En savoir plusThe USA Fencing family lost one of the trailblazers for the referee community when Gerrie Baumgart (Northglenn, Colo.) passed away on Sunday at 73-years-old.
Baumgart, who took up fencing as an adult, would go on to break the glass ceiling for female referees. Not only was she the first U.S. woman to earn an FIE A rating, but she also became the first to not only officiate at the Olympic Games, but she refereed the gold medal epee team final at the Games in Atlanta in 1996.
Baumgart was an outstanding international referee, but she was also a woman determined to help groom future generations of fencing officials and is known among the referee cadre for being a mentor and role model to her fellow officials for the past four decades, both at tournaments as well as through her role on the Fencing Officials Commission.
“Gerrie Baumgart was my friend before I knew she was a fencing icon. The void in our community is large; the hole in my heart is huge,” said Sharon Everson (Leesburg, Fla.), one of Baumgart’s closest friends and a member of the FOC. < See more >