A QUARTET of skilled teenage swords women have earned a call up to the national team for the first international competition of the New Year.

The four members of Durham’s leading fencing club have been selected for the Great Britain Under-17 foil team which is competing in Poland in January.

Georgia Webb, Maddy Brown, Maddy Whitfield and Pheobe Hughes all train at Laszlo’s Fencing Club, based at the Graham Sports Centre, at Maiden Castle.

It was a natural choice for the selectors as the Durham quartet were top of the national rankings when the team line-up was confirmed recently.

The fencing starlets have been carefully nurtured in the sport under the expert eye of the ex-Hungarian national team coach Laszlo Jakab.

But they have proved a dedicated quartet as they train five days a week at what doubles at the Regional Fencing Centre, shared with students at the Durham University Sports Centre and at the Durham Institute of Sport.

They head for the female foil cadet tournament, in the city of Poznan, on the weekend of January 24/25.

Foil is the most commonly used of the three weapons which feature in fencing.

Further information about fencing for all ages and abilities, is available from Beth Davidson, the regional development officer, via-email to beth4fencing@aol.com, through the website www.fencingnortheast.org, or by ringing (07834) 884194 .