Parempoolsed chair elected president of Estonian fencing federation
Former prosecutor general and leader of the Parempoolsed party Lavly Perling has been unanimously elected new president of the national fencing federation.
Fencing is a source of national pride for Estonia, Perling said. "While I have not personally been involved in fencing, as an Estonian patriot I have always supported our fencers. For this reason, what happens inside the federation does not leave me indifferent. Before I agreed to run, I met with more than 10 clubs," Perling said.
"The feedback shared with me convinced me to accept the challenge. Our fencers need support, so that the Estonian women's épée team can once again bring home gold from the next Olympics. The sport must be further popularized with children and young people, so that we will continue to have motivated young athletes for future Olympic Games. We need to restore sponsor trust in the sport, and of course the federation's own finances must also be put in order," Perling continued.
The Estonian Fencing Federation (Eesti Vehklemisliit) announced Perling's appointment Tuesday, and said her leadership qualities were a bonus.
"First of all, I would like to sincerely thank Lavly for deciding to come and help Estonian fencers despite her already very hectic schedule. The situation in the federation is very difficult, and not only in terms of relationships," women's épée team head coach Nikolai Novosjolov said. "Both the substance of the federation's work and its financial management must change."
"That is exactly why we need a strong top-level leader, who can help us realize the potential of our sport, and not only on the fencing piste. When I was chosen as head coach, I said that from now on we want to be a successful, exemplary, and well-managed sports federation. Today, that prerequisite has been created for Estonian fencing. Let us look in the mirror, set our priorities, and together with Lavly develop our sport," Novosjolov added.
All 12 participating fencing clubs voted in favor of Perling as new president.
Novosjolov had proposed her as a candidate earlier this month.
Estonia's women's épée team took gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, held in 2021, while Katrina Lehis took bronze in the individual category. At the 2024 Games in Paris, Nelli Differt was just outside the individual medals.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Kristjan Kallaste
