The Amateur Sports Act of 1978 specifically named the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) as the coordinating body for amateur athletic activity in the U.S. directly relating to international Olympic athletic competition. The Act included provisions for recognizing National Governing Bodies (NGBs) for the sports on the programs of the Olympic and Pan American Games. The United States Fencing Association (USFA) is the recognized NGB for the sport of fencing in the United States. The USFA was founded in 1891 as the Amateur Fencers League of America (AFLA) by a group of New York fencers seeking independence from the Amateur Athletic Union. The AFLA changed its name to the United States Fencing Association in 1981. The USFA is affiliated with the Féderation Internationale d'Escrime (FIE), the international federation for fencing founded in Paris in 1913. The USFA was incorporated as a non-profit corporation in Pennsylvania in 1964 and in Colorado in 1993 in compliance with the Amateur Sports Act and opened its national office at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. in August of 1982. Carla-Mae Richards was hired as the USFA's first full-time Executive Director in 1983 and served in that capacity until 1994. A Strategic Planning Commission met in 1992 to charter a course for the USFA's future. A planning group then met in 1995 and re-examined the organization's mission and goals. Mission: The mission of the USFA is to develop fencers to achieve international success and to administer and promote the sport in the USA. Goals: •Earn international medals •Expand membership •Increase the number and quality of coaches and integrate them into the USFA •Increase public interest in fencing •Make the USFA an effective and efficient organization.
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