New wheelchair fencing executive committee elected

Nine people were elected to the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) Wheelchair Fencing Executive Committee on Saturday (21 November) and will lead the sport for the next four years.

Elections took place virtually for the first time in lieu of the normal in-person format as part of the sport’s biennial Congress.

Hungarian former athlete Pal Szekeres – the first person to win a medal at both the Olympics and Paralympics – stood uncontested as the Chairperson and was re-elected by the IWAS membership. Secretary General Udo Ziegler of Germany will also continue for another term.

Earlier in the day, the Congress passed a motion to allow the expansion of the Executive Committee from five Members at Large to seven.

Hong Kong’s Kam Kau Wong became the first official regional representative for Asia, joining those in Europe and the Americas. Greece’s Christina Massiala will also sit as the new ‘equal representation’ member to ensure better gender balance at the top of the sport.

The five other Members at Large to be elected were:

Arno Schneider (Brazil, Americas Representative)

Peter Brigola (Austria, Europe Representative)

Peter Huggins (Great Britain)

Brandon Dyett (USA)

Jakub Nowicki (Poland)

As well as elections, the Congress received updates about the development of wheelchair fencing around the world, planning for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and the competition calendar for 2021-2024.

Motions including changing the name of IWAS Wheelchair Fencing to World Para Fencing were also passed. More information about the outcomes of the Congress can be found here.