USA fencing Board members voted against several motions to change the sport’s governing body’s current policies, including measures allowing the playing of the national anthem before competition and approving an all-female task force to reevaluate and revise current transgender policies.
Saturday’s special board meeting came just days after the Fair Fencing Organization (FFO) penned an open letter to the board asking it to reevaluate its stance on several issues, including the criteria for selection of tournament locations as they relate to the rights of individual states. abortion policy, Transgender inclusion and DEI.
Saber fencing equipment is seen during the USA Fencing Division I National Championships on April 11, 2016 at the Greater Richmond Convention Center in Richmond, Virginia. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
The FFO, which describes itself as a nationwide non-profit organization, urged board members not to make decisions based on “political correctness” but in the interests of their members.
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Several motions tabled at Saturday’s meeting addressed several sensitive issues in the country.
Among the first motions put forth was to change the current inclusion policy for fence selection in the U.S. “to allow more flexibility at the city level for those willing to provide protection to women and LGBTQIA+ members.”
The current policy includes factors based on profitability, member experience, satisfaction, cost, travel comfort, space requirements (including parafencing accommodations), city interest and accommodation availability, and inclusivity. USA Fencing states in its policy that it “gives preference” to sites based on the use of reviews from LGBTMAP.org and “to states that do not have laws that endanger the health of members or immediate family members, and such “Laws that may result in a health care professional being prosecuted for assisting a member in need of urgent medical or reproductive health care.”
The motion to change the policy and stop use of LGBTMAP.org passed with a vote of 9-1 against and one abstention. The original motion “to allow for more flexibility at the city level” passed unanimously.
Fencers compete during the USA Fencing Division I National Championships at the Greater Richmond Convention Center on April 11, 2016 in Richmond, Virginia. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Another motion to create an all-female task force to “reassess and revise” current policy Transgender athletes was also voted against with 8:3. If passed, the proposal would have added a “transgender fencer” to the task force.
A motion to change the Office of the Governing Body on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, including converting it to a committee and redirecting its funding, was also defeated 9-1 with one abstention.
Several other issues raised during the board meeting that were not addressed in FFO’s letter, including the playing of the national anthem and protests at the podium, were also addressed during the special meeting. A vote to play the national anthem at the start of tournaments before “all NACs and national championships” was defeated 8-2, with one abstention. A motion to ban podium protests or protests at tournaments in general was also rejected by 8 votes to 3, ensuring that these protests are allowed to continue.
A U.S. fencing mask is left in the warm-up area during a training session ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the ExCeL Center on July 24, 2012 in London. (Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
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In a statement to Fox News Digital about the FFO’s letter and ahead of Saturday’s meeting, USA Fencing noted that its board members “are elected by our members and are charged with representing their interests and making decisions that they believe are beneficial to them.” “The best interests of the fence are the community as a whole.”
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