Board Announces New Bylaw Committee, Approves Three Legacy Process Amendments for Member Feedback

Members have 45 days, through Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, to comment on proposed changes covering USOPC compliance, the path to the ballot and the independence of the Nominating Committee.

CLEVELAND, Ohio — USA Fencing today opened a 45-day member comment period on three sets of proposed bylaw amendments that the Board of Directors voted to publish at its fall retreat, held Sept. 19-20 in Cleveland.

Comments are due Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, and may be submitted through the member comment form linked here.

In order to ensure that changes to the bylaws occur on a more organized basis, the board voted to form a committee to review the bylaws on a regular cadence. It appointed Kat Holmes OLY, Gregory Husisian and Skip Gilbert to serve on this new committee. The committee's first assignment is to define how often the bylaws are reviewed, how members and directors submit proposed amendments, how those amendments are reviewed and adopted, how member feedback is weighed, how legal review is handled and what circumstances justify an exception to that process.

Additionally, the Board sent these three bylaw updates to members for feedback:

The first package grew out of feedback USA Fencing received through the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee's Compliance Assistance Program, a voluntary review that helps national governing bodies prepare for formal audits. USA Fencing's next compliance audit is scheduled for the second quarter of 2027.

The proposed changes are largely technical and are intended to bring USA Fencing's bylaws in line with current USOPC requirements. They would:

• Replace references to the Team USA Athletes' Advisory Council with the Team USA Athletes' Commission, reflecting the body's current name.
• Clarify that all athlete directors are directly elected by the pool of member athletes who meet the NGB 10-year eligibility standard, with the exception of USA Fencing's Team USA Athletes' Commission representative and alternate, who serve ex officio after being elected under the commission's own procedures.
• Add a new Appendix III, the Athlete Identification and Vetting Process, and direct the Athlete Council and the Nominating Committee to jointly develop the process for identifying and vetting candidates for NGB 10-year and 10-year-plus athlete representative positions.
• Commit USA Fencing to keeping Appendix II current with the latest version of Section 8.5 of the USOPC Bylaws.

The board amended the original motion so that the package goes to the membership for review, comment and consideration rather than being approved first. The amended motion passed by voice vote.

The board voted 9-0 to accept the recommendations of its Independent Nominating Committee Task Force and directed that the bylaw amendments needed to carry them out be prepared and published for member review and comment.

The board seated the task force at its February 2026 meeting and charged it with reviewing the Nominating Committee's governance structure. Its recommendations are aimed at strengthening the committee's independence from the sitting board, the transparency of its process and its overall effectiveness.

The task force was made up of Jackie Dubrovich OLY, Joe Inzerillo and Bruce Mitchell, supported by staff members Jess Saxon and Phil Andrews.

The second package would eliminate the current process by which a candidate can reach the Board of Directors ballot by petition, and would link nomination timelines to USA Fencing's Summer and Winter meetings. The board recommends approval. The motion passed by a roll call vote of 6-2-1.

In its rationale, the board pointed to two related changes. A task force is at work on an independent Nominating Committee, described below. And a bylaw change adopted last year requires the Nominating Committee to put forward at least two more qualified candidates than there are open positions for member-elected seats, a standard often written as n+2.

The board also noted that roughly 73% of national governing bodies do not use a petition process, and said aligning with that standard would strengthen the sport's credibility with sponsors, donors and the USOPC.

Read the proposed bylaw amendments here

Submit your feedback by Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026: Member comment form

The board is expected to consider the proposals at its Dec. 12, 2026, meeting.