New Fencing Club Brings Foil Classes To The UWS

From the Tim Morehouse Fencing Club:

September 19 2019

Tim Morehouse Fencing Club Opens Second Location on Upper West Side

New York, N.Y --- (September 19, 2019) – On its continued path to grow the sport of fencing in New York, Tim Morehouse Fencing Club, one of the top youth programs in the country, is starting a new program specializing in foil fencing with group classes for youngsters of all ages and abilities at West End Collegiate Church, 245 West 77th Street. Its flagship Manhattan club at 210 West 91st Street, which specializes in saber fencing, opened in 2016.

Its flagship club, which has already expanded, using both the second and third floors of the community building at the Young Israel of the West Side Synagogue, offers a comprehensive program of private and group lessons and school programs. Many students compete in local, regional, national and international competitions, such as Pan American Youth Championships, the Junior Olympics, USA Fencing Nationals and many more where they consistently bring back medals. Students have gone on to college fencing and even Olympic competitions.

2019 has been a breakthrough year in which Tim Morehouse Fencing Club finished No. 1 in the country in Youth Saber Fencing and No. 2 in the country overall at the US National Summer Championships and qualified its first fencer to the Cadet World Championship team for Team USA. Since its founding in 2015, the club has established itself as a highly competitive fencing club, with multiple Youth-10 boy and girl fencers ranked in the top 10 of their respective divisions.

“We’re thrilled to bring our first foil program to the city,” said Tim Morehouse, club founder and U.S. Olympic Silver Medalist. “Foil, which we offer at our Westchester locations, is another great option, in addition to saber, for new fencers as well as experienced fencers who want to learn a different weapon.” The sport has three weapons: foil, epee and saber, each with its own set of rules. Known as the “sport of kings” since its origin is the light court swords used by nobility in duels, foil is smallest of the three and is flexible and light which is helpful for beginners and allows for quick angled moves for competitive fencers.

“Fencing requires quick strategic thinking while offering a mix of camaraderie and self-reliance since fencers train with teammates yet compete on their own,” noted Morehouse, who teaches regularly along with a select group of internationally acclaimed coaches. “The sport is also great for speed, agility, strength and coordination, as well as self-discipline and self-confidence,” he added

Morehouse, an Upper West Side resident, started fencing at 13, and the sport changed his life. He fenced at Brandeis University and went on to Olympics, winning a silver medal in the men’s saber team event in 2008. He was a three-time Olympic team member in ‘04, ‘08 and ‘12, a nine-time world team member and two-time individual U.S. National Champion.

The club’s mission is to create the best youth sports program in the country as measured by competitive results, academic success and the teaching of “champions value” to its students.

In addition to Manhattan, Tim Morehouse Fencing Club has two locations in Westchester County, N.Y. and another in Greenwich, Conn.

In addition to expanding his programs, Morehouse is also the founder of the nonprofit Fencing in the Schools (fencingintheschools.org), an initiative to introduce fencing to students in low income communities throughout the U.S.

Foil lessons take place in the downstairs gym of West End Collegiate Church on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 5 to 7:20 p.m. and Saturdays, from 1:20 to 3 p.m. Group saber lessons are also offered on Saturdays at the same time. Trial lessons are also available. For more information, visit timmorehousefencing.com or call 317-886-8243.

This press release was produced by the Tim Morehouse Fencing Club. The views expressed here are the author’s own.