Petition to recall USFA President

[Army Fencer]

D. I too have been confused for some time about the role of the ED within the USFA. I am even more confused today, in light of the Recall Petition against the Ms Anderson. If the volunteer President is responsible for EVERYTHING, then why the hell are we paying $92,000 annually to an ED?

I had heard it was in the $85 000 range. I've also heard that he's paid less than other EDs.

So I did some quick research. I checked out the median pay for an Executive Director of a non-profit organization: $53 000.

But what about our President? How much does she recieve? According to the same site, the median salary is $88 000, but I've also heard that the President is a volunteer position. Does that mean she isn't paid?

[Mr Epee]

I had heard it was in the $85 000 range. I've also heard that he's paid less than other EDs.

So I did some quick research. I checked out the median pay for an Executive Director of a non-profit organization: $53 000.

But what about our President? How much does she recieve? According to the same site, the median salary is $88 000, but I've also heard that the President is a volunteer position. Does that mean she isn't paid?

Overpaid? Underpaid? I don't know.

The amount I mentioned is what was reported to the IRS last year, per the USFA's IRS 990 form. That information should be available for all paid staff members at all NGB's provided that their income is above $45,000*. An ambitious person (with time) could easily calculate an average for NGB Directors. That might be a little more useful than the payscale.com information. But then again, I'm sure that the duties/commitments vary between NGB's as well.

* I think this is the right amount, but didn't look it up just now. There is a cut off for salary itemization, but this number sticks in my mind right now. You may find more on this in one of my 990 Threads.

[jjefferies]

Here is the latest as of 12/16/05. Paul Soter is apparently taking a
lead in this drive. I will attach a letter from him. But it is not just
Soter. Apparently all or most (can never be sure if it's all) of the
national coaches are supporting this drive. . And BTW, P. Soter
was the national men's epee coach in Athens and runs
Golden Gate Fencing Center.
In his day he was on the national epee team and has been active in
USFA for the past 30+ years (I'm guessing here)
former PCS Chair, USFA VP, and USFA Secretary.

The petition itself can be downloaded at the website
http://www.geocities.com/save_usfencing/

Here is Soter's Letter
Dear Fellow Friend of Fencing -

A movement is under way to recall the President of the USFA. I would like to ask for your support.

The USFA has slipped into a state of crisis due to lack of leadership by its President. The USFA Bylaws really vest all power in the President: the other officers' powers are only derivative of what the President assigns to each officer. When a President won't make decisions or delegate authority, everything comes crashing to a halt. When the President won't oversee committees or the Office, things fly off in every direction. I don't think the USFA Executive Committee is a bad group at all, but they are stymied by the President's lack of leadership and coordination.

I have tried to make a partial list of specifics:

National Office
• The President has failed to make timely decisions and provide a leadership role for the National Office. The NO is currently in a total failure to provide a reasonable level of member support and customer service.
• It is impossible to reach a live person at the NO. Voice mails left with the NO are not returned.
• The Director of International Programs, hired shortly before the Olympics, was fired within a year and has still not been replaced, leaving his functions unfulfilled.
• Worst of all, the NO has failed to implement a system for online entries for NAC’s and other national tournaments, despite specific representations to the Board of Directors that an online entry system would be in place for the start of the 2005-2006 season.

Post-Olympic Marketing and Promotion
• Nothing was done to strike while the iron was hot after Athens. No marketing or promotion was initiated for nearly a year.

General Administration
• The President refused to accept the previous President’s offer to have transitional planning meetings. Instead, she took office without having done any planning or even having committees selected.
• The President habitually comes unprepared for Executive Committee meetings, and conference calls, and does not prepare agendas for EC meetings
• The President notified USFA members of the USFA’s 2005 FIE Task Force of the conference call to plan USFA strategy three hours before the call prior to the FIE Congress. Several USFA representatives were unable to participate on such short notice, with the result that our effort to represent coordinated strategy at the Congress suffered. This affected issues such as foil machine timing, which fencing events would be in the 2008 Olympics, etc.
• The President actually missed her plane to the FIE Congress, thereby missing the most important time for political lobbying.
• The President habitually becomes unavailable for long periods of time, and refuses to answer phone calls or emails from members of the Executive Committee.
• The President lacks the business background to lead an organization of this scope
• There is no clear focus or goal of the organization in place. There is no business plan with timelines in place.
• The long-promised Ombudsman position has still not been created, funded, or staffed. (Can anyone imagine an organization that needs an ombudsman more than the USFA?

