Thank you, @spring14. For the sake of confidentiality, I cannot tell you my D’s weapon, but I can tell you that another member of this forum that I have been messaging has a daughter (different weapon, but also entering college in 2022) who has committed to another Ivy program. They also know a few other girls who have been in talks with coaches and may have committed. So, the recruitment has started for HS juniors and some spots have been filled already.
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Wow, seems as if coaches are committing early for HS 2020. I guess since there aren’t any tournaments in the near future, they probably don’t see the purpose of waiting. I’m not going to lie that I’m getting worried that all the spots at top schools might get filled before my D gets a serious interest from coaches. She was in talks with 4 coaches from IVY program but recently they haven’t responded to her emails. Only 1 coach had the courtesy to say he was done recruiting.
Does their silence mean they are no longer interested? Or do they at least give the courtesy to let you know that the spots have been filled? Maybe the experienced parents on this thread can give me some insights? This process is so stressful! Any information is greatly appreciated!
Hi, I have questions I need to ask you. Would you be able to DM me?
Would you mind if I DM you regarding your experience with your D’s recruiting process? I have so many questions and concerns.
@spring14. I think you are up against a few potential underlying issues with college fencing programs. 1) With the cancellation of the college fencing season you end up with current fencers having an additional year of eligibility reducing the number of slots needed. Couple that with the financial hit that universities are facing I would imagine there is a decrease in demand for class of 2021 fencers. I don’t have any inside information, just my opinion. Good luck!
With a slow down of activity here, I wanted to take the opportunity to introduce myself. My S23 has been fencing for 6 years, he is currently a D rated fencer. To date he has not yet fenced in any ROC’s, but is very active at the RYC level and has gone to the past two SN and JOs before last years shut down. I really love the fencing community and are so blessed to have met so many great kids and parents through our journey. As the fencing season opens back up, we’ll look get some additional exposure in ROC events.
We’ve just started thinking about what he’s looking for in a college. His interest lies in STEM type majors and is interested in continuing to fence in college whether it is club or varsity.
I’ve now read through the entire thread and would welcome any additional advise you have for current sophomores.
From the sound of your post, it appears as if your son is in a great position. He loves the sport, is not rushing or over-intense about competition, is focused on his academic interests and future, and just wants to fence in college. The world is your oyster! My suggestion is that you target the best schools for your son first and then see what the school offers him in terms of opportunities to continue his fencing. Opening up to club fencing brings in amazing schools such as Michigan, Carnegie Mellon, and Georgia Tech. There are also big box schools such as PSU and OSU that offer both club and DV1 teams.
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@BrooklynRye thanks for your suggestions. Looking through some of the websites for some of the cub teams it really looks like a great option with some of those teams fencing against varsity programs in dual meets. I’m curious on what the dynamic is like at a school where they have both a varsity and club program like PSU or OSU?
What little I have been told by friends at PSU is that the club team does practices with the varsity coaches, just at a different time than the DV1 team. Sometimes varsity team members help coach the club team. The club team has its own competitions, but some overlap with DV1 meets where there will be a parallel club meet going on. I would imagine that the presence of both a club and DV1 team allows for some fluidity under a variety of circumstances. My gut though is that a school with only a dedicated club team will be much more vested and the team will receive much more support.
P.S. It does not appear that OSU sends its fencing club to club nationals. I believe there are both OSU and PSU fencing parents on the thread (or at least some with more experience with these schools than I), who may wish to weigh in on this topic.
The 2020/2021 NCAA Fencing Team Vital Statistics are READY.
https://www.fencingparents.org/fencer-vital-statistics-at-colleges-with-ncaa-fencing-teams-2020-2021
ACCESS CODE: fencerstats2021
Happy New Year to all of you! 
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Speaking of NCAA does anyone know what “exactly” the rules are with athletes contacting coaches prior to June 15 after their sophomore year. I had heard that fencers can contact coaches, but knowing that the coaches cannot respond back. I’m assuming this is for Div1 schools not sure if it is different for Div2 or Div3?
they are certainly more relaxed at D2 and D3. Here’s a great link with the details.
Has anyone heard anything about the timing or location of the Cadet and Junior World Championships, currently set for this April in Egypt? The last I saw was the December USFA announcement that “In January, the FIE will conduct a visit to Cairo with the Egyptian federation and national authorities to discuss the 2021 Junior and Cadet World Championships which are scheduled to be held in April.” I also see that the International Modern Pentathlon Junior and Youth World Championships have been postponed from February until July due to the coronavirus crisis, which would seem to indicate that the fencing cadet and junior championships will not occur in April. UIPM Junior and Youth World Championships postponed due to COVID-19. But has anyone heard anything concrete?
The Salt Lake Convention Center states that it has been booked for fencing JOs, from July 21st through July 25th. 2021 USA Fencing Junior Olympics Championship | Salt Lake City, UT 84101-1404 (visitsaltlake.com). Has anyone heard anything about the potential to have JOs in late July?
According to USFA:
National Championships, Junior Olympics and July Challenge
Location : Philadelphia, Pa.
Dates : July 3-12, 2021
Yes, I saw that when it came out. But the Salt Palace convention site has recently added a booking listing JOs for several weeks later, which doesn’t make sense in light of the USFA announcement. So I am wondering whether this is a contingency plan to have JOs if Pennsylvania doesn’t allow Summer Nationals to go forward, a potential change in plans, or if there is some other reason why Salt Lake City has scheduled JOs for July 22-26th.
Hi! Any new info on this? They haven’t released new info, but maybe someone has heard something through the grapevine?
I was referring to Junior and Cadet Worlds.
And now the Salt Lake City listing for JOs has disappeared. Very strange…