Robert grew up in the UK and started fencing at the age of 14; soon after he was the Hertfordshire U16 Champion. That was in the mid 70’s, and Robert has been involved in fencing in one form or another his entire life. He captained the London Team against Counties (“the rest”) in 1983, fenced for Salle Allen and the London Polytechnic Teams, represented London at foil and fenced in tournaments all over Europe. Robert has been a coach in New Zealand since 1985. In 1987 he attended the Olympic Solidarity Coaching and Fencing Course. He coached at Upper Hutt College, Marsden School, Victoria University and Wellington High School, where he coached juniors as well as international level fencers.

The list of his credentials and contributions to the sport is extensive:

• A fencing referee for over 25 years,
• Wellington and National Representative for foil,
• Fencing representative on the NZ Olympic Committee,
• Previously Wellington President for Fencing and served as Treasurer over the years,
• National Treasurer for FENZ at various times (20+ years)
• Manager on National School trips
• Manager for NZ Commonwealth Champs (Newcastle 2002, Aus)
• Tournament organiser.
• Robert was taught by the best of British fencing: Mike Law, Derek Allen, Roy and Angela Goodall (fencing and coaching training) and legendary Hungarian Master Coach Bela Imregi, who produced many world-class champions.
• Since Dec 2014, Robert has been High Performance Coach for the Sports Wellington Athlete Development Programme and he was selected for the Sports Wellington Advanced Coaching Course.