USA Fencing

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The 2022-2023 Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Awards recognized four fencing organizations striving to make a difference in their community. This year the Peter Westbrook Trailblazer Award was earned by the West Berkeley Fencing Club.

This award was created in recognition of Peter Westbrook and his dedication to creating access for youth from underserved communities into the sport of fencing. Westbrook is a legendary American saber fencer who was a member of every U.S. Olympic team from 1976 through 1996. He’s the first African American person to win an Olympic medal in the sport of fencing — a bronze at the 1984 Olympics.

In 1991, Westbrook founded the Peter Westbrook Foundation, which is a nonprofit organization that uses fencing to enrich the lives of young people from under-resourced communities in the New York metropolitan area. To date, his organization has served more than 4,000 participants and has helped develop many USA Fencing World Champions and Olympians. 

It is our hope that this award inspires fencing clubs to be trailblazers in the advancement and growth of our sport, and West Berkeley showed exactly that. 

“The Peter Westbrook foundation represents the pinnacle of doing good while fencing well. West Berkeley is honored to be nominated by the Green family and recognized by USA Fencing for our own small steps in the pursuit of a legacy of positive impact on our community in and beyond the salle,” says Elizabeth Earls, Executive Director of West Berkeley Fencing Club.

Shannon Jolly, Senior Manager of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging shared congratulatory remarks for the club on the inaugural awards, “Congratulations again to West Berkeley Fencing Club!” 

“We commend them on the awesome work they’re doing to grow our sport and hope they can serve as an example for other clubs working to introduce our sport to diverse communities.” 

Earls shared, “We are inspired daily by our club members who use their sphere of influence to further causes close to their hearts and identities like marching for trans rights, running for office, creating opportunities to elevate BIPOC voices and more.”

The club is actively working to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for BIPOC fencers by ensuring that its members are diverse and representative of the community it serves. The club regularly reviews its policies and practices to ensure that they are inclusive and equitable, and provides diversity and inclusion training to its coaches and members.

The West Berkeley Fencing Club has worked enthusiastically to engage the BIPOC community by offering free fencing classes to underserved youth in the East Bay area. They have partnered with local schools, community centers, and after-school programs to introduce the sport to children who may not have the opportunity otherwise.

Earls continued to share, “The least we can do within the fencing sphere is to remove financial and cultural barriers to the athlete experience. We look forward to expanding our scholarship offerings and our network of community partners to make fencing visible and accessible in non-traditional spaces. There is more work to be done–within our club, our sport, and within the Olympic movement–but by offering this recognition we’ve been given an opportunity to recenter equity and inclusion in our coaching and to redouble our efforts for the coming season.“

West Berkeley Fencing Club is working to make fencing generally more accessible to the BIPOC community by offering financial assistance to those who are in need of it. The club will support individuals on tournament fees, equipment and other expenses, they have even waived floor fees for members experiencing financial hardship.