USA Fencing board members voted against several motions to amend the sports governing body’s current policies, including measures to allow the national anthem to be played before competition and approving an all-female task force to re-evaluate and revise the current transgender policy.
The special board meeting held on Saturday came just days after the Fair Fencing Organization (FFO) penned an open letter to the board asking that it re-evaluate its stance on several issues, including tournament site selection criteria, as it relates to individual states’ abortion policies, transgender inclusion and DEI.
The FFO, which describes itself as a nationwide nonprofit organization, called on the members of the board to make decisions not based on “political correctness,” but rather in the interest of its members.
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Several motions raised in Saturday’s meeting addressed several hot-button issues in the nation.
Among the first motions raised was to amend the current USA Fencing Site Selection Inclusion Policy “to allow more flexibility at the city level for those willing to offer protections to women and LGBTQIA+ members.”
The current policy includes factors based on profitability, member experience, satisfaction, cost, travel convenience, square footage requirements (including parafencing accommodations), city interest and availability in hosting, and inclusivity. USA Fencing states in its policy that it gives “preference” to sites based on the use of ratings from LGBTMAP.org and “states that do not have laws that endanger the health of members, or immediate family of members, and will avoid those with laws that may see a medical professional prosecuted for assisting a member in need of critical medical care, or reproductive-related medical care.”
The motion to amend the policy and stop the use of LGBTMAP.org was voted against 9-1 with one abstention. The original motion “to allow more flexibility at the city level” was passed unanimously.
FENCING ORGANIZATION PENS OPEN LETTER TO USFA OVER CONCERNS ABOUT TRANS ATHLETES, STANCES ON ABORTION AND DEI