September, 2021: Michigan COVID cases are holding steady, according to The New York Times. But there is uncertainty on the horizon. MSU Campus is waiting to see the results of the first two weeks of face-to-face instruction combined with the holiday weekend and a home game.
It is in this uneasiness that clubs are trying to plan their semesters, afraid of being suddenly sent online again. The most concerned are the clubs that rely on face-to-face interaction to operate, since they’ll struggle the most with recruitment and meeting in the digital sphere.
I sit on the e-board as the recruiter for MSU Fencing, one of the clubs treading carefully in this new landscape. The club is adjusting to a ‘new normal’ – as I reported in The Current this week, and with that comes the double-edged sword that is recruitment.
While fencing is the ideal pandemic sport because there is no physical contact, it’s severely impacted by being unable to meet in person. But meeting face-to-face has its disadvantages: masks are mandated inside MSU buildings, adding another layer of protection to the heavy gear fencers wear to protect themselves during practice. Overheating is a big concern, but so is COVID, so we’re masking up.
Changing practice format, washing loaner gear in between every single use, checking gear out to returning club members and taking attendance every night are some of the other new safety procedures the club has installed. We assumed that practices would be small, since we only had a few new recruits during the year online and many of our members graduated.
We assumed wrong. And that’s a wonderful problem to have.
The fencing club joined dozens of other campus organizations at Sparticipation, an annual MSU event showcasing the many ways to get involved with student groups. In the past, this was the main way we recruited for the year, and this was no exception. Except… double the numbers we normally bring in.
I’ve been on the team for five years, and usually we see about 20 new recruits in a year (it varies). This year we passed out over 250 info notes and added over 150 new leads to our email list. At our new member open house this past week there were 60 new faces in attendance, with more sure to roll in this next week.
We have an amazing e-board that immediately got to work on the problem at hand. Once the initial shock wore off, we set to reorganizing practices and ordering more loaner gear in hopes of accommodating our growing numbers while also bracing ourselves for a potential rise in COVID cases on campus.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s beyond exciting to know that we’ve drawn so much attention. I can’t complain about sharing the sport that I love with so many new people, and I can’t wait to get to know this year’s recruits. But nothing comes without concerns, which is why recruitment feels like a double-edged sword. It’s amazing to recruit so many people, but how do we give them the experience they deserve?
Club President Emily Lin (Who I featured in a profile last year) has similar mixed feelings: “A couple of years ago, we saw our numbers slowly dwindle. Women’s teams began to shrink and fewer people were trickling into practice. Now, we have over 166 people showing interest in our club. I’m blown away by the interest, but with it comes a lot of questions about how to keep us all safe.”
The biggest question right now is how we can balance the needs of the new recruits with the needs of the returners, all the while keeping everyone healthy.
I’m also a captain of one of the weapon squads, and thinking about facilitating a meaningful practice environment for both new and old fencers while worrying about COVID is nerve-wracking. My brain is already thinking about competing: I can’t wait to travel and go to events, but with that comes anxiety over travel and exposure risks. And I’m putting the cart before the horse. We don’t even know when our first competition is and we have new recruits to train first. It’s a constant push-and-pull of being excited but also mindful and cautious.
Sparticipation was more packed than I remember it ever being, with lots of booths getting heavy traffic. That means lots of competition for students’ time and interest, resulting in pressure to capitalize on the leads we’ve been given while they’re still here. There’s no guarantee we’ll have this kind of recruitment next year, and with many squads struggling to fill out team numbers ahead of the competitive season, we do need to bring in new fencers.
I’m sure we’re not alone in the excitement and apprehension about recruitment. With thousands of new students living on campus for the first time, there are bound to be many clubs trying to satisfy COVID safety measures as well as capitalize on new interest. All we can do is take it one week at a time, plan as much as we can, and be grateful for what we have. Our club is a family, and we have to make room for new friends, all while working to keep our community safe.
I’m terrified that we might let our new recruits down this semester, but I’m so excited to train with them. That’s the double-edged sword of recruitment in this post-pandemic world.