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FIRST ON FOX: USA Fencing is looking to the future and expanding its footprint at the college level after a year filled with controversy and lawsuits over trans athletes in women’s competition and the replacement of its board chairman.
In October, former chairman Damien Lehfeldt declined to seek re-election, writing in a statement announcing the decision: “I did not sign up to spend my nights and weekends dealing with lawsuits, death threats and distractions.” Paralympic medalist Dr. Scott Rodgers was elected the organization’s new chairman, becoming the first active athlete and first parafencer to lead the board.
“USA Fencing remains deeply committed to earning and maintaining the trust of our athletes, fans and the broader fencing community. The election of Dr. Scott Rodgers as Chairman of the Board reflects our dedication to athlete-centered governance and the continued growth of fencing at all levels,” the organization said in a statement to Pakinomist Digital.
“We acknowledge the challenges of recent months and are focused on moving forward with integrity, transparency and a clear vision for the future.”
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Maia Mei Weintraub (USA) will compete at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. (Katie Goodale-USA Today Sports)
USA Fencing will develop the sport at the NCAA level, announcing that Arcadia University in Pennsylvania and Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey will add men’s and women’s fencing teams to its varsity sports beginning in the fall of 2027.
“In a year where parts of college athletics have come together, adding roster spots in fencing is a win for access, community and the collegiate model,” said Brad Suchorski, USA Fencing’s director of membership, services and growth, in an announcement about the Arcadia expansion.
The governing body is also partnering with education software company Rosetta Stone, which specializes in courses to help its users learn other languages, which will be available to its athletes at a discounted rate for help learning foreign languages for travel to international competitions.
US OLYMPIAN AND OTHER FENCERS FILING CLASS ACTION AGAINST USA FENCING FOR ALLEGED TRANSATHLETE INCIDENT
USA Fencing will look to close 2025 on a high note after several trans athlete controversies resulted in public backlash, two lawsuits and a congressional hearing.
In April, female wrestler Stephanie Turner drew attention to the organization’s policies that allow biological males to compete in women’s competitions when she posted footage of her kneeling in protest against a trans opponent. Turner was disqualified and escorted out of the event when the footage went viral and prompted criticism from President Donald Trump’s administration.
The incident prompted a federal subpoena for Lehfeldt to a congressional hearing to explain the organization’s policy on transgender athletes on May 7.
Then in June, former USA Fencing coach and board member Andrey Geva and former Olympic fencer Abdel Salem sued Lehfeldt for allegedly making “false statements” at the hearing, claiming the transgender eligibility policy caused athletes to disenroll from USA Fencing.
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Lauren Scruggs (USA) competes against Alice Volpi (ITA) in the women’s foil team gold medal match at the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Katie Goodale-USA Today Sports)
In October, Olympic fencer Margherita Guzzi Vincenti, who represented the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics, filed another lawsuit against USA Fencing, alleging that several biologically male trans athletes competed against women and girls at the North American Cup in Kansas City in January without the female competitors knowing the trans athletes’ birth sex.
USA Fencing was one of the first US sports governing bodies to update its gender eligibility policy to only allow biological females to compete in the women’s category after the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) changed its athlete safety policy to ensure compliance with Trump’s “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order.
