We value diversity among our students and staff for the different perspectives and experiences a diverse membership brings to our efforts to provide excellence in our training, research, and publishing efforts.
We welcome students and candidates for credentialing without regard to race, ethnicity, gender, gender preference or identity, status as a member of a native or aboriginal people, religious beliefs or the lack thereof, political affiliation, disability (including both wheelchair and blind athletes), marital status, educational status, military service or lack thereof, employment status, native language, citizenship, social class, residence, financial condition, or engagement in other sports, or participation in modern or historical fencing as a competitive or recreational athlete.
We know that fencers who participate in the modern practice of each major period in the development of fencing, whether modern, classical, or historical, are part of a continuum across 800 years of organized teaching, learning, and combat, on the battlefield, in the duel, and as competitive athletes, from which all of us have much to learn.
We recognize that the growth of fencing as a sport includes its growth in countries on every continent, and we encourage participation by all individuals desiring to teach classical fencing regardless of country of location to the greatest extent possible.
We recognize that fencing in the classical period and prior generally excluded women from fencing with most weapons and limited their ability to compete. We recognize that fencing historically had a record of discrimination against racial, ethnic, and religious populations. We reject those values and understand our responsibility to work to redress historic injustices and ensure that classical and historical fencing is available to all, especially the opportunities to learn to coach.