36 / 44
Fencing
All year groups are welcome to come and try this Olympic
sport, from beginners to experienced fencers. Full coaching
is given and the School provides fencing kit and weapons for
students. A minimum commitment of one session per week
for one full term is required, although in practice many boys
enjoy doing much more fencing than this. Matches are arranged
with other schools throughout the calendar year, and keen
fencers from our club have competed in and won many
national and international competitions in the recent past.
There has never a better time to try this popular Olympic
sport. En garde!
Football
Football is well-established at Abingdon, with around 19
teams representing the School. The club plays regular fixtures
during the Lent term and the 1st, 2nd, 3rd XI, U15A and U14A
all compete in the Thames Valley League that comprises
schools in the Oxfordshire and Berkshire area. Players have
also gone on to represent the ISFA side, as well as county
and academy squads.
Futsal Club
A recent addition to the Abingdon School Football Club is the
Futsal Club. This form of the game, originating in South
America, aids the development of the player’s close control,
dribbling and game awareness, utilising a smaller weighted
ball whilst playing in a five-a-side environment.
Golf
The golf team is coached by a PGA professional at Drayton
Golf Club. The team consists of players with, or aspiring to
have, single-figure handicaps. During these sessions we work
on all aspects of the game including course management,
shot shaping and the short game, and there is the opportunity
to computer-analyse players’ swings.
The team plays in the Oxfordshire county championships,
and both the HMC foursomes and Independent Schools’ Golf
Association knock-out competitions, as well as various
friendly fixtures against other school sides. There is also
a House Golf competition.
There are other opportunities for a broader range of players
to play, and to receive expert coaching. Golf lessons take
place as a group on the driving range, and there is
specialised putting practice as well as visits to the ‘par 3’
course (weather permitting).
Hockey
Hockey is a major sport in the Lent term. The Hockey Club
usually fields 15 teams throughout the age groups, with every
team from U14D to 1st XI competing in the Independent
Schools Hockey League. This has been set up by the top
flight of hockey-playing independent schools, to challenge
and stretch their hockey players above and beyond the
standard school fixtures.
The Hockey Club has enjoyed a great deal of success in
recent years, with many players representing county, regional
and some national sides.
SPORT AND FITNESS
34