Ariana Klinkov, Trailblazer: A History of Firsts as a Woman Referee in Saber

Editor's Note:  As we celebrate 20 years of women’s saber at the Olympics, it is important to note the remarkable women who were part of this advance.  In this guest post, coach and competitor Ariana Klinkov describes how she trailblazed her path as a woman referee in saber.

It is amazing how time flies. In a world where women’s saber holds its place next to all of our other weapons, it's hard to recall that as recently as 1998 there was no one National Championship, no “A” rated women’s saber fencers, no women’s saber in the NCAA, and certainly no women refereeing the sport. In 1998, at the armory in NY, the first Division 1 Championship was held and the 8 finalists were awarded the first 8 “A” ratings in the sport. I was lucky enough to be among that group of women, most of whom were trailblazers in the sport and had fought so hard to make the event a possibility. 

As much as I think about my place in early saber fencing, it is likely that my most remarkable experience in the sport was in refereeing. It gave me a way to compete (USA Fencing paid for us to referee 3 days and compete at that time), to analyze, to understand fencing and to challenge myself.  I was one of a very few women refereeing saber. There were many obstacles: people who did not think women could referee saber and the difficulty of the weapon itself. Ultimately with the help of coaches and referee mentors I moved up the ranks and began to referee high-level medal bouts in the U.S.  It is important to note that without the help and support of coaches like Arkady Burdan, Daniel Costin, and Yury Gelman, I would likely have faced a far more difficult road. They advocated for me with referee assigners in the U.S. and internationally, which created the opportunity to be noticed and be seen refereeing. In 2000, I was given the opportunity to take my International refereeing license test at the saber World Cup in Peabody, MA. I was the only candidate and had to test with George Kolombatovitch and the formidable Arthur Cramer (the inventor of the fencing referee hand signals). After hours of rules questions, hand signal “gymnastics” and fencing interpretation I was allowed to take the practical portion which involved refereeing the men’s saber event the next day. I will admit, that given my first match…I looked at it, thought for a moment, and brought it back to the assigner. I had been assigned the formidable Luigi Tarantino from Italy who was notable for being contentious with even established male referees. Given that reputation, I decided it was a bad way to start my day as the first woman to ever referee a men’s saber world cup. The assigner chuckled and gave me a different match…. By no means was I perfect that day, but I passed the exam and earned my FIE refereeing license in saber.

I began refereeing Cadet, then Junior and Senior events. There were moments funny, stressful, and wonderful. I refereed the finals at my first cadet event. I traveled all the way to Russia for a senior event only to be marched under armed guard through the airport and deported because I had no visa. I worked an event, and at the referee and coach dinner after, one of the coaches was asked when women would coach saber…he replied “Never!” and laughed…then he pointed to me and said “except her…for some reason she can understand.” Coaches came to me with comments like “we never knew a woman could referee saber! How do you handle the pressure?”  Frankly, as my other job was as a paramedic, I felt that the pressure of a mistake in refereeing was never the same as the pressure of a life in your hands, and the consequences of a mistake in that moment.

At the World Cup in Las Vegas I refereed the team finals and was added to the Grand Prix (GP) list in saber, the first woman to earn this honor, and began to work senior world cups and GP events. I worked 2 Junior World championships and refereed the team world championship match in women's saber. The ultimate goal was the Senior World Championships. In 2009, it happened; I got word that I had been appointed to the event in Antalya, Turkey.

I arrived in Antalya brimming with excitement and about 8 months pregnant. I had been given a clean bill of health to attend the event by both my physicians and the FIE medical staff. My reception by the arbitrage committee onsite was far less enthusiastic if not frosty. I was asked how I would be able to work, how I would handle the stress, how my husband had allowed me to attend the event. I was told not to show up on the men’s event days, yet I did anyway. I was the only referee to show up and work every day of the event. But on my return home, I was told that I was to be removed from the GP event. At the NCAA National Championships that year, I attended a meeting with an FIE representative who explained that I had made the sport of fencing “look like a joke” by working pregnant and that they would discipline me informally for that offense. It is likely I did not improve my position in that moment by pointing out that my belly had been smaller than many of my male counterparts at the event….I don’t think he saw the humor.

I would not referee again at that level until 2012. But due to the advocacy of our arbitrage representative Derek Cotton, I was appointed to be the U.S. representative to Senior World Championships (Team saber and Epee) in Kiev, Ukraine. There I refereed the Senior World Championship Gold Medal Match between Russia and Ukraine in Women’s saber. It was an historic moment for me, and for women in refereeing. That said, the MUCH scarier moment at the event came when I was suddenly assigned to referee the bronze medal match in men’s epee between Italy and Hungary! For those of you who do not often referee epee, these teams were known for both high level fencing and “pushing” the boundaries of the rules. 

Many people have asked whether I am upset that I did not end up back on the GP list, or referee an Olympic games. The reality is that I did so much as the first female representative to high level saber refereeing that I feel honored and lucky. It is hard to break ground, and I had so much help in doing it! The important thing is where we are going – at a junior world championships in Poland, a young referee ran off the floor to thank me for helping to make it possible for women to referee while pregnant – a now totally normal occurrence. There are now even nursing rooms! I have watched a women referee a men’s saber individual gold at World Championships, I will watch our own Laura Decker referee saber at the upcoming Paris Olympics, I watch countless women referee saber at our NAC events. So even though we have quite a way to go, we have made so many strides, I cannot help but be thrilled.

Ariana Klinkov is currently the Head Coach at Cornell University.  Prior to that she was the Head Coach at Wellesley College, Head Coach at Tufts University, and coached at Phillips Academy, Andover.  She was coach and co-owner of Prise de Fer Fencing Club.  Her students have included Jeff Spear and Daria Schneider.

Ariana has been a member of the Fencing Officials Commission, becoming the first American female referee to officiate a world championship gold medal match in saber and an international three-weapon referee.

As a competitor, Klinkov was a member of the 1995 U.S. national champion women's saber team, the 1998 U.S. national silver medal women's saber team, and the 2003 U.S. national silver medal women's saber team.