Edwin de Hamel, from Cooksmill Green, Chelmsford who has just captured the British Youth Championship Under 16 Epee trophy at Cardiff, has narrowly missed selection for the British Under 17 squad.
Edwin, 16, who is a pupil at Brentwood School, failed to score sufficient points in earlier tournaments to get into the top three ranking which would have provided automatic qualification.
He won the Eastern Region tournament and was up among the trophy winners at a clutch of other UK tournaments but failed to grab top points.
Ironically his fencing colleague at Brentwood School, Matthew O'Connell, 15, who did not compete at Cardiff, still accumulated sufficient points to gain selection to represent Britain in the world cadet championships, scheduled to take place in Indiana, in April.
De Hamel has qualified to represent England in the Under 16 epee in the Home International at Belfast on March 11, as has Katie Dedman, another pupil at Brentwood School.
Edwin is coached by Peter Barrett who coaches seniors at national level while Matthew is guided by another outstanding national coach Mike Matthews.
Both fencers are young enough to compete in next year's Under 17 British titles.
Close to an England place - Chelmsford fencer Edwin de Hamel
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