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≡ TRANSGENDERS IN FENCING ≡
Long-time U.S. Foil fencer Stephanie Turner entered The Cherry Blossom Division I-A tournament in College Park, Maryland in the women’s category that was held last Sunday, but found out the night before that she would be facing Redmond Sullivan, a transgender fencer from Wagner College in New York.
Neither are anywhere close to competing on the U.S. national team in World Cup, World Championship or Olympic competitions. But they were among the 39 registrants for the women’s competition. Turner told Fox News Digital that she saw that her pool included Sullivan, whom she knew was a transgender athlete.
So, “I saw that I was going to be in a pool with Redmond, and from there I said, ‘OK, let’s do it. I’m going to take the knee.'”
She explained that when her bout against Sullivan came up:
“I took a knee immediately at that point. Redmond was under the impression that I was going to start fencing. So when I took the knee, I looked at the ref and I said, ‘I’m sorry, I cannot do this. I am a woman, and this is a man, and this is a women’s tournament. And I will not fence this individual.’
“Redmond didn’t hear me, and he comes up to me, and he thinks that I may be hurt, or he doesn’t understand what’s happening. He asks, ‘Are you OK?’ And I said, ‘I’m sorry. I have much love and respect for you, but I will not fence you.”
So, she forfeited the match and was disqualified, Sullivan finished 24th in the women’s Foil.
USA Fencing explained in the Fox News Digital story:
“USA Fencing enacted our current transgender and non-binary athlete policy in 2023. The policy was designed to expand access to the sport of fencing and create inclusive, safe spaces. The policy is based on the principle that everyone should have the ability to participate in sports and was based upon the research available of the day,” the statement read.
“We respect the viewpoints on all sides and encourage our members to continue sharing them with us as the matter evolves. It’s important for the fencing community to engage in this dialogue, but we expect this conversation to be conducted respectfully, whether at our tournaments or in online spaces. The way to progress is by respectful discussion based in evidence.”
A USA Fencing spokesman added:
“In the case of Stephanie Turner, her disqualification was not related to any personal statement but was merely the direct result of her decision to decline to fence an eligible opponent, which the FIE rules clearly prohibit.
“According to the FIE [Federation Internationale de Escrime] Technical Rules, specifically Article t.113, a fencer is not permitted to refuse to fence another properly entered fencer for any reason. Under these rules, such a refusal results in disqualification and the corresponding sanctions. This policy exists to maintain fair competition standards and preserve the sport’s integrity.”
The USA Fencing guideline is clear: anyone can declare themselves to participate in either the men’s or women’s tournaments:
“[A]thletes will be permitted to participate in USA Fencing sanctioned events in a manner consistent with their gender identity/ expression, regardless of the gender associated with the sex they were assigned at birth in accordance with the guidelines listed below.”
The only requirement is that registration of the division to be competing in must be declared during registration with USA Fencing and cannot change during the season.
The FIE has no rules regarding transgender participation at all; if it did, USA Fencing would be obliged to respect them in its own competitions.
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USA Fencing’s stance is in conflict with President Donald Trump’s 5 February Executive Order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” which declared the Administration’s viewpoint:
“Therefore, it is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy. It shall also be the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.”
But it also went further:
● Specific directions on enforcement were also included in the Order, including an instruction to his domestic policy staff to “convene representatives of major athletic organizations and governing bodies” within 60 days to promote policies compliant with the Order, as well as to ask State attorneys general “to identify best practices in defining and enforcing equal opportunities for women to participate in sports.”
No word on any results in this area, with the 60-day period coming up on 5 April.
● “The Secretary of State shall use all appropriate and available measures to see that the International Olympic Committee amends the standards governing Olympic sporting events to promote fairness, safety, and the best interests of female athletes by ensuring that eligibility for participation in women’s sporting events is determined according to sex and not gender identity or testosterone reduction.”
No specific outreach to the IOC has been noted, although it made little sense to even try until the 20 March elections of the next IOC President took place. Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry was elected and has promised to protect the women’s category, but with no specifics as yet. She takes office on 24 June.
The IOC’s current policy dates from 2021, in a statement which allows each sports federation to adopt its own regulations, rather than a standard rule across all sports. The FIE, aimless after the re-election of Russian Alisher Usmanov for a fifth term last November, who then stepped back from active involvement, has, as noted above, no policy on transgender participation at all.
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