MORE than 200 young fencers will clash swords next week when Jersey hosts the Commonwealth Junior Fencing Championships.

Competitors will travel from as far as Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia and Nigeria for the five-day event, which is for men and women under the age of 20.

Jersey has four fencers taking part, Edward Christie (17), Jonathon Bernstein (19), Richard Bernstein (16) and Michael Hill (16), and Guernsey will bring over 21 competitors.

The local quartet have been training hard with their coach, Gianpaulo Marini, and sought competitive experience off-Island in recent months.

The tournament, which is held every three years, runs from 12 to 17 February and is based at the Queens Hall, Fort Regent. Each day starts at 9 am with all finals fenced at 5 pm.