
What could be cooler than wearing a helmet and being able to stick a sword in someone’s chest? Not much, according to Iris Zimmermann. Of course, she was just 6 when she summed up the sport of fencing this way. Her childish infatuation with fencing gave way to a mature appreciation and passion for the sport, so much so, that in 2000 she became a Women’s Foil Team Olympian in Sydney, Australia.
Just how did Zimmermann become an Olympian? The same way you get to Carnegie Hall — practice, practice, practice. Both she and her older sister, Felicia, who preceded her as an Olympian, were fortunate to be trained by world-renowned Coach Anthony “Buckie” Leach. People would come to Rochester from around the world just to be trained by him.
2015 story, video: Rochester Fencing Club has a new home
2014, story: Fencing sisters Felicia and Iris Zimmermann
In the 1990’s, the Rochester Fencing Club was rocking. But by 2009, 9 years after their coach left town, the fencing club, was in a state of disrepair and membership was down. Both sisters knew that they had to do something.
They decided to buy the club and sell it in a year or two. That sale never happened. Since they purchased the club, they moved to a new 18,500 square foot location in Henrietta and tripled their membership.
“We’ve changed everything,” Zimmermann says, referring to the club’s ambiance and to the sisters’ guiding philosophy. They offer their students emotional support and a “safe place to fail.”
For the most part, Zimmermann finds that her students tend to be high-achievers and are afraid to lose or fail.
“I think the more chances we give people to learn and create through failure, the better the outcomes for people. We have a culture of winning in the United States, but what about the process to get there? As an athlete, I know that most of the happiness comes from the process and not the fleeting moment of the end goal,” she explains.
Zimmermann feels strongly that recognition be linked to effort. “It’s an “old school” space, but with a “new school” mentality,” she says of the club’s current modus operandi. “Everything the kids get at the fencing club is earned,” she emphasizes, evincing her strong disapproval of hollow praise and false reward. Yet her approach is not so “old school” as to border on rigidity.
“I’m not asking kids to be an Olympian,” she says. “I’m just asking them to be the best they can be.”
Her commitment to children’s development through creative yet purposeful play is evident in her role as a Strong Museum of Play Play Maker and as an ardent advocate of the Community Foundation’s Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. fund’s commitment to providing quality sports and recreation activities to all youth residing in the Greater Rochester and Finger Lakes region.
Personal: 37, married with two daughters, lives in Pittsford.
Occupation: Co-Owner of the Rochester Fencing Club; International Fencing Commentator; and Valor Performance Coach.
Education: Stanford University, B.A., Political Science, 2003; University of Rochester Simon School of Business, Executive MBA, 2012.
Recent work projects and achievements:
•Commentator for FIE (international fencing organization), Doha, Qatar. Going to Anaheim, California, in March and Shangha in May to cover two more broadcasts for the Grand Prix World Cups.
•Recently began work as a Valor Performance Coach
•40 Under 40 award. A big accomplishment for me as this is my first non-athletic achievement.
Current community activities and recent achievements:
•Play Maker at the Strong Museum of Play. I feel very strongly about youth development through play and activity. I have invested a lot of my passion into my role as a Play Maker.
•Community leader offering help and guidance to the Rochester Area Community Foundation’s Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. fund-based focus on the state of play in Rochester.
•Vice President Greater Rochester Amateur Athletic Federation — local nonprofit that raises money for local Olympic hopefuls.
•Vice President US Olympic and Para-Olympic Alumni Association.
•Particular focus on Olympic Day — an effort to raise awareness about Olympic principles and community involvement in sport and play.
•Spearheaded an effort, with other U.S. Fencing Association clubs, to bring Puerto Rican fencers to clubs in other parts of the United States to train, as Puerto Rico still lacks electrical power and appropriate facilities to train in.
Biggest challenge I’ve overcome: Finding the balance between personal achievement and motherhood. Once I decided what type of mother I was going to be and what type of achiever I was going to be, it became my guide and compass.
A person or mentor who has inspired me: No one is successful or reaches the top without a village backing them up. That was true when I trained for the Olympics and it is also true for my professional goals. Rod Green, executive director of business expansion for Hillside Family of Agencies, has been a personal mentor of mine for a long time. We meet regularly. He nominated me for the 40 Under 40 Award and is a good guide for my next career steps. He’s also good at just boosting me up when needed.
Future goals: Personal — to stay passionate and to devote my energies to endeavors of import and impact. Professional — Continue to grow the Fencing Club as a community resource and a safe and fun environment to learn in.
I am also enamored of broadcasting and would love to do more of it — not just sportscasting.
One piece of advice for someone starting out in her professional: Take calculated risks.
What I’m reading right now? For my Valor Performance Coach training, I am reading articles on Self Determination Theory.
Arlene Hisiger is a Rochester-area freelance writer.
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