International Programs
• The President did not name a chair for the International Committee for 8 months after taking office
• The National Coaches who will be responsible for getting the teams to Beijing have still not been selected, nearly a year and a half after Athens
• The President personally promised National Coaches at a meeting held at the 2005 Junior world Championships in April 2005, to contact them with specific answers to questions with 10 days of that meeting. To date, she has not done so.
• The men's epee national coach resigned in mid-October; the women's epee national coach was fired (rudely and summarily) in mid-November; and neither has been replaced yet. The senior men's epee fencers don't even know which tournaments they should be planning to go to, starting next month!

Disregarding Athletes’ Rights
• The President unilaterally named the USFA’s athlete representative to the FIE, and ignored the athlete chosen by the AAG.
• The President then falsely stated that that athlete had been irresponsible for failing to get his paperwork in. The reality was that the athlete was contacted while competing at the Maccabiah Games in Israel and given no time to get it in.
• The President called a meeting to discuss US fencing withdrawal from the World University Games without athlete participation, as required by USFA and USOC rules. When questioned, stated that this was not the kind of decision that required athlete input.

No single one of these acts or omissions would necessarily be reason to remove a USFA President from office. Together, the pattern that emerges is one of a President who is not capable of leading the USFA toward international success or domestic tranquility. No one wants to have to spend the time or energy on a recall, but the current situation is intolerable.

Another ongoing issue comes from the former Tournament Committee, which the current President chaired in recent years. That was the time in which the TC, and hence the USFA, have been totally unresponsive to the fencers' legitimate desires for information about schedules and formats so they can plan their lives. They act like the fencers are the USFA's enemy who are trying to scam something out of the USFA, rather than the USFA's reason to exist. As US fencing has taken off, it has had a much bigger impact on the lives of many more people, and the organization needs to recognize that and act accordingly. It needs to be run like L.L. Bean, not like ETS. I've just tried and tried and tried to get the administration and the Office to be responsive to these customer service issues from within, and not got much to show for it. I just think it would be a very good thing for US fencing if the USFA membership were to get up on its hind legs and express how frustrated it is with the way things are.

BTW, everything the general membership is suffering, the people trying to run the USFA's international competitive program are suffering worse. Every single national coach is reported to support the recall, because the inefficiencies, arbitrariness, incompetence, and indifference of the administration is having a daily effect on their lives and the lives of their families, students, students' families, and friends. It's just horrible: you can't get a decision made, and when it finally is, you can't get it implemented. The only thing that's keeping anyone involved at that level is their love of fencing and of the fencers. I don't know how long they can hang on, though. Just look at what's happened in epee.

Anyhow, hence the recall drive. The movers include Jeff Bukantz, who is the US Team Captain and former Chair of the FOC; Carl Borack, former Team Captain and USFA former EVP; Cathy Zagunas, mother of our only Olympic Gold Medalist and a former Olympian in crew herself; and me, a former Section Chair, USFA VP, USFA Secretary, and National Coach. We are supported by numerous other people, many of whom are understandably afraid to identify themselves at this point. None of us want any personal political gain from this. We all love fencing and want to see the USFA run right. None of us relishes the prospect of a petition drive, recall election, and new election. The question is whether those steps are better or worse for US fencing than another 2 1/2 years of the current situation. In our view, the recall is the lesser evil. We are not happy about having to do so, but we feel that the USFA will continue to implode if changes are not made at the top.

If the President is recalled, there will be a new election. We are hoping that one of the current Vice Presidents will be willing to step forward and serve as President through the remainder of the current term: through the 2008 Olympics. Sam Cheris has indicated his willingness to do so. Sam is a former USFA President, a current VP, and has served on the International Committee, the FOC, and in other capacities. Sam is an attorney and accountant who is well-known for his competence and efficiency. He has stated that the following will be his priorities:
1) Oversight of the National Office; accountability of the National Office and Executive Director;
2) More manageable competitions;
3) Open and timely communication;
4) Possible streamlining of Board.

