The Association Behind Team USA: How USA Fencing Grew by Listening to Its Members

Send us Fan Mail Did you know Olympic sports are run by associations? When you watch Olympic fencing, you're seeing an association at work. National governing bodies like USA Fencing are 501(c)(3) membership organizations, and they deal with a lot of the same things your association does: limited staff, member dues, pricey events, board composition and finding new members. Phil Andrews, CEO of USA Fencing, joins me to talk about how fencing became the fastest-growing sport in the Olympic and Paralympic world since Paris '24. Phil explains how 23 staff serve more than 50,000 members, why a third of his board seats go to elite athletes, and why your best recruiters are the members you already have. I asked him whether that growth was just a feel factor that came with a new CEO. It wasn't, and he gives the credit to his team and his community. I also pushed on whether working with content creators cost real money, and he walked me through his "hack and slash" approach to earned media, sword fight at New York Comic-Con included. In this episode: What a national governing body does, and its two missions Why your existing members are your best marketing Listening to every corner of your membership without agreeing with everyone Running a 50,000-member organization with 23 staff over the 230 weeks between Games Where the money comes from: membership, events, merchandise, sponsorship and a foundation A governance-led board where a third of the seats go to elite athletes, by law Comic-Con, Gen Z creators and other low-cost ways to earn media How to find a fencing club near you About Phil Phil Andrews is CEO of USA Fencing, the national governing body for fencing in the United States. Connect with Phil Email: [email protected] Web: https://www.usafencing.org Try fencing: https://tryfencing.org Association Transformation is hosted by Elisa Pratt, CEO and Chief Strategist of Brewer Pratt Solutions, and Andrew Chamberlain, Founder and Managing Director of Elevated. Find every episode at https://associationtransformation.org. Until next time, put your members and your mission first!