Fencing, Anyone?
9th August 2012
While many parents hope sports will pave the way for their child to win a scholarship, some sports organizations say parents are steering their children toward less-popular sports with the goal of securing a spot on a Division III team with no money attached—but with the promise of a top-tier education.
At the Manhattan Fencing Club, home to four-time Olympic coach Yuri Gelman, “85 percent of our kids get into fencing to help them get accepted into an Ivy League university—which don’t give athletic scholarships—or Division I school,” says director Julie Gelman. “A lot of kids were able to get into schools that they otherwise wouldn’t have if they weren’t fencing.”
August 10th, 2012 at 07:54
I remember a recruiting poster for the fencing team that I saw recently on a college campus.
It had a picture of two foilists in the middle of a lunging/parrying action.
Above it said: “Yoga, Zumba, Pilates, Tai Chi…”
Below it said: “Whatever happened to the good old days, when people stayed in shape by trying to stab each other?”