Mascall Fie – By Neto Baptiste
Mascall Fie Funding Keeps
The Antigua and Barbuda Fencing Federation (ABFF) gets up to 90 per cent of its funding from the International Fencing Federation (FIE).
This is according to the president of the local governing body, Rameez Mascall, who said the funding must be spent in specific areas within the sport.
“We’re a part of what is called the Development Programme for the FIE, so every year we get an allocation of funds. This year, it went up to 10,000 Swiss francs, but previously it was 6,000. We get an allocation of gear valued at that amount on a yearly basis to support the development of the sport. In addition to that, every so often there’s a coaching course that comes along. For instance, there’s a coaching course happening next month [September] in Peru. So we’re going to have a coach going down to Peru to train and develop, and come back with that expertise to impart to our athletes,” he said.
Mascall said the local federation, which is preparing to host its national championships on October 17 and 18, also depends heavily on the sport’s international body to fund the participation of national teams in FIE-sanctioned competitions.
“There are times when the FIE will say to us that it is sending us a subsidy to send one athlete to a championship, and that subsidy may have a value of, let’s say, US$2,000. Now, note that they say it’s a subsidy. So what it means is that, at times, depending on where the championship is, the $2,000 can go a little further than in other places. What it doesn’t do is cover the cost of a coach going with the athlete. So, in some parts, it’s covered by the FIE, but we have to pick up the rest of the tab, whether we do that through fundraising or we reach out to the Ministry of Sports or the NOC, whatever the case may be,” the fencing boss said.
In a previous interview, Mascall revealed that the local federation is facing a shortage of qualified coaches, limiting the number of new athletes it can accommodate.