Please consider signing this petition and sending it in as fast as possible and have others who share your concerns add their support.

Thank you for taking the time to read and consider this.

Paul Soter

[Army Fencer]

But what about our President? How much does she recieve? According to the same site, the median salary is $88 000, but I've also heard that the President is a volunteer position. Does that mean she isn't paid?

Based on Mr. Epee's Guidestar work a few months ago, it looks like Nancy Anderson's job is not paid at all.

Is it a surprise then that we're having problems?

[veeco]

Is Nancy Anderson a former competitive fencer?

The IOC is moving towards having more and more of the former athletes who did well in a sport in their executive committee, and such.

In France, the Judo federation, which is the 3rd largest sport federation in terms of members has a requirement that any person on the board of directors or executive committee has or has had at least a black belt. This lowers the amount of people who can be involved with the sport but have no interest or passion for it.

And it seems to work well: it is still growing in members and won a bunch of medals at the last world championships, after a severe draught in Athens, when that requirement didn't exist.

[Army Fencer]

Is Nancy Anderson a former competitive fencer?

She served on the bout committee, if that says anything.

[KShan5[PrFC]]

I'm having a tough time getting behind a recall petition based off of what has been said. It would take a lot for me to sign it, however, has she done anythign right? I know that many negative things are being said, some that are probably true, some that are exagerations and some that could be lies. However, I haven't heard anyone combat those claims with what Nancy Anderson has done for the sport.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

Why are cadet/junior fencers prohibited from voting/signing petitions? We make up a significant percent of the competing USFA (I'd estimate atleast 40 percent or more), and the US juniors and cadets make more top 8 WC finishes than any of the Sr fencers. And, in some cases, the US Sr Teams are composed atleast partially by cadet/junior fencers.

[KShan5[PrFC]]

Some junior fencers can sign it, you just have to be 18 years or older. If you don't draw the line at 18, where do you draw it? Kids 16 and up can sign it, 14? It's just how things are done.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

Some junior fencers can sign it, you just have to be 18 years or older. If you don't draw the line at 18, where do you draw it? Kids 16 and up can sign it, 14? It's just how things are done.

Then whats the deal? Its not like its smokin cigarettes or drinking. Its voting in the USFA. Anyone who pays $50 a year should have a say so as to who spends their money. More specifically, for the kiddos, their PARENTS should have a say so.

[Ordway]

Considering that I just got about 15 spammed "Recall petition!" emails in my inbox, I am certainly NOT going to vote for any such petition. (Not that I was going to anyway, but honestly, talk about losing credibility.)

[KShan5[PrFC]]

Then whats the deal? Its not like its smokin cigarettes or drinking. Its voting in the USFA. Anyone who pays $50 a year should have a say so as to who spends their money. More specifically, for the kiddos, their PARENTS should have a say so.

So should a Y12 fencer be able to sign the petition?

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

So should a Y12 fencer be able to sign the petition?

Okay, no. But his parents should.

[KShan5[PrFC]]

Well, then what about the 16 year old fencer? Or 17. A line has to be drawn somewhere.

And i don't think parents should have the right to vote for their children....their children, they're not members of the organization.

Now, turning away from voting rights of minors and back onto the topic, has anyone actually signed/sent in this petition?

[Capt. Slo-mo]

More issues worthy of a recall:

* The president's car is filthy, thus giving a bad impression to visiting dignitaries.
* Many of her socks mismatched.

Wow...I'm Presidential Material!

[Schiavona]

The NO is currently in a total failure to provide a reasonable level of member support and customer service.
• It is impossible to reach a live person at the NO. Voice mails left with the NO are not returned.

Your miliage may vary.

I've only had to call the National Office twice since the start of the current season; first call I got a real live person-had a membership issue, left a message with the membership lady(can't recall her name) and got both a voice and e-mail reply within 24 hours. Second call was after hours (this IS a problem when your org covers ALL the time zones in the USA), the problem, which concerned insurance, was taken care of within 12 hours and followed up with an e-mail.

So for me, the above complaint sounds false. But I'm not Paul Soter.

