- Age and DOB: 18, 08/01/1994
- Place of Birth: Bishop Auckland
- Height and Weight: 177cm, 77kg
- Year and Course: 1st Year, Law
- Sport: Epee Fencing
Sam Ridley is an up-and-coming fencing sensation. Becoming British under-16 champion in 2009, The London Olympic games came just too soon.
Balancing training with education is unyielding for any talented teenager; but with Rio 2016 on the cards, Sam is keen to keep on fencing, finding the time to do what he does best.
Sam Ridley has shown both zeal and distinction in the sport of fencing for some time. After enjoying films and television featuring sword fighting, such as Zorro, a leaflet advertising modern fencing helped inspire Ridley into the rising starlet he is today.
Making his debut at the British championships in 2004, five years before he snatched the title of British champion at under-16 level, he realised that fencing could bring him long term success.
In the three-and-a-half years since then, Ridley, who turns 19 a few months before his next European exploit, has won both individual and team gold at the Sainsbury?s school games in London, attended world championships at far-away-places such as Azerbaijan and Klagenfurt and become ranked the number one male fencer in the North East of England. The key to his success, perhaps more than any other future great, is more what goes on in his mind than what he can do with a sabre; more in his qualities as an everyday person than as an athlete.
Sam is a self-confessed northern lad, loyal to his roots. From the northeast village of Wolsingham, near Durham, where his parents own the local newsagents, he began to flourish in the sport at the tender age of nine. To many people fencing sounds glamorous and distant, perhaps somewhat disassociated from the more popular sports such as football or rugby within the UK; after all it is a sport of tradition and fame within central Europe.
But it is Wolsingham where Sam claims to have learnt the secrets to his trade.
Having funded every domestic and international competition he has entered for the past 9 years, as well as training camps, training sessions, coaching fees, physiotherapy and even psychology sessions, Ridley?s parents are his biggest fans. In return, he has learnt a great deal from them. In the humble backdrop of local streets and fields, his parents have instilled the commitment and organisation skills that have assisted in driving his ambition. It is these traits along with his desire to succeed that make Ridley such a potential success story.
He even admits that many other people in his sport and in his position would have left for London some time ago. But, now studying Law at Newcastle University, Ridley is close to home and more determined than ever to make his fencing a success. ?I?m loving Law here at Newcastle, but I would also like to compete at the Olympic games.? Staying at Newcastle has allowed Ridley to remain with his coach and the Newcastle University junior performance fencing programme, providing him with the best chance of a successful future in sport.
So what does the future hold for Sam Ridley? He is not afraid to admit that his goals are very generic ones - but this makes them no less focused or compelled. ?Qualify for the Olympics and win them.? It?s as simple as that. Overwhelming ambitions spearhead the drive of this young man.
But beneath the grit and determination is a level head. When asked what the biggest obstacle between him and his sport is, he revealed that the balance between academia and fencing came out on top. In his final year of A-levels he was forced to refrain from attending any international events and limited himself to only four major domestic ranking competitions so that he could spend more time studying for University entry. Although such a sacrifice might seem necessary to you or me, it was a big loss for Ridley and this balance continues now that he?s a student in his beloved Newcastle.
And despite being a native of the northeast, one thing connects Sam Ridley to every other athlete in the world: he loves nothing better than winning.
Looking back - A time line- 2004 16th out of 16 in his first local competition aged 10
- 2005 won his first ever competition followed by victory
- in the regional youth championships
- 2007 competed for GB
- officially for the first time in Slovakia, 4 years younger than most competitors
- 2011 Finished 1st in Foil, Epee and Sabre events at the
- North East Region Senior Fencing Championships
- 2012 Came 1st in British selection competition
- (Kidderminster) and 1st in the UK School Games England Team
Article by David Eastwood
Source: http://www.ncl.ac.uk/sport/news/item/sam-ridley
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