Students at the University of Sunderland will have a very different sort of lesson this week, when they take part in Lightsaber training, on the same day that the new Star Wars movie, Rogue One, launches nationwide.
They will be using the weapon of choice of the Jedi warrior for a very serious reason – to create our next generation of grass roots Olympic athletes. The Lightsaber Fencing Training is part of a pioneering initiative by British Fencing and the University of Sunderland to get more young people involved in fencing.
Steve Garrett, British Fencing’s Higher Education Participation Programme Manager says: “British Fencing is excited to be working with Sunderland to pilot our new LED Sabre product. We hope this innovative product will attract a new audience to swordplay and achieve our aim of increasing participation in Fencing.”
Laura Coleman, Sports Development Officer at the University, added: “Our new lightsaber sessions will hopefully give people a chance to try out what it takes to be a Jedi or Sith!
“The University’s Institute of Sport is working with British Fencing to give more people a chance to try fencing in a range of different ways. The lightsaber sessions are one part of the project, we also have an introduction to fencing session on a Monday night with a fully qualified fencing coaches, as well as hosting the Society for the Study of Swordsmanship training in Cityspace, City Campus.
“Fencing is seeing a growth in people trying the sport. It is a fun interactive sport which anyone can get involved with and feel a sense of achievement and development from the very first session.”