Referees Elect Three of Their Own to Serve on Nominating Committee

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The referees have spoken, and the votes have been counted.

In an election that saw a historically high turnout rate of 57%, Matt Tucker, Bruce Gillman and Brandon Rochelle were elected to the 2024 Referees’ Commission Nominating Committee. 

The three longtime referees will join the eight-member Referees’ Commission Nominating Committee, which has the power to select the nominees for the upcoming Referees’ Commission general election, held this May.

Tucker, Gillman and Rochelle were chosen from 10 high-quality candidates — each an active referee who has officiated at least one national tournament in the 2022-23 or 2023-24 seasons.

We congratulate the three winners and extend our thanks to all the candidates for participating and — more importantly — for their continued service to USA Fencing.

This Referees’ Commission Nominating Committee election was unique in that it’s really an “election before the election.”

Tucker, Gillman and Rochelle fill the three elected seats on the eight-member Referees’ Commission Nominating Committee. The other seats are occupied by two current RC members not running for re-election, two athletes and one Board member.

The Referees’ Commission Nominating Committee, or RCNC, has the power to select the nominees for the upcoming Referees’ Commission general election, set for May 13–27.

Any eligible referee can submit a nomination for one of four seats up for election:

• Chair
• Vice-Chair of the Domestic Development Committee — Grassroots
• Vice-Chair of the Domestic Development Committee — National
• Referee Ombuds

Once nominations are in, the RCNC reviews the submissions and selects two candidates for each open position. Then, referees vote on which of the two should fill each seat. 

Of the 280 eligible voters, 160 participated in this year’s RCNC election — a turnout of 57.1%.

That’s the highest turnout in at least the last three RCNC elections:

• 2022: 44.1%
• 2020: 41.2%
• 2018: 41.1%

(We did not have immediate access to the turnout numbers prior to 2018.)

• Jan. 2, 2024: Window opens for applications for RC Nominating Committee 
• Jan. 12, 2024: Window closes for applications for Nominating Committee (at 5 p.m. MT)
• Jan. 22–29, 2024: Nominating Committee election
• Feb. 1–16, 2024: Call for eligible referees to submit their name for consideration for the Referees’ Commission positions up for election
• Feb 19 – April 5, 2024: Nominating Committee conducts interviews of eligible RC candidates
• April 15, 2024: Final list of candidates for RC election sent to Election Committee.
• April 29, 2024: Bios, one-minute candidate videos posted to USAFencing.org 
• May 13, 2024: General election* opens
• May 27, 2024: General election closes
• May 28, 2024: Winners announced
• Aug. 1, 2024: Four-year terms begin for the newly elected RC members

*Note: The 2024 election also will include a vote for the Board of Directors and the Hall of Fame.