(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – USA Fencing is pleased to announce that David Sach (GBR) has been hired as the organization’s new high performance director.
Sach comes to USA Fencing from British Fencing where he served as the World Class Performance Pathway saber coach – a position in which he coached and monitored members of the British Olympic Saber Team.
“I have enjoyed all the positions I have fulfilled for British Fencing over the last few years, but am looking forward to taking on the role of high performance director for USA Fencing and working with all involved within the international program to maximize the potential of U.S. athletes at all levels,” Sach said.
A former Junior and Senior World Team saber fencer for Great Britain, Sach earned two individual silver medals at the Commonwealth Games (1998 and 2002) before turning his focus to the coaching and refereeing ranks.
In 2004, Sach was named as the men’s and women’s saber team manager for Great Britain’s U20 Team – a position Sach held until 2007 when he was named as the World Class Performance Pathway saber coach.
Sach also became an FIE referee in 2004 and rose through the ranks quickly as he earned appointments as a referee at the 2005 Senior World Championships and the 2008 Olympic Games. In 2007, Sach was named as the vice chairman of the British Fencing referee committee and earned a position as a member of British Fencing’s board of directors in 2008.
In his new role, Sach will be responsible for working with the USA Fencing high performance staff to create and implement a successful high performance plan and develop an athlete pipeline that continually feeds athletes from youth programs through the senior ranks and, ultimately, onto the Olympic podium.
“We are all very excited about welcoming David to the USA Fencing staff. We have the utmost confidence that his extensive experience in all areas of international fencing will help prepare our athletes for continued success on the world and Olympic stage as well as grow our sport at all levels, from development through elite,” said USA Fencing CEO Greg Dilworth (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Sach succeeds Jim Page (Colorado Springs, Colo.) who was named as USA Fencing’s high performance director in August.
A former managing director of sports performance for the U.S. Olympic Committee and 1964 Olympian in Nordic combined, Page previously served as USA Fencing’s HPD in 2007 and 2008 before returning to the position in 2010.
Page will remain with the organization through the 2012 Olympic Games as the director of sport strategy. He will be responsible for strategic sports issues around the design and execution of an American system of fencing and for developing a “Team Rio” program for fencing success during the next Olympic quadrennium.
”David’s hiring is great news for USAFencing,” Page said. “ He can bring stability to the position and help to put together excellent programs and great support for our athletes and coaches for years to come.”
Sach will begin working with Team USA at the Junior and Cadet World Championships in Jordan later this month.
“Jim has been an invaluable asset to this organization,” Dilworth said. “I think Jim and David will work well together to prepare our team for outstanding results in London.”
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