Richard Weiss

Official Candidate Statement

Chair, USA Fencing Virginia Division

Member, USA Fencing Division Resources Committee

Member, USA Fencing SafeSport Committee

Member, USA Fencing National Tournament Bout Committee Staff

Honored with USA Fencing Service to Divisions Award

Management Consultant to small businesses and start-ups

Member and Volunteer to:

• Human Rights Campaign (HRC)

• Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)

• National Association for Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

• American Civil Liberties Union

Virginia State Delegate to the Democratic National Convention 2020

Wine Connoisseur

Supporter of the Arts

Fencer, Vets-50

MBA Georgetown University

Download Richard Weiss Message to parents

In response to Fencing Parents’ request for his top 3 priorities for USA Fencing, Rich provided FP with the following statement:

“April 29, 2020

To the FencingParent.org Community:

Please accept my sincerest thanks for the opportunity to write to you today.  I hope that this correspondence finds you and your families safe, healthy and happy.

My candidacy is predicated on the notion that my experience as a USA Fencing Division Chair AND my involvement in the national committees I volunteer for uniquely qualifies me for the available At Large Board position.  Actively serving on both the SafeSport and Division Resources committees I have worked intimately with my fellow committee members on challenging situations at the National and Division level and have developed policies that have been implemented to the entire membership. I am very fortunate to have worked with so many talented people on these committees over the years who genuinely care about our community and they’ve inspired me to take on more.  When elected, I will be an advocate and ally for those in our community who need us most and will work hard with my peers to make USA Fencing the premier US Olympic and Paralympic Organization.

I wrote briefly about the unprecedented challenges we will face as an organization as it relates to COVID-19.  My personal feeling is that Summer Nationals will not be held and while that will be upsetting to our fencers, I believe it is the right thing to do for the health and safety of everyone. It is unclear when the next sanctioned event at any level will occur, and I feel strongly that gatherings of any size are a bad idea until at least some massive testing infrastructure has been implemented nationwide (or there’s a vaccine, obviously).  While I feel for our community of fencers who can’t get to their club, take lessons, train and compete, what I worry most about is the financial health of our coaching community and club owners who in many cases are struggling to survive. 

There’s no doubt that some clubs could go away and as a former small business owner it will truly break my heart.  Every level of our community needs to come together – students, parents, coaches and clubs -- to support each other so that not one student has to go look for another place to fence or find another coach to train with.  I ask that you give what you can – for however long you can -- to support our coaches and clubs who need us now the most.  Thank you.

My candidate statement in its entirety is below and answers the question that was asked of each of the candidates.  Please do not hesitate to email me at rweiss1@yahoo.com with any questions about what I’ve written and what I stand for.

Richard Weiss

Candidate Statement – At Large Board Member

I am humbled to have been selected as a candidate for the At Large Member position for Board by the USA Fencing Nominating Committee.  Please accept my thanks for taking the time to read my candidate statement.  It would be remiss to not start by offering my sincerest best wishes to everyone in our community and hope that you and your families are well, given the impact of COVID-19 to the fencers, parents, referees, and clubs as well as all of those who work, support, and volunteer for our National Offices.

About Me:

Professionally, I started and ran a small internet security company from an idea I came up with while working towards my MBA at Georgetown University.  After a few years, I tried to make a career out of a passion and became a wine importer.  For the past 12 years, I have been a self-employed management consultant specifically working with start-ups and “smaller” businesses in the information technology, logistics, and consumer products industries.  Regarding wine, I still manage to enjoy being a consumer and unpaid “consultant” to those who ask. 

I am the father of two amazing teenage daughters.  I am a contributing member and volunteer with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the Federation of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).  I support the Arts because it’s important, and am a member of the Washington Ballet, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Wolf Trap, the only National Park in the country dedicated to the Performing Arts.  These past eight months I worked as a grassroots volunteer and organizer for a presidential campaign.  I canvassed in four states, knocked on 6000+ doors and was part of the Campaign’s National Investment Team soliciting donors for financial support. I was just selected as a Virginia State Delegate for my congressional district to the Democratic National Convention. 

I fenced foil in high school and college, and now compete in the Vet-50 group.  I have been a club armorer and have taught beginner and intermediate classes at clubs.  I have strip coached fencers at just about every level but have most enjoyed giving beginner lessons to new students.  There’s nothing better than that for me and hope to get that opportunity again.

