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FIRST ON FOX: USA Fencing is looking to the future and expanding its presence at the collegiate level, after a year plagued by controversies and lawsuits over trans athletes in women’s competitions and the replacement of its board president.
In October, former President Damien Lehfeldt declined to seek re-election and, in a statement announcing the decision, wrote: “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 organisation’s new president, becoming the first active athlete and first para-fencer to lead the board.
“USA Fencing remains deeply committed to earning and maintaining the trust of our athletes, fans and the fencing community at large. 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 Pak Gazette Digital.
“We recognize the challenges of the past few 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) competes at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. (Katie Goodale-USA Today Sports)
USA Fencing will grow the sport at the NCAA level and announced that Arcadia University in Pennsylvania and Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey will add men’s and women’s fencing teams to their collegiate sports beginning in the fall of 2027.
“In a year when parts of college athletics have contracted, adding roster positions in fencing is a win for access, community and the collegiate model,” said Brad Suchorski, director of membership, service and growth for USA Fencing, in an announcement of Arcadia’s expansion.
The governing body is also partnering with educational 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 price to help them learn foreign languages for travel to international competitions.
US OLYMPIC WRITERS AND OTHER FENCERS FILE CLASS ACTION AGAINST US FENCING OVER ALLEGED TRANS ATHLETE INCIDENT
USA Fencing will look to close out 2025 on a high note after multiple controversies over trans athletes sparked a public backlash, two lawsuits and a congressional hearing.
In April, fencer Stephanie Turner drew attention to the organization’s policies that allow biological males to compete in women’s competitions when she posted images of her kneeling in protest of a trans opponent. Turner was disqualified and escorted from the event as the footage went viral and drew 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 US Olympic fencing coach and board member Andrey Geva and former Olympic fencer Abdel Salem sued Lehfeldt for allegedly making “false statements” at the hearing, and claimed the transgender eligibility policy was causing athletes to cancel their registration with USA Fencing.
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Lauren Scruggs (USA) competes against Alice Volpi (ITA) in the women’s foil team gold medal match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (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 multiple biological trans male athletes competed against women and girls at the North American Cup in Kansas City in January, without the female competitors knowing about the trans athletes’ birth sex.
USA Fencing was one of the first American sports governing bodies to update its gender eligibility policy to allow only biological women to compete in the women’s category after the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) changed its athlete safety policy to ensure compliance with Trump’s executive order “Keep Men Out of Women’s Sports.”
