Changes to the US Fencing Board and Bylaws Under Consideration
The Governance Task Force presented a work-in-progress preliminary report at the US Fencing Board Meeting on May 26, 2021.
The Governance Task Force was appointed by the US Fencing Board in December 2020 tasked with “ reviewing the current governance structure and making recommendations to ensure certification compliance and best practices.” In other words, the Board wanted to overhaul the bylaws and Board structure to bring it inline with current best practices for national governing bodies (NGBs), of which US Fencing is one.
See: Board Email Vote Approving the Governance Task Force
Alan Kidd, an Independent Director of the Board, and Task Force member presented the report.
description of work and Preliminary Nature of Recommendations
Mr. Kidd emphasized that the work of the Governance Task Force was a work in progress, and nothing had yet been finalized. Any recommended changes to the bylaws and Board structure would be presented to both the Board and the membership of US Fencing before any final action would be taken.
Mr. Kidd referenced that it was unfortunate for disinformation about the process to have been released on social media.
Since its formation, Mr. Kidd reported, members of the Governance Task Force have taken methodical steps to review different points. They have been gathering foundational information and learning about “best practices” from other national governing bodies, especially those of comparable size to US Fencing. Mr. Kidd emphasized that all data used by the Task Force in making recommendations will be made available both to the Board and the membership once the Task Force is ready to make its final recommendation.
Purpose of the governance task force
Mr. Kidd said that the work of the task force has 2 purposes:
consider the possibility of bylaw changes to put US Fencing in full compliance with the USOPC regulations and SafeSports
explore ways to improve organizational structure, better define committee roles and opportunities
Committees of the Board focus on policy and governance - these committees must include Board members.
Editor’s Note: Committees of the Board include the 5 Standing Committees under the bylaws - Nominating Committee, Election Committee, Audit Committee, Budget Committee and the Ethics Committee
Operational Committees - these are really Resource Teams that focus on operational issues and work directly with the National Office. Resource Teams are advisory in nature.
Editor’s Note: Operational committees include the Tournament Committee, Bout Committee, Youth Development Resource Team and many more. These committees comprise entirely of volunteers.
Ultimately, the goal is to bring governance more current with how NGBs are governed today referencing models from NGBs that excel in both governance and sports.
Changes to the Board under Consideration
Increase the number of at-large directors from 3 to 5.
Editor’s Note: This change will raise the number of Board members to 14 from 12. They will include the President, Treasurer, 5 at-large directors, 3 independent directors and 4 athlete directors.
Change the title of President to Chairman of the Board. The reasons given for doing so include bringing the title in line with the current functions of the role, which include formulation of policy, managing US Fencing’s relationship with the FIE and USOPC, and overseeing US Fencing’s financial management. Mr. Kidd said that the Task Force is looking for a structure consistent with other NGBs.
Editor’s Note: The current President, Peter Burchard, is elected to a 4 year term ending in 2024. He is currently listed on the US Fencing website as both President and Chairman of the Board. Presumably, if this proposed change takes place before the end of Peter Burchard’s term, he will become the 1st Chairman of the Board of US Fencing under the new structure, tasked with the responsibilities described above, responsibilities that he already carries out as President.
Editor’s Note: Under the current bylaws, the President of US Fencing does not have a vote on the Board except to break a tie. See FP’s article on this issue HERE.
Mr. Kidd did not mention if the bylaws would be changed to give the Chairman of the Board a vote on the Board. We have previously said that “The position of the President of US Fencing is an elected one, voted on by the general membership of US Fencing. Members select the President based on his track record and what they believe he will do to serve their interests in the organization. Yet, the bylaws remove his power to vote on the Board. This circumvents the will of the membership.”
We hope the Task Force takes this opportunity to amend the bylaws and give the President/Chairman position a vote on the Board.
3. Beginning 2024, select the Chairman from amongst the 5 at-large directors. Mr. Kidd said that this manner of selecting the Chairman is consistent with how the Athlete Council’s Board and other NGB’s are structured. The Task Force was, however, unable to recall which NGBs they modeled, but promised to make all data available to the membership once a recommendation was finalized.
Editor’s Note: This means that there will no longer be a President or Chairman who is elected by the general membership of US Fencing. Instead the general membership elects 5 at-large directors, and the Chairman will be chosen by the at-large directors from amongst themselves. With this change, the number of Board members drops back to 13 made up of 5 at-large directors, 3 independent directors, 4 athlete directors and the Treasurer. From a governance perspective, the proposed structure is a reasonable long term one, provided the Chairman is given a vote on the Board.
4. Gradually extend the terms of at-large directors from 2 to 4 years as a longer term would better allow them to achieve goals.
5. Eligibility to run for office to be refined.
Editor’s Note: We want to see the new criteria before commenting
FP’s Conclusion
The proposed changes sound reasonable so far, and we look forward to final recommendations and seeing the data that the Task Force used to model their recommendations.