I am the current Virginia Division Chair and have been for seven of the past nine years.  I happily serve on the National Offices’ Division Resources committee (six years), the Safe Sport Committee (two years), and as a member of the National Tournament Bout Committee Staff.  I have successfully managed difficult situations brought to these committees over the years utilizing lessons learned from my experiences both professionally and as a Division officer.  To that end, at last year’s Summer National Hall of Fame Reception, I was presented the USA Fencing Service to Divisions Award, which I am very proud of.  I believe my experiences as a leader and team member of the above committees and within my own Division uniquely qualify me for a position on the USA Fencing Board of Directors.

My Three Top Initiatives:

Increase USA Fencing Safe Sport Transparency:  I am an advocate and staunch ally for any person who approaches me with a Safe Sport issue and want to have every mandatory reporter treat Safe Sport policy the same way.  I believe we must focus on increasing transparency of how the USA Center for Safe Sport interacts with USA Fencing and how we as an organization communicate that information to our membership -- fencers, parents, coaches, clubs and divisions.  We need to create more visible feedback loops within our community to bridge the gap between what USA Fencing believes they are doing and what our members feel we are doing.  Finally, we need to utilize the Division Boards more as “centers of knowledge” and support for Safe Sport policy at the local level. 

Increase Growth of Youth Fencing at Clubs:  It is critical to the future of the sport that we prioritize the work with our clubs to support the growth of fencing at the club level.  USA Fencing needs to offer more ways to support Member Club marketing efforts towards school systems, community centers, parks and recreation facilities and more.  I also propose that the National Offices chairs a committee with support from the Divisions and volunteer club(s) to develop a “How to Guide” that will give clubs who are interested a step by step guide of the regulations and requirements around Before and After School programs, similar to what Karate and Taekwondo clubs do today.

Increase Support for The Referee Community:  A decade ago we faced a volunteer crisis within our referee corps. I'm concerned that while we have addressed many of the concerns, we have not done enough to guarantee that we have a constant flow of talent into our volunteer pipeline, and -- once in that pipeline -- the opportunity to develop and grow these resources to their fullest potential. USA Fencing referees are recognized as some of the best and fairest in the world and we need to advance that reputation to the local and regional level.   USA Fencing also needs to eliminate the James Brown mentality as it relates to hiring and supporting referees at national and regional events.  I know that progress has been made on this, but we need give our cadre a break.  Referees working 40-48+ hours during a four-day NAC needs to be a thing of the past.  I also propose that USA Fencing and the Referee Commission modify the current Introductory Referee Clinic to include a practical exam utilizing a standardized video catalog of calls and rule interpretations.  A number of CRI’s utilize video today, and I firmly believe this program would immediately add value to our new referees, potentially shortening the timeline of the referee development process.

Statement Regarding COVID-19:

I want to acknowledge the tremendous efforts made by the staff at the National Offices over the past couple months as it relates to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has certainly not been easy for anyone.  There are still more unknowns than knowns as to when we will get back to some sense of normalcy in our daily lives and personally believe this will continue on for many more months.  As it relates to USA Fencing, the financial impact to the Organization, to our Clubs and to our Members is unknown and potentially staggering. 

I advocated for the clubs in my division to do whatever necessary to maintain communication with their students and parents when school systems shut down two weeks prior to the statewide Stay at Home orders were issued in Virginia. Our board held an emergency meeting to understand what clubs may be at risk if the order gets extended past our current June 10th date, and we’ve made some tough decisions for the safety of our fencing community.  I’m proud of the way our division came together as a community to support our clubs in need and know this has happened throughout the country.  I am also very encouraged by the support given to our Clubs from their membership.  I know our community is strong and we will get through this – we are all in this together.

In Conclusion:

It may be cliché to say that these are challenging times, but in fact, they are.  While no one can tell you that everything is going to be alright, I can tell you that no one will work harder to support our membership than me if given the opportunity.  Given my leadership experience, insight and passion for a sport I fell in love with almost 40 years ago, I feel uniquely qualified for the available At Large Member position on our Board.  If you agree, I humbly ask for your vote. 

I hope that you, your families and your friends are safe, healthy and happy.  Thank you.

Richard Weiss