Since the Board approved the appointment of Greg Dilworth as Interim Executive Director the magnitude of the tasks confronting the organization and the state of the potential applicant pool have become more apparent. Because of these factors the wisdom of conducting a search for a new ED has been called into question. Specifically, the Executive Committee recognizes the need for consistent leadership to manage our run-up to the Olympic Games, to address our financial difficulties and to ensure that our domestic activities are moving in a positive direction. Also, because we are in the middle of the quad, the pool of potential applicants is likely to be smaller than it will be two years from now. Therefore, we have asked Mr. Dilworth to stay on as ED for the next two years and he has agreed to do so. The current search will be suspended until 2012, by which time we expect that we will have set our association house in order, and serving as the Executive Director of USA Fencing will be an attractive opportunity.
In addition, USA Fencing is very pleased to announce that Jim Page has agreed to rejoin USA Fencing in the key role of High Performance Director through the London Olympic Games. Mr. Page was USA Fencing’s HPD in 2006 and 2007 and also helped to provide leadership and direction immediately before our successes in Beijing. Mr. Page was an Olympic Athlete and Olympic Coach in Nordic Combined Skiing. He was at the USOC for 18 years - ultimately as Managing Director of Sports Performance. He developed both the Athlete Support Programs and the Podium 2002 Program that led to a 150% increase in the medals earned by the US in Salt Lake City. We know that his past success in building programs and his passion for sport and fencing in particular will provide us with the High Performance leadership needed to enable success in London.
Both Mr. Page and Mr. Dilworth intend to leave their staff positions with USA Fencing shortly after the London games and have committed to provide a smooth transition to their permanent replacements as they depart.
