Chris for Commonwealth Games

A SHETLAND fencer has been selected to represent Scotland in the Commonwealth Games that begin in Melbourne, Australia, next month.

Christopher Rocks is the second fencer from the islands to represent their country in the Commonwealth Games following in the footsteps of Kate Manson, who was at Kuala Lumpur in 1998.

The 22 year old will be fencing in the main epee event after winning a series of competitions in Scotland and coming fifth in the challenging Bill Hoskyns open epee tournament held in England last month.

His coach Andy Alderman said it was “a great achievement” and came after two years of very hard work.

“From a coaching point of view this is well deserved because he has been the leading epeeist in Scotland and he comes home regularly for training and focussed on what his skills are.

“It’s great for me and the club and it also proves that if people are willing to work hard and the coaching skills are there, being in Shetland is not a disadvantage.”