practice in a competition format, but it will also allow newer club members to get to know a lot of the more experienced athletes.

As the icing on the cake, I will also be communicating with our future president to organise special, formal social events. These include official dinners around holidays like Christmas, as well as other events like London-wide fencing balls, an idea that was proposed this year but gained little to no traction due to lack of organisation. This way I will attempt to facilitate both stronger bonds between our members, as well as opportunities to meet other fencers from university clubs outside of the context of BUCS competitions.

In summary, let me say that I am aware of the less-than-ideal state of the club as it stands. This is something I will do everything in my power to remedy, and if I know anything about myself, it’s that once I put my mind to something it’s only a matter of time before I achieve it. Let it be clear that through active communication with club members this can become an absolutely stellar space for improvement, bonding, and friendship.