@GlobalFencingMom Just noticed that someone is labeled as “Redshirt” on Harvard Man’s Fencing roster. I knew that he fenced in Feb but somehow changed his status recently.
I think that it is a question of terms. @GlobalFencingMom is correct that Ivies do not permit red-shirting as the term is commonly understood. This is because, unlike non-Ivies, e.g., Notre Dame, the Ivies do not permit an athlete to compete if the athlete is in the school’s graduate school. However, an Ivy athlete can take a year off. Not a half-year, mind you, but an entire year. In that case, the athlete saves a year of eligibility.
D21’s August 29th SAT was just cancelled, which makes it her 6th consecutive standardized test cancellation. Luckily I just found out that:
Hi,
As my D21 is receiving multiple offers from non ivies with generous scholarships, there are also a couple of ivies that are asking her to apply ED with their support. Question is how much weight do ivy fencing coaches have in the ED acceptance rate? We would hate for her to lose a 100% guaranteed recruitment spot w/scholarship only to be deferred or rejected by an ivy.
Thanks in advance.
Really depends on the coach, @smileymomma. IMHO, I don’t think coaches generally have great clout. Surrendering a guaranteed recruiting spot (including a scholarship!) at an elite, non-Ivy is a big risk.
Dear all, really learned a lot from this great discussion thread. I have a rising sophomore kid, who ranked among top 10 fencers on the current JNP list. He still has one year to go before he can contact college coaches. However, the coming season looks in jeopardy now. We do not know what competition (NAC and/or International events) will be still held this season. So, given the current scenario, any thoughts how the college coach will assess the fencers for their future recruiting, if there are no rigid competitions happen this season (2020-21)? Will they consider the results and ranking from freshman year? Or they will postpone their decision making until the end of 2021-22 season for the class 2023? Thanks a lot.
@Wendy69 I really think it is a case of wait and see. There is so much up in the air this year for the 2021 class. Incoming 2020 fencers deferring, current Sopho/Junior/Seniors taking a gap year. Some coaches already have commitments for 2021 class, some are realizing they don’t have the slots they are used to etc. Until the dust settles and the coaches evaluate their rosters based on this, the need for fencers from HS 2022 won’t be clear and therefore HS 2023 is probably a little too far off to call. I think you will get a better idea of what colleges needs are when rosters for 2021-22 are announced and by then we will hopefully have had some competitions in the latter half of the 2020-21 season - after all, they are still anticipating Olympics to go ahead as scheduled in August 2021 and for that to happen there needs to be some tournaments that need to happen - final Senior level qualification WC / GP. I doubt any national events will happen in 2020 but I think regionals events (depending on the region) will be possible and are likely to take place. Although it seems unnerving, I think your rising sophomore is not in a bad position. The COVID pandemic will hopefully be on a better footing in a year and by then you will have a rising junior. This is the key year. Fingers crossed there is an NCAA fencing program still in place and there are enough teams that make recruitment feasible. HTH
Sad to say that after all of the recruitment nerves and excitement at getting a spot, my sons school went online for the fall. Starts classes this week from home 
Just sad. Is the consensus that there is no chance for a season maybe starting in January?
@Fuzebox87 Is your son at least able to be on campus and practice with the team or is he completely remote? I imagine that right now it is hard to envisage a season at the NCAA competition level with so many schools online / remote for the fall semester or the entire year. However, never say never. If teams are practicing perhaps there will be change for regional events at a minimum. What does his coach say?
Wendy69 - As a parent who is going through the fencing recruiting process one year ahead of you, I can tell you that the coaches starting looking at top fencers several years before the recruiting year. If your son is in the top 10 JNP for his weapon, they already are aware of him.
Also, it was surprising to see how slowly the process goes. You jump the gun on June 15th, and you find out that the coaches are still finalizing the year ahead of you. So while it is definitely a good idea to get out your fencing resume and contact coaches as soon as you can, the process plays out quite slowly.
Has anyone heard if/when the updated NAC schedule will be released?
Hi @GNH2020 . I don’t think there has been any updates since the Sept 1st announcement.
https://www.usafencing.org/news_article/show/1120308
“ National events, including North American Cups and National Championships will be introduced during Phase 4 which will start no earlier than Jan. 1, 2021.”
Good luck to your fencer in recruiting.
It’ll be a challenging recruitment year for sure with all of the unknowns we’re faced with.
Thanks, I saw that. I was hoping there was some follow up to the statement that “updated national events schedule will be released in early fall” in the press release. Also, what it means when the release says (regarding the NACs) that “these events may look different in terms of size and structure from what we have all come to know.”
@GNH2020 I think they mean that they will have to organize around social distancing etc. It will be interesting to see how creative they will be. For the short term they will need to prioritize senior events so that they can get the Olympic qualifications complete. If Olympics still scheduled for August 2021 that is going to be a driver. I would not be surprised if they keep youth and perhaps even cadet / junior at the regional level until they can hold the bigger events. It is all going to be very interesting and I don’t envy them the task of having to figure out what they can realistically undertake in the shorter term. For recruiting it is going to present a challenge and I expect more video “highlight reels” may be required similar to the way other sports like lacrosse and football prospective recruits use.
Brown University issued a press release this morning stating that Women’s Fencing had been restored to varsity status, though it’s unclear to me how long that will last. https://www.brown.edu/news/2020-09-17/athletics
Great news. Not the best fencing program, but a wonderful university. I hope that possibility is there for our 9th grader.
That is great news for the girls, not so great for their guys. ?
NCAA dead period extended again.
https://www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/article/2020-09-16/di-council-extends-recruiting-dead-period
@smileymomma Is this going to directly affect class 2021 or 2022?