The Saudi Arabian women’s fencing team has launched a training camp at the fencing hall of Prince Saud bin Jalawi Sport City in Al-Rakah ahead of the Gold Round of the Saudi Fencing Championship in Dammam, Arabic sports daily Arriyadiyah has reported.

The 30 members of the team are preparing for the competition, which will take place on Sept. 17-18 and include the foil, épée and sabre categories.

The training sessions focused on technical aspects of the sport, as well as exercises to improve the physical fitness of participants after a recent break during the summer.

The team’s technical staff, led by Malak Al-Sultan and Daad Al-Misfer, also worked on the application of a number of tactics devised by the Saudi Arabia Fencing Federation.

Fencing is increasingly popular in the Kingdom and the federation has ensured that even in the downturn in activities during the pandemic the sport has continued to thrive.

“We didn’t stop; on the contrary, we were very active,” Ahmed Al-Sabban, president of the Saudi Arabia Fencing Federation, told Arab News in May. “During the lockdown we also returned to the regular season and we organized tournaments for boys and girls, and the last participation for us was the qualification for the Tokyo Olympics in the Asian Zone.”

Al-Sabban also highlighted the rise of participation among female athletes across the country.

“We’ve worked on it. It’s a noble sport, a sophisticated sport, like equestrian activities,” Al-Sabban said. “It’s a unique, royal, sport and the participation has been great. And not just from the targeted younger female fencers, but in recent times we’ve seen a rise in women taking up fencing for fun, taking part in local competitions for fun.”