The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- January 18, 1999

A TALE OF TWO EVENTS

Fencing committee hopeful that women's sabre catches on ...

BY VANESSA L. ABELL
STAFF WRITER

The NCAA Men's and Women's Fencing Committee has submitted a proposal to the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet to add women's sabre as an event, effective with the 2000 championships. In addition, the committee has requested that the cabinet approve an increase in the championships-field size to accommodate 24 additional women's sabre fencers.

With women's fencing sponsorship on the rise (43 schools currently offer the sport), more and more female fencers are taking an interest in sabre. And following a strong push in the youth programs, women's sabre is capturing the attention of many former foil and epee specialists.

To prove the point, the fencing committee conducted a survey of coaches in 1997 to find out if there was sufficient interest in adding women's sabre to the NCAA championships. The response was overwhelming support.

The addition of women's sabre and the 24 women's sabre fencers would increase championships participation from an existing 120 competitors to 144. Participation numbers also would be balanced between genders as all six events would have 24 competitors.

Strong history

Fencing coach Ron Miller of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, is an advocate of having women's sabre as an NCAA championship event. North Carolina is one program that has a strong history of including women's sabre competitors as members of its men's squad.

One North Carolina fencing alumnae, Kelly Williams, already has received international recognition in women's sabre. She first started fencing saber in her senior year at North Carolina in 1989, and after only nine years in the sport, Williams was selected to compete for the U.S. at the World Fencing Championships.

Williams acknowledged that it was tougher to get the only women's sabre spot on the U.S. team than to compete on the international level.

"The competition in the U.S. is much stronger right now than in other parts of the world," she said.

Williams took the silver, becoming the first U.S. fencer -- man or woman -- to achieve such a high finish in international competition.

She began her fencing career at North Carolina with foil as it was the only weapon available to women at the time. She said at that time if a female fencer wanted to fence sabre, the only choice was to join the men's squad and forfeit any opportunity to compete on the women's team.

Williams, who now resides in Kansas, instructs youth fencing five days a week along with three-time Olympic medalist Vladimir Nazlymov. Williams is promoting her sport and is finding that many young girls are taking sabre as their weapon of choice.

"For me, it's been a lifelong goal to get where I am. I'm not sure how much longer I can fence. If I can pave the way for younger girls, that'll be great for me. I think it won't be long before our girls are beating me."

Williams said fencing is growing rapidly on the youth level and -- contrary to previous years -- experienced fencers are joining the college ranks. Women's sabre is growing faster in the youth levels and this growth is making its way into NCAA schools. And more and more women's sabre fencers are entering college looking to continue in their weapon of choice.

Domino effect possible

The NCAA already has achieved the first step in adding women's sabre as a championship event. In July 1997, the Championships/Competition Cabinet approved the fencing committee's proposal to include women's sabre as an exhibition event at the 1999 championships at Brandeis University.

Collegiate women's sabre fencers from the Massachusetts area will be invited to compete in the exhibition along with other women's sabre fencers who will be attending the national championships as either an epee or foil specialist. The committee hopes that the 1999 exhibition will help promote women's sabre and increase participation at those institutions already sponsoring fencing.

The committee also points to growing international support as reason to anticipate the addition. In 1998, the United States Fencing Association held its first women's sabre championship. And the first official international women's sabre competition will be conducted at the 1999 World Fenc-ing Championships in Seoul, Korea. That also will be the first year that sabre will have national competition for girls under the age of 10.

The Olympics are next in line to accept women's sabre as an event. International fencing enthusiasts are now working for the addition of women's sabre as an Olympic event in the 2004 games. Presently, all three men's fencing events are recognized as Olympic sports along with women's foil and epee. Women's epee was only added to the Olympic program in 1996. Women's sabre is the last remaining fencing event awaiting Olympic recognition.

It is the fencing committee's hope that the Olympic event -- along with the national collegiate event -- are the next two dominos in line to fall.

