Intercollegiate Bench-Warming Commission Releases Updated Posture Guidelines, Notes That Leaning Forward In Excitement Constitutes An Unauthorized Departure From The Seated Position

MEMORANDUM TO: All Registered Sitting Athletes, Certified Chair Officials, and Interested Parties FROM: Office of the Deputy Commissioner, National Governing Body for Competitive Sitting (NGBCS) RE: Clarification of Seated Contact Protocols, Hovering Classification, and the Ongoing Matter of Gerald DATE: For Immediate Release

The National Governing Body for Competitive Sitting wishes to address, in a measured and procedurally appropriate manner, the incident that occurred during the quarterfinal round of the 2024 Regional Invitational Sit-Off held in Columbus, Ohio, on a Tuesday.

Following a formal review spanning eleven weeks, four subcommittee hearings, and one very tense lunch, the NGBCS has determined that competitor Donna Pfleuger of the Akron Seated Athletic Club was, at the time of judging, occupying what officials have classified as a "transitional hover" — defined in Appendix C of the revised rulebook as "any posture in which the athlete's relationship to the chair has become aspirational rather than confirmed."

"We want to be absolutely clear," said Dr. Raymond Bost, NGBCS Chief of Posture Compliance. "Sitting is not merely the intention to sit. It is the act of sitting. These are two different things, and the Commission has spent considerable resources confirming that they are."

Ms. Pfleuger, who has disputed the ruling, released a statement through her coach asserting that she was "definitely sitting" and that the judges were "looking at it wrong." The NGBCS has acknowledged her statement and filed it in the appropriate drawer.

In response to the incident, the Governing Body has issued revised Sitting Standards, effective immediately, which establish for the first time a minimum threshold of chair contact — expressed as a percentage of available seating surface — required for a performance to be scored. The threshold has been set at 51%, following a heated debate in which one board member argued passionately for 49% and was asked to please sit down, which he did, and which was noted in the minutes as "procedurally ironic."

The memo further clarifies that hovering, while not permitted in standard competition, will be recognized as a separate discipline beginning in the 2025 season, with its own qualifying standards, certification process, and existential framework.

"We are not anti-hover," said Commissioner Patricia Whelk at a press conference held, at her request, entirely while seated. "We are simply pro-clarity. The hover has a home. That home is not the sit."

The memo's final section, titled "The Ongoing Matter of Gerald," addresses a separate but related concern: a competitor who has been registered with the organization since 2019 and has, according to records, never been observed sitting at any sanctioned event, or at all. Gerald did not respond to requests for comment. The NGBCS has described the situation as "open."

Athletes are encouraged to review the full 34-page memo, available on the NGBCS website under the tab labeled "Sitting Down With The Rules," which officials confirmed was an intentional choice and not, as one journalist suggested, a thematic accident.

This memorandum constitutes official guidance. Recipients are advised to read it while seated, if possible, and to ensure that their contact with the chair is unambiguous throughout.