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

Published September 21, 2026

At its fall retreat in Cleveland on Sept. 19–20, 2026, the USA Fencing Board of Directors appointed a new standing Bylaws Review Committee and published three proposed bylaw amendment packages for a 45-day member comment period. Comments are due Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, through the member comment form on the official USA Fencing announcement page.

For saber families, none of this changes how a bout is fenced. It changes how the organization writes its own rules, how candidates reach the Board ballot, and how members get a say in the process.

A new standing Bylaws Review Committee

The Board appointed Kat Holmes OLY, Gregory Husisian, and Skip Gilbert to a new standing Bylaws Review Committee. Their first assignment is procedural rather than substantive: define how often the bylaws get reviewed, how members and directors submit proposed amendments, how those amendments are reviewed and adopted, how member feedback is weighed, how legal review fits in, and when exceptions to the standard process apply.

Until now, bylaw work has surfaced case by case. A standing committee with a published cadence gives members a predictable place to send suggestions.

Package 1: USOPC Compliance Assistance Program updates

The first package is largely technical, aligning USA Fencing language with current U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee requirements. It renames the Team USA Athletes' Advisory Council to the Team USA Athletes' Commission, and clarifies that athlete directors are elected by the national governing body's 10-year eligible athletes — except the Team USA Athletes' Commission representative and alternate, who serve ex officio.

It also adds an Appendix III, an Athlete Identification and Vetting Process that the Athlete Council and the Nominating Committee are to develop jointly, and commits to keeping Appendix II current with Section 8.5 of the USOPC Bylaws. USA Fencing's next USOPC compliance audit is scheduled for Q2 2027.

Notably, the Board amended the motion so the package goes out to the membership for review and comment first, rather than being approved and then published. That amended motion passed by voice vote.

Package 2: an independent Nominating Committee

The Board voted 9–0 to accept the recommendations of the Independent Nominating Committee Task Force and to publish the bylaw amendments needed to implement them for member comment.

That task force was seated in February 2026 and included Jackie Dubrovich OLY, Joe Inzerillo, and Bruce Mitchell, with staff support from Jess Saxon and Phil Andrews. The goal is a Nominating Committee whose work is insulated from the Board seats it helps fill.

Package 3: nomination deadlines and the petition path

The third package ties nomination deadlines to the Summer and Winter meetings and removes the petition pathway onto the ballot. The Board recommends approval; the roll call vote was 6–2–1.

The stated rationale has three parts. Independent Nominating Committee work is already underway. A prior bylaw change requires the Nominating Committee to put forward at least n+2 qualified candidates for member-elected seats, so a slate should not be thin. And roughly 73% of national governing bodies have no petition process at all.

This is the package most likely to draw member comment, because it changes how a candidate who is not slated can reach voters.

What happens next and how to comment

All three packages are open for member comment through Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. The Board is expected to consider the proposals at its Dec. 12, 2026 meeting.

We are not reproducing the proposed amendment text here. Read the actual language in the proposed amendments linked on the official USA Fencing page before you comment — the wording is the thing being voted on.

What this means for saber families in the DMV

Governance changes are slow, but they set who represents fencing parents and athletes over the next four years. If you have an opinion about how candidates reach the ballot, the 45-day window is the moment to put it in writing.

Related reading on Saber Nation: the 2026–27 USA Fencing Listening Tour, where CEO Phil Andrews meets members in person, and our USA Fencing membership guide, which explains which membership types carry voting eligibility.

While the national governance calendar plays out, training continues. Saber Nation trains saber exclusively at 4701 Sangamore Road, Suite LL2, Bethesda, MD 20816. See saber fencing classes in Bethesda, MD or get in touch to book a first class.

Official source

USA Fencing, Sept. 20, 2026: Board Announces New Bylaw Committee, Approves Three Legacy Process Amendments for Member Feedback. More coverage on our USA Fencing news hub.

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