USA Fencing Election 2026: Ballot Finalized With Seven Candidates for Two At-Large Board Seats
One candidate successfully petitioned onto the ballot, joining candidates announced earlier. Voting begins in May.
2026 Board of Directors Election
Two At-Large Directors to be elected
Three At-Large Director positions are open as part of the 2026 USA Fencing Board of Directors election. As stipulated in the USA Fencing Bylaws, two seats will be filled through an election by the membership, and one seat was filled through Board appointment.
These seats were previously held by Molly Hill, Damien Lehfeldt and Abdel Salem OLY–EGY.
Who's on the Ballot?
Following the close of the petition window on March 31, the National Office authenticated one petition and the Election Committee confirmed that the petitioner meets the qualifications outlined in the USA Fencing Bylaws. With one candidate added via petition, seven individuals will compete for two At-Large Director seats.
The full ballot, listed alphabetically by surname:
- Bruno Cheron (North Texas)
- Greg Husisian (Virginia)
- Nona Lim (Northern California)
- Jason Liu (North Texas)†
- Caterina Rovati (Central Florida)
- Abdel Salem OLY–EGY (Colorado)*
- Heather Shankwiler (Georgia)
*Incumbent. †Added by petition.
One At-Large Director position was filled through Board appointment at the February 2026 Board of Directors meeting, in accordance with the USA Fencing Bylaws.
The Board appointed Jeremy Sirota to serve as an At-Large Director. His four-year term will begin Sept. 1, 2026.
What is Preferential Voting?
USA Fencing Board of Directors elections use a preferential voting system known as the Borda Count.
In this system, voters rank candidates in order of preference. Each rank is assigned a point value. With seven candidates (as an example), points would be assigned as follows:
Rank 1 = 7 points
Rank 2 = 6 points
Rank 3 = 5 points
Rank 4 = 4 points
Rank 5 = 3 points
Rank 6 = 2 points
Rank 7 = 1 points
Each candidate receives points based on their ranking on each ballot. Candidates not ranked on a ballot receive no points from that ballot.
At the conclusion of the election, the two candidates with the highest total point values will be elected to the At-Large Director positions.
What is the Election Timeline?
- Jan. 2, 2026: Window for nominations opens (details here)
- Jan. 12, 2026: Window closes at 5 p.m. MT
- Jan. 15, 2026: Nominating Committee reports to Membership and the Board.
- The Nominating Committee will present at least (but not a maximum of) one candidate for appointment (for one position), and a minimum (but not maximum of) 4 for election (for two positions).
- Feb. 14, 2026: USA Fencing Board of Directors to select an appointed At-Large Director at their Winter Meeting.
- Feb. 19, 2026: Nominating Committee announces initial slate of candidates to membership; petition window opens.
- Mar. 31, 2026: Petition deadline, 5 p.m. MT.
- April 21, 2026: Final ballot announced
- April 29, 2026: Bios and one-minute candidate videos posted
- May 13, 2026: General election opens at 8 a.m. ET.
- May 31, 2026: General election closes at 11:59 p.m. ET.
- June 1, 2026: Winners announced
- Sept. 1, 2026: Terms begin for new At-Large Directors
What About Conflicts of Interest?
Read the report, opens in a new tabThe Ethics Committee of USA Fencing has completed a review for the 2026 Election cycle. As part of this process, required parties submitted COI disclosures, which were reviewed for accuracy, completeness, and relevance to their USA Fencing roles. Each identified conflict was evaluated using the established COI Level framework. This report summarizes all individuals with a Level 3 through 6 potential or actual conflict of interest and provides the rationale and necessary recommended actions.
All application materials must be received by 5 p.m. MT on Friday, Jan. 12, 2026.
The Nominating Committee will select at least one candidate for each of the two elected At-Large Director positions. Additional candidates may petition onto the ballot.
The Nominating Committee announced its initial slate of candidates on Feb. 19, 2026. The petition window then opened through March 31. After that date, the Election Committee authenticated petitions and determined whether petitioners qualified to be added to the ballot. The final ballot was announced April 21, 2026.
The general election will take place in May 2026 (exact dates to be announced).
Any USA Fencing member age 18 or older in good standing as of 60 days prior to election, and belonging to a voting membership class (Life, Competitive, Collegiate Competitive, Access, Olympian Life, Paralympian Life, Life Installment, Coach and Parent) may vote.
If you know someone who would make an excellent candidate for any of the open positions and would like the Nominating Committee to consider such individuals, please follow the process outlined here.
The nominating committee includes these members:
Chair: Harrison Hue
Board Liaison: Andrea Pagnanelli
Membership: Harrison Hue, Andrea Pagnanelli, Iana Dakova, Cody Mattern OLY, Ellen Geddes PLY(Athlete), Kat Holmes OLY (Athlete)
USA Fencing Election 2026: Nominating Committee Announces Initial Slate of Board Candidates, Issues Call for Petitions
The Committee put forth eight candidates for the two elected Board seats. The slate of candidates may still grow as USA Fencing members petition to be added to the ballot.COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The USA Fencing Nominating Committee has announced its ...
Answer the Call: Nominations Open for 2026 USA Fencing Board of Directors Seats
Three At-Large Director positions — two elected, one appointed — are open for service in 2026. Nominate by Jan. 12.
All seven Board of Directors candidates were given the opportunity to create a one-page bio sheet and a one-minute campaign video. All bio sheets and campaign videos were subject to Election Committee approval. See the submitted candidate bio sheets linked below, and scroll to watch the submitted candidate videos.
Candidate Bio Sheets
Nona Lim (Northern California)
Caterina Rovati (Central Florida)