Staying on the right side of the rules in athlete recruitment
Staying on the right side of the rules is important in order to maintain eligibility to be athlete recruited. In a worse-case scenario when a violation occurs, the fencer may be barred from being recruited to any college and/or the NCAA coach disciplined.
FP has been informed about separate incidents involving high school fencers where the rules were not observed.
In one situation, the fencer was allegedly guaranteed a position on the team by the NCAA coach and pressured by the coach to make the team the fencer's first choice. The reality is that the coach has no authority to promise you admission, neither can the coach pressure you into making his/her team your first choice. The final authority whether or not to admit a fencer to the college rests with the Admissions Office, not the NCAA coach. It is against the rules for the coach to pressure the fencer into committing to the school.
The rules on contact limit the type of contact a high school fencer may have with an NCAA coach, regardless of what grade the high school fencer is in. Specifically, freshmen and sophomores cannot have "in-person" contact with NCAA coaches except under restricted circumstances during fencing camps. Outside of a camp, a freshman or sophomore fencer training with an NCAA team in the presence of the NCAA coach constitutes "in-person" contact that violates the rules. No matter how tempted and how honored you feel to be invited to practice with the NCAA team, do not do it. This breaks the rules and could jeopardize your chances of recruitment and NCAA eligibility.
You can review the rules governing athlete recruitment for fencers HERE