RTWFC’s very own Eilidh Paterson made a stellar start to her major championship career at the European Cadet Championships 2025 in Antalya, performing to a high standard in both individual and team events.
Eilidh made the cut in the individual event, on 24th February, even though she was in the same poule as European number one Linnea Eriksson and eventual silver-medalist Ludavica Costatini. Qualification for the direct eliminations (DEs) came down to her final poule bout, against Gryte Stoskute – a left hander from Lithuania.
“There was a small sense of doubt that I might not make it through to the DEs,” said the 16-year-old GCSE student. “However, due to prior training, I think I was able to suppress this thought and focus purely on the next fight ahead.”
It worked. Eilidh went on to win 5-1 and also took victory in her first knockout bout via a steely come-from-behind victory, then faced eventual champ Alina Dmytruk in the next round.
“I think something that was really key in Antalya was accepting that it was a hard competition as the concentration of good fencers is higher, yet they all competed in the same European Fencing Conferdation (EFC) Cadet competitions that I have – and every opponent is beatable.”
When fencing Ukraine’s Dmytruk in the last 64, Eilidh now realises that she temporarily lost this mindset: “In my last DE I went against this logic, and to start with I wasn’t very confident due to my opponent’s higher seeding, so I sat back. Yet, later on I discovered that if I had more confidence in pushing her more I was scoring those hits.”
Lesson learnt, in the team comp two days later Eilidh’s performance was peppered with many moments of brilliance, helping GB to two wins – over Belgium and Romania – and a final placing of 12th.
With one year still remaining as a Cadet, Eilidh has laid down a marker for next season, which she will start ranked in Europe’s top 60.
“For next season I would again like to qualify for both the Euros and Worlds and produce good performances using the experience I gained from last season.”
First, though, the British number one has to qualify via the EFC Cadet Circuit, where top 64 finishes are an initial benchmark of success – but having chalked up three top 64s last season, Eilidh is hoping for more.
“I hope to consistently place in the top 64 in the EFCs, with an aspirational goal of the top 16 – or higher.”
Possessing all of the attributes required of a top fencer, and certainly prepared to put in the hard work, Eilidh has every chance of pushing on from her exploits during the 2024-25 season and reaching even greater heights.
Image: Eilidh with Paul Beasley, RTWFC Head Coach, at the Cadet Euros in Antalya