High School Fencing in Illinois

I wish fencing was offered more, so I’m more than happy to sign.

Fencing is an amazing sport that my parents will not let me compete in due to the lack of "opportunities" as my father puts it. It needs to be recognized as a sport.

YES! It's about time they recognized us. We can get scholarships for this, yet they are oblivious.

My son is 12 and loves fencing. It's great for any child.

I am a former college fencing coach. I can attest to the scholarship opportunities available to fencers. There also seems to be a building interest in adding fencing teams at Universities across the country. There will be even more college team slots for fencing athletes in the years to come. Fencing is a sport with a low risk of injury. It appeals to a different mental and physical type of athlete - one who is generally not well served by the traditional sports high school of football, basketball and track.

As a parent of a high school varsity fencer in NJ, who was recruited to fence in a college varsity for a top 30 school, I can attest to the fact that fencing is a terrific sport and should have varsity status in ALL states. As an individual sport, my son traveled the country, made friends in many states, and later fenced abroad. As a varsity sport, he learned leadership and teamwork. In college, he's learned to balance his varsity commitment with his education, a time management life lesson. Those that have the drive can fence on the Olympic level, but most importantly, all can fence for life, like golf and tennis. High School varsity fencing is a great investment.

Fencing is an amazing sport that builds physical, mental, and emotional character. It is most definitely a program worth having at any high school.

Fencing is just as physically demanding (if you train hard enough) as football or soccer or any of the other more conventional sports

How could fencing possibly not be considered a varsity-level sport?

I've been fencing since I was a little kid. Not sure why fencing should be treated differently from any other sport.

I support any fencing movement anywhere.

Fencing is a great sport for the mind and body, often called physical chess. It's already practiced by a number of high schools in Illinois.

Absolutely yes!

I wholeheartedly agree.

Yes! Fencing should be a IHSA sport.

I am a high school fencing coach in Illinois. I would love to see this sport grow and be a IHSA official sport.

Yes. I want the Midwest to be a better fencing region than it currently is, and this would be a wonderful step towards that. It's an incredible, safe sport with excellent mental and physical benefits.

I fenced all through high school in IL, and it was great to see the "conference" growing back then, official support from the state would certainly help participation.

Fencing is both a sport that trains the mind but also the body. I have personally found fencing to be more insightful then some of my school classes.

IL should never defer to new jersey as a matter of principle.