WHEN you have had as long and illustrious a sporting career as Georgina Usher, you could be forgiven for being a tad blurry on some of the details.

The celebrated Scottish fencer is attempting to tally up her raft of top-flight international appearances but admits she is rapidly losing track. "I've never been someone who has catalogued things," she says, apologetically. "In terms of achievements, it's always been about looking forward to the next one rather than back."

If she did pause to take stock then the 42-year-old has much to be proud about. The Edinburgh-born fencer, who took up the sport aged 11, is a 10-time British senior champion and winner of four Commonwealth Fencing Championships medals. She has competed among fencing's upper echelons for the best part of three decades including at 10 world and six Europeans championships.

"I think one prefers to forget because it is quite scary when you realise how long you've been fencing," she says. "In training a couple of months ago I realised my breeches were older than the person I was fencing."

In recent years, fencing has taken a backseat as Usher - who lives in London with her husband Justin and their children Isla, seven, and Ruaridh, four - has understandably shifted her focus to family life. Having stamped her return in 2013 with gold in the veterans category of the European Individual Championships, she will be back in action for Scotland when the 2014 Commonwealth Championships begin in Largs today.

Usher is sanguine when asked about her ambitions for the event. "Just to stay in one piece and get through the other side," she says, laughing. "It's a tricky one because in all the other Commonwealth Fencing Championships I've done before, I was younger and it was so much more important to my life as an athlete. This is the first time I've gone into a competition with much more of a sense of simply wanting to put in the best performance I can.

"I have to be realistic that my personal best performance perhaps isn't going to be the same as it was when I was 27 and top 16 in the world. But that doesn't mean I can't pull something out of the bag on the day: I have tactics and experience to bring to the game."

Usher competed in her first Commonwealth Fencing Championships in Manchester in 1990. She was also in Whistler, Canada in 1994, Shah Alam, Malaysia in 1998 and Newcastle, Australia in 2002. "The last Commonwealths I went to was in 2006 but I didn't fence in that because I was pregnant with my daughter," she says. "There are lot of new, young fencers who have joined the team since then so it's going to be exciting to see how they perform."

She will captain the women's epee side comprising herself alongside Lucy Ridsdale, Louise Helyer, Mhairi Spence and Georgina Barrington. Spence is a four-time world champion in modern pentathlon and took Commonwealth fencing bronze in 2006. Others in the 30-strong Scottish team include men's foil captain Keith Cook, a five-time Commonwealth medallist.

Usher rates her proudest achievement as the four Commonwealth medals she has won previously. "For me, there is something special about getting to compete for Scotland," says Usher. "Having been born and brought up in Scotland, it's a constant source of pride to be able to step out with Scotland on your back."

In February, Usher was appointed chief executive officer of British Fencing, a position she describes as a "significant challenge" but "fantastic to have a role in a sport I care so much about". Her appointment has been widely well received within the fencing world.

While many athletes dread the prospect of hitting the half-century mark, Usher is relishing the prospect. "When I'm 50 I get to fence at the veterans world championships - I'm still after a world championships medal," she says.

"It means I have to keep going for another eight years. I think the age categories run in 10-year slots, so I figure I have a window where I can be young for my age group. If you imagine most young athletes have a cycle where they peak one year and then trough? Well, elongate that by 30 years and that's my plan."

The 2014 Commonwealth Fencing Championships (cfc2014.org) take place in Largs from November 10-15