Parafencing Takes Center Stage: USA Fencing, USOPC, and NCAA Bring Adaptive Fencing to 2025 Championships

Colorado Springs, Colo. - Collegiate fencing’s biggest event is about to get even bigger. For the second year in a row, USA Fencing, in partnership with the NCAA, Pennsylvania State University and the USOPC, will feature a parafencing demonstration at the NCAA National Collegiate Fencing Championships.

The demonstration itself will take place during the 2025 National Collegiate Fencing Championships in State College, Pa., on the campus of Pennsylvania State University. Parafencing will be showcased on Friday, March 21, right before national champions are crowned.

Jean Merrill, the NCAA Director of the Office of Inclusion, said "We are excited to add a parafencing demonstration to this year’s NCAA Fencing Championships, which provides parafencers--some who attend NCAA schools--with an opportunity to show their talent and provides parafencing with a platform for added visibility. Though parafencing is not an NCAA championship, the NCAA wants to drive the importance of inclusivity at its events and provide student-athletes with opportunities for success. The NCAA and the USOPC have also partnered to create the Para College Inclusion Project and the Paralympians Made Here campaign that brings additional visibility to adaptive sports. We hope our fans and others enjoy seeing the parafencing demo and the diversity of this sport at this year’s NCAA championships.”

After the preliminary rounds but before the semifinals, parafencers will take the stage to show their skills, giving student-athletes and fans a chance to witness this powerful, lightning-fast discipline of fencing. The demo will feature Paris 2024 Paralympian Noah Hanssen PLY and Los Angeles 2028 hopeful Abe Kaplan.

Both have shared how important this demo is to them and to the parafencing community.

“Coming into this sport, it felt like parafencing has been fairly isolated from the rest of the U.S. fencing community,” Hanssen says. “As a college student, I have benefited greatly from becoming more involved in the collegiate fencing scene around the University of Maryland, and I’ve always received positive feedback from able-bodied fencers who I’ve been able to introduce parafencing to. I think more crossover between parafencing and the able-bodied fencing community benefits all of us, and I’m excited to have the opportunity to do my part in exposing more people to parafencing.”

Kaplan, who started fencing about 4 years ago agrees.

“As someone with hemiplegia, my ability to advance in the able-bodied fencing world is limited,” he says. “Parafencing levels the playing field and has allowed me to excel and gives me the chance to reach my full potential as an athlete.”

Central to this momentous occasion is Lauryn DeLuca PLY, a 2016 Paralympian, USA Fencing Board member and a distinguished alumna of The Ohio State University, where she was believed to be the first adaptive fencer in the NCAA.

“It’s incredibly exciting to return to the NCAA Championships for the second year in a row,” she says. “This year, our audience will witness the past, present and future of parafencing in the collegiate space. We are proud to have Noah, a 2024 Paralympian, whose college club played a pivotal role in preparing him for the Paris Games. And then there’s Abe — a rising star who, as a sophomore in high school, has already made waves on the senior stage with his eyes set on the 2028 Games.”

DeLuca says that this demo is a milestone for both USA Fencing and the NCAA as these groups work to create space for visibility and demonstrate their commitment to fostering representation in the sport.

“For me, this year holds a special significance,” she says. “My path to fencing in the NCAA wasn’t easy, but what kept me going was knowing that if I succeeded, it would pave the way for future generations of parafencers to be fully integrated into collegiate teams. It’s a full-circle moment with Noah and Abe here. After all, there’s no point in being the first parafencer in the NCAA if there isn’t a second.”

DeLuca says one of the best parts about the Paralympics is how the movement elevates everyone.

“A special thanks to Brenna, director of Penn State’s adaptive athletics program, as well as the staff at the USOPC, NCAA, Penn State, Absolute Fencing, and, of course, USA Fencing,” she says. “There’s no roadmap to the work we’re doing. As [Parafencing Manager] Beth [Mahr] and I often say, ‘I don’t know how we’re going to do it, but we will.’”