I have only been introduced/infatuated with this sport for the past couple of weeks now. I just wanted to if there were any major differences between varsity and club fencing on the collegiate level.
We have a very competitive fencing club here at the University of Florida that competes against "fencing" schools who have actual varsity teams. We also compete in various other national tournaments and what not...
What, if anything, separates a club from a varsity team?
And also they generally don't have any money, coaching, or recruitment.
Clubs have some advantages, however. You have more freedom in how you want to train and how often you do it, for example.
Yeah, and no one likes Florida. I believe my only impression of the Florida fencing club was "why the **** is Florida fencing in a 'Northeast Fencing Conference' meet." Followed by "they flew all the way up here to suck this bad."
Basically, the way clubs compare themselves to varsity and the way varsity compares themselves to clubs is very, very different.
And I wasn't even on a particularly good varsity team.
And also they generally don't have any money, coaching, or recruitment.
Clubs have some advantages, however. You have more freedom in how you want to train and how often you do it, for example.
I don't think the lack of coaching applies to the University of Florida.
UF has a qualified and committed coach. When my daughter was applying to college (she had already been fencing for several years), she considered UF (her sister was going there at the time) and Bruce let her practice with the team several times during a visit. Her impression at the time was very positive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GatorFencner012
I have only been introduced/infatuated with this sport for the past couple of weeks now. I just wanted to if there were any major differences between varsity and club fencing on the collegiate level.
We have a very competitive fencing club here at the University of Florida that competes against "fencing" schools who have actual varsity teams. We also compete in various other national tournaments and what not...
What, if anything, separates a club from a varsity team?
I think some club teams are serious -- and some are not. Just like some varsity teams are really good and some are not.
If you just got involved with fencing at the University of Florida, you are probably in a good place and will have a great time there.
One of the first things I would say that you should know when popping into the larger fencing community is that Bruce Capin has.... created some very close friends/allies, and also managed to make a number of people dislike him a great deal, or merely prefer to have little to do with him. Uh, that said:
NCAA teams: Usually have bigger budgets (maybe not always the case when compared to UF)-- but the biggest perk is the institutional support. They get their space booked before club sports, the school deals with the budget, cuts checks, figures out transportation, orders gear. Some schools can (and do) offer partial or full athletic scholarships for qualified athletes (but these are few and far between)
On the other hand, there are a whole lot of rules that often don't make sense for fencing in the same way they do for football and basketball. The system of determinine who fences in Regionals and Nationals is confusing for many, and there's always someone complaining (and just about any system will have at least a few flaws).
Club teams: Have a whole lot of freedom from rules- they can fence USFA events without a second thought, accept prizes without a second thought. Who goes to USFA Nationals is easy to determine (roughly: is it in the budget?).
On the other hand, there's a lot more student responsibility. The students, rather than the school, hire the coach. They're in charge of setting the schedule, figuring out how to get there, and making sure everything runs smoothly.
It depends on the fencer which is more appropriate.
The Florida trip up to New England a couple years back was not as notable for the questionable decision (was it really worth the money for them?) as much as it was notable for the lack of planning. There have been a couple incidents in which Florida has kind of just shown up places expecting to suddenly get housing and rides places, without having given people a whole lot of notice-- or gives people about a week's notice and then says "nevermind"...
__________________
Visit my non-fencing blog, mostly about food, at Coset The Table!
I've been part of both a NCAA team (Rutgers 2004-2007) and a club team (Rutgers 2008), due to the unfortunate circumstance of the team being cut from the varsity program. So here's the breakdown of my experiences:
NCAA
-------
Good:
Professional, well qualified coach
Free fencing equipment
Free shirts/shorts/socks/warmups/etc
All travel arranged and paid for by the school
Daily stipends for travel days
DI NAC trip included as a competition date
Opportunity to compete in NCAA regionals/nationals
Scholarship money available
First choice of classes to fit practice schedule
Bad:
Only 4 spots per weapon, must tryout every year for a spot
Practice 5 days a week, at 8 am
Subject to NCAA compliance regulations
Club
-----
Good:
No cap on members, no tryouts
Practice 2-3 times a week, at night
No worries about compliance
More relaxed rules about conduct/curfew when traveling
Bad:
Have to pay dues
Weaker meet schedule
No free equipment
Club officers need to handle travel arrangements
Can't compete in NCAA's
I liked the perks of being an NCAA athlete, and obviously would have liked to continue as such, but I found that I also enjoyed the more laid back club environment. Club nationals was a fun tournament (winning helped ) but there's no substitute for NCAA's.
