THE Jamaican Fencing Federation (JFF) is on the move in building capacity and the requisite coaching skills and expertise locally, as recently two candidates departed the island for New York where they will undergo a month of intense training in the sport.

Robert Shaw, the Dean of Discipline at the Caribbean Maritime Institute and Zeniffe Fowler, a coach at St Elizabeth Technical High School, are now in New York attending a coaching advancement programme being staged by the International Fencing Federation in association with the Fencers Club of New York.

The programme is designed to ensure that all participants learn the latest and most effective techniques and methodologies in the sport while providing a blueprint for the participants to use in teaching when they return to their respective countries.

Secretary general Laurel Smith of the local fencing federation said the opportunity given to the Jamaican coaches is something they should “grasp with both hands”.

“This only happens once in a lifetime and the gentlemen… know that they have a responsibility to learn and thereafter to teach when they return. The JFF is pleased to lead in creating capacity for the sport in Jamaica,” he said.