... while women's track and field watches pole vault take off

BY SCOTT E. DEITCH
STAFF WRITER

Two down, one to go.

That's the count as it relates to the addition of women's pole vault to the NCAA indoor and outdoor track and field championships.

The event was added to the Division I championships in 1998 and makes its inaugural appearance in Division II this year. The NCAA Division III Men's and Women's Track and Field Committee has recommended for each of the past two years that it be included in its championships.

It is clear that the event made a successful debut on the Division I level. There were 34 women during the indoor season who reached the provisional qualifying standard of 3.40 meters (11 feet, 1 3/4 inches). That number rose to 50 in outdoor competition with the same standard, and caused the 1999 provisional standards to be raised to 3.50 (11 feet, 5 3/4 inches) indoors and 3.55 (11 feet, 7 3/4 inches) outdoors.

"The first season was absolutely great," said Bob Fraley, head indoor track and field coach and assistant outdoor track and field coach at California State University, Fresno. Fraley also is chair of pole-vault development for USA Track and Field and is the Division I president of the United States Track Coaches Association. "The event is really beginning to take off once again and the success of the women has been the impetus to keep it moving forward."

Rising standards

The first Division I indoor champion was Melissa Price of Fresno State. Her winning and personal-best vault of 4.27 meters (14 feet, 0 inches) lifted her at the time to second in the U.S. rankings. She has since raised her personal best to 4.36 meters (14 feet, 3 1/2 inches), and remains second in the country.

A successful start for women's pole vault also is expected in Division II this year. "We are excited to have it included in our championships," said Jim Sackett, head track and field coach at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and chair of the NCAA Men's and Women's Division II Track and Field Committee. "It was just a matter of time until the women began to pick up this event."

Sackett envisions few difficulties in having women qualify for the Division II championships.

"We made sure the provisional standard of 3.25 meters (10 feet, 8 inches) is low enough to ensure we will have enough qualifiers," he said. "Hopefully, we will have a situation similar to when we added the women's hammer throw a few years ago. Because the number of qualifiers was more than sufficient, we were able to raise the standards from the first year to the second."

Division III next

It is anticipated that the Division III subcommittee will once again recommend to have women's pole vault added to its indoor and outdoor championships.

"We certainly expect to recommend again to the Division III Championships Committee to have women's pole vault added," said Allen F. Ackerman, athletics director at the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, and chair of the NCAA Division III Men's and Women's Track and Field Committee.

Ackerman noted that the recommendation has a better chance of approval with the increase in the number of competitors at the Division III women's indoor championships from 149 to 200, effective with the 2000 championships.

"It was difficult to add an event using the existing numbers," said Ackerman. Several Division III conferences already are contesting women's pole vault in their championships.

Fraley identified Title IX compliance as one reason schools are including pole vault in their women's track and field programs.

"Adding to the number of female participants and increased scholarships to women have certainly played a role," he said.

Development at other levels

Another key to the continued growth of women's pole vault at the collegiate level is its development in the nation's high schools. On the scholastic level, 23 states currently offer girls' pole vault as a scored championship event.

USA Track and Field also is instrumental in the growth of the event. The governing body established a Women's Pole Vault Development Committee, which publishes a newsletter and has created a Web site to increase awareness of women's pole vaulting.

Women's pole vault is beginning to take hold on the international level as well. It was added to the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) World Indoor Track Championships in 1997, and will be contested for the first time at the IAAF World Outdoor Championships in 1999. Women's pole vault will become an official event in the Olympics, starting with the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia.

In the 1998 world rankings compiled by Track and Field News, one American appears in the top 10 in women's pole vault. Nonetheless, Fraley and Sackett do not foresee an influx of foreign student-athletes in
the event.

"You do not see a lot of pole vaulters competing in other events," Sackett said. "Consequently, I would not envision coaches investing the time and money to recruit foreign athletes who compete in just one event."