If you're a strong fencer and don't mind the commitment requirements of an NCAA team, that'd be the best fit if it matches up with the school you like best. But remember the most important thing is to choose the right school. You won't make money from fencing after you graduate, so put your career path first.
Basically, the thing that binds club and varsity fencing together is the sport and the species. Both fence and both are human. As such, you can look for a lot of similarities that boil down to being the rules of fencing or humanity.
Basically, the thing that binds club and varsity fencing together is the sport and the species. Both fence and both are human. As such, you can look for a lot of similarities that boil down to being the rules of fencing or humanity.
That's about all you'll find.
You're being generous to describe what all varsity teams and all club teams do as "fencing".
__________________
Visit my non-fencing blog, mostly about food, at Coset The Table!
I have only been introduced/infatuated with this sport for the past couple of weeks
Disregard what anybody says in this thread. You have been fencing for a couple of weeks and you love it? You are infatuated? That's GREAT! You are at UF? Great university. Who cares about the difference between varsity vs clubs? Enjoy the ride.And welcome to our insane little community of fencers.
Disregard what anybody says in this thread. You have been fencing for a couple of weeks and you love it? You are infatuated? That's GREAT! You are at UF? Great university. Who cares about the difference between varsity vs clubs? Enjoy the ride.And welcome to our insane little community of fencers.
QFT. For you, the reality is that the difference of being on a club team instead of a varsity team is that you will actually GET to fence on the club team. There are few varsity teams where people who have never fenced before college become good enough to actually compete before their junior or senior year.
One would hope threads like this could be less negative and more constructive, as I think the originator wanted a genuine opinion?
Try harder guys!
..... There have been a whole pile of posts that have documented the differences between the two. Most notably was AndrewH, who had the unusual experience of competing under both systems for the same school (here, if you missed it: College Varsity vs. College Club ).
After that, what do you want?
There will always be some **** that flies between club and varsity teams-- partially because of the differences, and partially because teams that compete against each other create rivalries, and club and varsity teams do actually compete against each other (well, some). Some are friendlier rivalries than others.
Florida is a little peculiar because many of the rivalries that have come about have been more intense than others. This has been exacerbated by the coach, who tends to inspire passion- in both directions.
What else do you suggest we tell this new fencer? We've answered the first question very thoroughly, given a run down of the tension that exists specific to UFlorida, some explanation for the tension, several suggestions to ignore the tension and just have fun, as well as the standard off-topic thread drift of sarcastic remarks. Until we get a new question..... our work here might be done.
__________________
Visit my non-fencing blog, mostly about food, at Coset The Table!
One would hope threads like this could be less negative and more constructive, as I think the originator wanted a genuine opinion?
Try harder guys!
Do you want the truth or do you want me to make up nice things about college clubs? Reality: if you're a good fencer, fencing for a college club team will make you worse. Reality: if you're a good fencer, you'll probably get worse while fencing for a varsity team. If you want to spend your free time doing bake sales, a club is a good way to go. If you want to spend your free time going to fencing practice when you'd rather not go, a varsity team is a good way to go. Finally, when club teams fence varsity teams, the club teams get the better end of the deal BY FAR.
I'm not saying that there aren't good fencers who fence for club teams, there are, but most the best varsity fencers are better than the best club fencers, and the typical club fencers barely do what can be considered fencing.
Do you want the truth or do you want me to make up nice things about college clubs? Reality: if you're a good fencer, fencing for a college club team will make you worse. Reality: if you're a good fencer, you'll probably get worse while fencing for a varsity team. If you want to spend your free time doing bake sales, a club is a good way to go. If you want to spend your free time going to fencing practice when you'd rather not go, a varsity team is a good way to go. Finally, when club teams fence varsity teams, the club teams get the better end of the deal BY FAR.
I'm not saying that there aren't good fencers who fence for club teams, there are, but most the best varsity fencers are better than the best club fencers, and the typical club fencers barely do what can be considered fencing.
I fail to understand why a good fencer would get worse fencing for a varsity team. Could you expand a bit on your statement? Clubs hold no interest for me at all.
) but there's no substitute for NCAA's.
Linear Mode