[Schiavona]

Then whats the deal? Its not like its smokin cigarettes or drinking. Its voting in the USFA. Anyone who pays $50 a year should have a say so as to who spends their money. More specifically, for the kiddos, their PARENTS should have a say so.

I don't know if this is the case, but a lawyer friend once explained the 18y old voting restriction as a facet of entering into contracts. If you're younger than 18 you can't legally enter into a contract, so you can't vote in a group that enters into contracts. Anyone with legal expirence feel free to correct.

[betty]

There must be specific incidents that are being referred to, but I guess you have to be an insider to know what they are. New first paragraph raises additional issues:

1)...many areas of the organization are inept and non-functional, especially the service part ...

2)The USFA has failed our athletes and sport...

3)There have been serious failures across a number of areas of the the organization...

4)Our elite cadet, junior, and senior athletes and coaches have floundered and left with nothing but excuses.

What is this all about? In the end it probably comes down to $$$$$$$$

As a parent of a competitive fencer who has sacrificed youth and teen years, time, energy, sanity, and a lot of our money, I can give you some idea of a few things that make our teeth grind when it comes to the USFA organization.
No, in the end it doesn't come down only to $$$$$$$$, but to some simple seriousness and sense of accountability.
I don’t know about all the issues, but I have a bunch of comments about how the cadet and junior competitive fencers are treated:
- The US fencers, like the Canadian fencers, have the handicap of the geography since in a season 95% of the World Cups are staged in Europe, another tiny % in Asia, 1 or 2 World Cups in North America (where Europeans or Asians don’t bother to come) and Havana (but try to go there with your US passport, it takes skill and mucho $$$$$!).
- You don’t have enough fingers and toes to count the number of Junior World Cups where US fencers have been left by themselves to compete, with no coaching, or no chaperone. We pretend to be the most powerful nation in the world, but we can’t even provide the presence of 1 adult to look after our young fencers. Here I want to make the point that almost all of these fencers are under 18 years of age and many under 16. They go and fly all the way to Europe, Asia or South America, missing school, spending a fortune of their parent’s money on air fare and hotels, dealing with the time zones changes, with foreign languages, with lost or broken bags, lack of sleep and proper food, and feeling the pressure of showing results.
- After having spent between $500 and $1000 of your parent’s money, missed major classes, and failed to do your homework, you try to do with the sleeplessness, and on that European strip you face alone the top European fencers and their coaches at 2am your brain time. Of course you do your best, but sometimes you just can’t figure out that touch that would get you to the next DE, or if you did, your legs didn’t follow through, and you come back placing between 33 and 64 out of more than a hundred excellent fencers. You are 16 or 18 years old and you feel like crap because you have failed. To add to the hardship, the USFA will give points only to the top 32 while the FIE goes down to 64 to award points.

- It is fair to observe that almost all the international fencing competitions, World Cups and others, are on weekend days. I have always wondered why the USFA never bothered having someone “on call” and available to answer an emergency phone call at least when Cadet and Junior US fencers are competing in a foreign country, as we can assume that Senior fencers can take care of themselves. We have had numerous horror stories of young teen fencers stuck on Saturdays or Sundays, many times late at night with double the danger for our girls, in remote places of Europe with no money, no ATM, no transportation, not speaking the local language, missing flights, waiting 1 hour in the snow for a hotel to open, or not having a room upon arrival (it has happen to a whole group recently)…etc.
When the USFA chooses to not send any coach or any adult to stand by its young fencers, at least it would show some sense of respect for those fencers and their parents to have a responsible person near a phone and a computer, ready to deal with any emergency.
Yes, the USFA gives us the US Embassies and Consular offices information, but have you ever tried to get in touch with a Consular Office on a weekend? Good luck!

- I would like to know why the USFA can allow to have a perfectly great coach been dismissed in the middle of a season just a few days before going to a major World Cup, leaving the young Junior fencers by themselves at the last minute? And that had nothing to do with $$$$$$$ since this coach had his ticket and was ready to go.

- That the USFA has failed our athletes? It’s getting dangerously close to abandonment!

