USA Fencing has announced revised policies that now treat all states equally for hosting events and require the national anthem at competitions, following public backlash and criticism. The organization’s board of directors voted on amendments last Saturday to address these changes, which include ending preferential treatment for states with LGBTQ-friendly laws and ensuring the national anthem is played at events. USA Fencing’s spokesperson stated that it would be inappropriate to speculate on the personal motivations of the volunteer Board of Directors. The organization’s new policy will go into effect at the 2025 Summer Nationals and will be reviewed annually by the tournament committee. Previously, there were no rules requiring the anthem to be played at any event. The organization claims the anthem has been played at every national tournament. The board’s new national anthem policy will go into effect at the 2025 Summer Nationals but will be reviewed annually by the tournament committee. The previous host site selection policy gave preference to states without laws that ‘harm members of LGBTQ communities’ and states that do not ‘have laws undermining the reproductive health of women.’ The states on the organization’s ‘do not allow’ list included Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas. The states on its ‘avoid where possible’ list included Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah, West Virginia, Wyoming, Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia. The previous policy became one of the organization’s biggest points of criticism after fencer Stephanie Turner ignited global backlash against the organization when she recorded a video of her kneeling in protest of a trans opponent during a competition in Maryland in late March. On May 7, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Subcommittee’s