As a mum, the proverbial plate is always full. Add in a legal career and a quest for Olympic gold, and the great balancing act gains a higher degree of difficulty. For dual Olympian Evelyn Halls, eyeing a third Olympic berth with a five-year-old daughter is just the type of challenge she loves.

Halls is an epée fencer and is the highest placed female in Australia’s Olympic fencing history, coming- 14th at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, an improvement on her 20th placing at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Now an appearance at the 2012 Olympic Games is pencilled-in to her brimming agenda.

“I have always loved competing, and the Olympics are clearly the pinnacle in any sport. I love to challenge myself, even though it can be frustrating sometimes given I don't have as much time to train as I used to,” Halls said.

Halls manages the demands of fencing, motherhood and being a Partner at an Australian law firm by combining different aspects of her life. She endeavours to make overseas competitions a family experience and uses technology to work remotely if possible.

“Where different activities demand a lot of time and energy, you need to prioritise, and also recognise that your priorities will be different at different stages of your life,” Halls explained.

“I tend to believe it's possible for women (and men as well) to have it all - just not all at once,” Halls said when asked the tough question.

The support of her husband and “a very understanding five-year-old” has been crucial.

“Making the Olympics in 2012 would be a special experience because my daughter would be old enough to share the excitement with me,” Halls said.

This October, Halls and 15 of Australia’s finest fencers will test themselves at the World Championships in Catania, Italy.

With her working hours clocking around 60-per-week, it has been difficult for Halls to maintain her regular training regime leading into the event.

“The main challenge of my lighter training load is that I tend to find that my results are less consistent, so it's difficult to set targets for the World Champs.”

For all their parrying, ripostes and complex grips, valuable rankings points are on offer in Italy, with the easiest path to Olympic selection being a high world ranking. 
For Halls, the equation is simple.

“I'll be happy with any result (in Italy) which lets me score enough points to get me closer to my goal of the London Olympics.”

Should she secure qualification for London, Halls will increase her training load and strive for the type of results she secured on the fencing circuit on a regular basis- returning to her World Cup and Commonwealth medal form.

The first hurdle of qualification for Halls and the Australians begins on October 8.

Members of the Australian team:

Women’s epee: Evelyn Halls
Men’s epee: Ross Austen, Zac Casagrande, William Dolley, Seamus Robinson
Men’s foil: Marek Jamrozy, Joe Slowiaczek
Women’s foil: Jenny Bonney-Millett
Men’s sabre: Mitchell Fox, Frederic Jaccard, Sutherlan Scudds, James Walsh
Women’s sabre: Jess Brooks, Alex Caroll, Cheryl Chan, Caitlin Taylor

Taya Conomos
Australian Olympic Committee