The benefits of a training institution such as the International School of Fencing Masters (EIMA) in Dakar was praised once again by global and African fencing leaders. The graduation ceremony for the school's 10th class took place on 28 October 2015. The young Senegalese Ibrahima André Cory was head of the class.
14 students (12 boys and 2 girls) from 11 countries in different parts of Africa (Niger, Namibia, Ghana, Uganda, Botswana, Rwanda, Togo, Senegal, Mauritius Island, RD Congo and Mali) followed the ten-month training courses for the three weapons (sabre, foil, and épée) at the EIMA. The president of the African Fencing Confederation (CAE), Mbagnick Ndiaye, greeted the graduation of the 10th class, which, in his view, only reinforces the credibility of this excellent institution. "Dozens of fencing masters graduated from this school and are currently serving throughout Africa, while others even went on to use their experience on other continents. This shows how solid the teaching is within this institution, as well as the quality of the topics learned here by students", underlined the President of the African Confederation. In his view, and given what is going on, EIMA has high standards that need to be maintained and represent an investment to be preserved. "This should allow Africa to meet the challenge of international competitions, but also to show its gratitude towards the international federation that had the brilliant idea of building this school here in Senegal", continued Mbagnick Ndiaye. The representative of the International Fencing Federation, Mrs. AO Jie, also in charge of Africa/Asia, who supervised activities during this transitional period, also underlined that the FIE is well aware of the efforts made in this school. "For this reason, an expert is sent here for each graduation to see what the fencing masters have achieved", she said. For FIE's Africa/Asia representative, the fencing masters have done excellent work every which way and the end results clearly prove it. "For this reason, the FIE is paying a lot of attention to what takes place in this school, and it will not fail to always provide its support for the smooth running of its activities," she stated. Finally, it must be noted that only Senegal, Niger, and Uganda among participating countries presented two candidates for this 10th class.
C.F. KEITA
National Senegal paper "le Soileil"