British fencers have raised fears for the future of the sport after just £170 was raised in the first month of crowdfunding for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Georgina Usher, chief executive of British Fencing, said: ‘In my lifetime, I can’t remember a single moment in the history of sport whereby it has been so bleak.’

Fencing is one of seven sports that will not receive a portion of £345 million worth of national lottery and government funding distributed by UK Sport in the run up to the next summer games.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - AUGUST 07: Richard Kruse (R) of Great Britain competes as he defeats Hamid Sintes (L) of Algeria during Men's Individual Foil qualification on Day 2 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at Carioca Arena 3 on August 7, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Richard Kruse (R) of Great Britain competes against Hamid Sintes (L) of Algeria at Rio 2016 (Picture: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Unless they have secured sponsorship, athletes now have to pay entry fees, flights and accommodation plus all of their expenses for tournaments they need to attend in order to qualify out of their own pocket.

Ms Usher warns there is a possibility that fencers may not qualify for Tokyo.

‘Our athletes have got the ability to get [to Tokyo], but are worrying about how they are going to afford competitions. There is no doubt in my mind that it has had an impact on their performances,’ Ms Usher said.

British fencing previously got £4.2 million for the 2016 Rio Olympics, but in December that year, UK Sport announced it would not be among the sports receiving more cash.

NOVI SAD, SERBIA - JUNE 16: Richard Kruse (R) of Great Britain in action against Michal Janda (L) of Poland during Senior Men's Foil competition at the Fencing European Championships on June 16, 2018 in Novi Sad, Serbia. (Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)
Richard Kruse (R) of Great Britain in action again against Poland’s Michal Janda (L) at the 2018 Fencing European Championships in Serbia (Picture: Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)

A campaign launched by British Fencing to send a team to the 2017 World Fencing Championships managed to raise more than £18,000 last year.

But the latest crowdfunding efforts have only brought in £170 in their first month.

Since Ms Usher spoke out, there has been an dramatic uptick in donations, and the total figure now stands at £1,070 – but there is still a long way to go.

British sabre fencer Jonathan Webb tweeted to highlight the comparison between the fencing crowdfunder, and one to raise $100 million to help reality TV star Kylie Jenner – who is already worth $900 million – become a billionaire.

Other sports to lose out on UK Sport funding include archery, table tennis and weightlifting, and the Paralympic sports goalball and wheelchair rugby.

Their governing bodies appealed the decisions but were all unsuccessful.

Powerlifting – the Paralympic version of weightlifting – successfully appealed to have a £1.3 million pot awarded by UK Sport managed by British Weightlifting, rather than the English Institute of Sport, as was initially decided.

Badminton was the only sport which earned a podium place in Rio (a bronze in the men’s doubles) to have its funding removed.

Even highly successful sports such as cycling, which brought in 12 medals in Rio, have faced funding cuts in the latest cycle – with £4 million shaved off their budget.

UK Sport has set Team GB a target of winning between 51 and 85 Olympic medals and 115 to 162 Paralympic medals in 2020.

Speaking when the funding cycle was announced, UK Sport CEO Liz Nicholl said: ‘We would like to invest in every sport but the reality is we have to prioritise to protect and enhance the medal potential.’

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