- Finally, now we come to the $$$$$ part.
The NAC entry fees seem to be the highest fees known for entering a competition. When you have 2 siblings fencing 2 events each, you spend $260 before even going to the competition. Then you add the air fare, the hotel, the taxi or the shuttle, the horrible unhealthy outrageously expensive food (if you can call it that) at the venue. A World Cup entry is only 10 €uros.
Most of the Fencing Federations offer upfront the travel expenses to their top 4 fencers going to international competitions, along with at least 1 coach. The USFA has a policy of reimbursing a fix amount corresponding to a tiny % of the travel expenses to only the fencers coming back with top results. If the fencer had a bad day not making the 32, and it happens to the best in that sport, he/she has to swallow the expenses with no chance of any compensation.
If a fencer wants to make it to the US TEAM, he/she will have to go to as many World Cups as possible in order to accumulate points. It is sad to realize that with such a system, some very good fencers will never be at the top of the points standing for their lack of funds, but other less strong fencers with deeper pockets will go and compete everywhere in the world and gather enough points eventually to make it higher in the points standing. Basically, at equal strength, a US fencer has more chance to succeed if richer.

I hope that I have given you a few points to think about. As for the recall story, I think that we don’t know enough to make up our mind either way, but there is plenty of room for improvement in the USFA management to help the young fencers of today become the top senior fencers of tomorrow.

[Sciurus-Rex]

As a parent of a competitive fencer ...

You don’t have enough fingers and toes to count the number of Junior World Cups where US fencers have been left by themselves to compete, with no coaching, or no chaperone. ... but we can’t even provide the presence of 1 adult to look after our young fencers.

I have always wondered why the USFA never bothered having someone “on call” and available to answer an emergency phone call at least when Cadet and Junior US fencers are competing in a foreign country. ... We have had numerous horror stories of young teen fencers stuck on Saturdays or Sundays, many times late at night with double the danger for our girls, in remote places of Europe with no money, no ATM, no transportation, not speaking the local language, missing flights, waiting 1 hour in the snow for a hotel to open, or not having a room upon arrival (it has happen to a whole group recently)…etc.

When the USFA chooses to not send any coach or any adult to stand by its young fencers, at least it would show some sense of respect for those fencers and their parents to have a responsible person near a phone and a computer, ready to deal with any emergency.

Someone please explain -- for those of us who don't send our children across the world by themselves -- exactly what the expected childcare relationship is with the USFA that's being addressed here.

Coaching? Sure, I can get that. Sports. Coaches. The concepts go together like peanut butter and jelly.

I may be missing something, but since when did the USFA become a babysitting service?! ... They're YOUR kids -- YOU're responsible for being a "chaperone." Stop whining about how someone else in an amateur athletics organization hasn't stepped up to take care of your underage legal charges.

You want a nanny, then pay for a nanny. Confirm the contractual details of child-rearing with the alleged nanny. Make sure the nanny gets along with the coach (the guy who is "coaching"). Let the nanny carry your child's airline tickets. Feel free to sue the nanny if your child wanders away from the venue. ... Or better yet, go yourself.

Blaming current USFA managers for such expectations is ludicrous. It's an issue that should have been taken up and codified long, long ago.

[Capt. Slo-mo]

Most of the Fencing Federations offer upfront the travel expenses to their top 4 fencers going to international competitions, along with at least 1 coach.

Betty: as a parent with multiple years on the international cadet/junior/senior circuit...I certainly can sympathize, but of all your issues...this is really the only one that we might legitimately expect a new and improved USFA to address.

It's a given that if you want your child supervised, you need to send an adult along on the trip. If you want your child coached on the Euro strip, the club's coach needs to go, and you need to pay a fee to help him/her do so. That's the way it works at almost every major club in the country. Only at the World Championships does the USFA pay for the fencer's travel, room & board and provide coaches. As far as adequate supervision for Cadet-aged kids at World Championship events...they fall miserably short.

Now, in the interest of boosting international development, should the USFA help subsidize the travel and competitions of their top fencer in each weapon, or top 4 or top 8? That's an excellent question for the High Performance Committee to address...but don't hold your breath.

Where would the money come from? Based on Inquartata's steadfast support of international fencing, I'd propose a direct debit system tied to his checking account. He'd be happy to help. Really.