RALEIGH, N.C. — One faculty sport that usually flies underneath the radar is fencing. Only 46 faculties within the United States have packages throughout all divisions, which kinds a tight-knit neighborhood. That’s part of the draw of the sport.
UNC junior Zhiyan Qian did not at all times plan on turning into a fencer.
“I used to be a swimmer, but then I had, like a… I started developing like an allergic reaction to the water,” she mentioned.
This prompted a change of sport across the time Qian and her household moved to the United States.
“My dad’s job transferred to the U.S., and we got transferred with another family. And their daughter did fencing,” Qian mentioned.
The sport is now ingrained within the East Chapel Hill High School alum, who selected to keep native and compete on the collegiate stage.
“I grew up around UNC. I just love UNC’s culture. I really enjoy our team’s culture. I think we have… I might be biased, but I think we have the best fencing team culture out of all the NCAA sports,” she mentioned.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is one in every of simply two faculty fencing packages within the state, leading to an in depth circle that many strive to keep concerned in so long as they’ll.
“Honestly, I think the greatest thing is just being able to connect with other fencers. And I’ve become some really good friends with some coaches and some fencers and other referees. So it’s just the connections that I’m able to have via reffing that I wasn’t able to do just from fencing,” she mentioned.
The approach Qian stays plugged in, past competing, is thru refereeing. This is a ability she discovered regionally, at Apex Fencing Academy, and that further connection and understanding has solely elevated her love for the sport.
“They were just trying to develop some new referees and then so I got hooked with that. I got hooked on that. And it just started, I guess like becoming… like I started going to more regional tournaments and then national tournaments. And it just became a thing for me,” she mentioned.
What began with a coaching in Apex was Qian turning into a USA Fencing-certified referee, giving her distinctive perspective on her craft.
“It definitely helps me learn more about fencing and things that I can watch out for when I’m fencing because I know how the referees are seeing the calls,” Qian mentioned.
This is all in an effort to proceed to develop relationships she’s constructed throughout the sport, hoping to keep connected after she’s finished competing.
“As much as I love fencing, I just… I think maybe sometimes it can be, get a little too busy for me to be fencing regularly. So I definitely see reffing as my long-term commitment to the sport,” Qian mentioned.
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