Bridge, who competes with Newcastle PCYC, has scored his biggest successes in the épée discipline.

His silver came in the masters division two weeks ago against some fancied competition from the Penrith Academy of Fencing

Involving men over 40 years and women over 35, Bridge progressed well in the pools and was unashamed to say he lost one bout to a very skilled woman.

Scoring well in points for and against he was seeded third going into the knockouts.

Having made the final he went down six points to his opponent’s 10.

“I was disappointed,” Bridge said.

“But he is from the Penrith club and he’s been fencing for longer than me.”

The bronze came at a state carnival in August.

Through the pools he won three bouts from five to be seeded fifth.

He managed to claw his way into the top four but lost the semi final.

It was still good enough for a medal where it’s customary for third and fourth places to receive bronze in fencing, outside of the Olympics.

“I was up against much of the same Penrith team and a couple of state-level competitors,” Bridge said.

“They were simply standouts with their abilities.”

Bridge took up the sport two years ago in support of his son, Jonathan, who was 16 then.

His niece, Claire Daniel, is also competitive.

Daniel is studying in the UK where she’s ranked 12^th nationally.

At one point she was ranked first in Australia, having displayed considerable talent as a junior.

“It’s become a family sport for us,” Bridge said.

“It’s not uncommon for parents to take it up.

“There’s quite a few father-son teams and also a few mother-daughter competitors.” 

Bridge noted the sport can be traced back to the battle fields of history’s pages.

It has been part of the modern Olympics since 1896.

There are three distinct disciplines.

These are foil, where points are awarded for torso strikes;  épée where points are awarded for strikes anywhere on the body; and sabre, the only one of the three where competitors can strike with the blade rather than just the tip, above the groin.