The Fencers Club in

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...

, New York City, is the oldest

fencing Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...

club in the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the 180th meridian.- The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Geopolitically, ...

. It is a member of the Metropolitan Division of the U.S. Fencing Association. Established in 1883, it has evolved into a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

not-for-profit A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...

fencing organization dedicated to fencing and community service. It has produced a number of national champions and Olympians. The Fencers Club includes 22 full-length metal grounded training strips with electronic scoring equipment, as well as an in-house pro shop and armory.

History

The Fencers Club was founded in 1883 by Charles de Kay and other New Yorkers. One had to be in the ''

Social Register The ''Social Register'' is a semi-annual publication in the United States that indexes the members of American high society. First published in the 1880s by newspaper columnist Louis Keller, it was later acquired by Malcolm Forbes. Since 2014, ...

'' to be a member. Its first fencing master was Captain Hippolyte Nicolas, a French officer who had fought in the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

of 1870, who was partial to the Italian school of fencing. In 1892 it had about 200 members. In 1902 annual dues at the club were $30 ($ in current dollar terms). In 1914, one third of its members were women. Rene Pinchart, a Belgian sergeant major in World War I, was fencing master at the club from 1927 to 1955. French-American Michel Alaux was fencing master of the club from 1956 until 1974. It is the birthplace, in 1991, and home of the Peter Westbrook Foundation. In 2012, the Fencers Club became only the ninth organization to be recognized by the United States Olympic Committee ( USOC) as a Community Olympic Development Program (CODP), for its innovative and world-class programs that embody the Olympic ideals. In 2020, the Fencers Club fired a fencing coach after he made racist remarks.

Notable members

Albert Axelrod Albert "Albie" Axelrod (February 12, 1921 – February 24, 2004) was an American foil fencer. He was a five-time Olympian for the US, won a bronze medal at the 1960 Olympics, and was the only American men's foil fencer to reach the finals at th ...

(1921–2004), 5x Olympian, Olympic bronze medalist *

Norman C. Armitage Norman Armitage (January 1, 1907, as Norman Cudworth Cohn – March 14, 1972) was an American patent lawyer, and chemical engineer who became an accomplished textile executive. He was an exceptional Fencing#Sabre, saber fencer who competed in si ...

(1907, as Norman Cudworth Cohn–1972), 6x Olympian, Olympic bronze medalist * Robert Blum (1928–2022), 2x Olympian *

Daniel Bukantz Daniel Bukantz (December 4, 1917 – July 26, 2008) was an American four-time individual United States national foil fencing champion, Maccabiah Games individual foil champion, four-time Olympic fencer, fencing referee, and a dentist. He has bee ...

(1917–2008), 4x Olympian *

Miles Chamley-Watson Miles Chamley-Watson (born December 3, 1989) is a British-American right-handed foil fencer. He is a 13-time team Pan American Games, Pan American champion, 2019 team world champion, 2013 individual world champion, three-time Olympic Games, Oly ...

(born 1989), 2x Olympian, bronze medalist * Abe Cohen (1924–2016), Olympian *

Herb Cohen Herbert Cohen (December 30, 1932 – March 16, 2010) was an American personal manager, record company executive, and music publisher, best known as the manager of Judy Henske, Linda Ronstadt, Frank Zappa, Tim Buckley, Odetta, Tom Waits, Geor ...

(born 1940), 2x Olympian *

Emily Cross Emily Ruth Cross (born October 15, 1986) is a U.S. foil fencer who was a member of the 2008 Olympics U.S. Women's foil team. She is best known for helping the team win the foil silver medal for the U.S. at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, along with t ...

(born 1986), Olympian, silver medalist * Eugene Glazer (born 1939), Olympian * Joel Glucksman (born 1949), Olympian * Harold Goldsmith (1930–2004), 3x Olympian *

Emily Jacobson Emily Phillipa Jacobson (born December 2, 1985, in Decatur, Georgia) is an American Olympic sabre fencer. She won a bronze medal in the 2003 Pan American Games, and was 2004 Junior World Champion in women's saber. Background Jacobson was born ...

(born 1985), Olympian * Dan Kellner (born 1976), Olympian *

Byron Krieger Byron Lester Krieger (July 20, 1920 – November 8, 2015) was an American Foil (fencing), foil, sabre and épée Fencing, fencer. Krieger represented the United States in the Olympics in 1952 in Helsinki and 1956 in Melbourne, and in the 1951 Pa ...

(1920–2015), 2x Olympian *

Ivan Lee Ivan James Lee (born March 31, 1981) is an American former Olympic sabre fencer and coach. He was a two-time NCAA Men's Sabre Champion, a five-time national sabre champion, and was inducted into the List of USFA Hall of Fame members, US Fencin ...

(born 1981), Olympian; banned for life by SafeSport * Nate Lubell (1916–2006), 3x Olympian * James Carroll Beckwith, president of the Fencers Club * James Margolis (born 1936), Olympian * James Melcher (1939–2023), Olympian * Tim Morehouse (born 1978), 3x Olympian, silver medalist * Nickolas Muray (born Miklós Mandl; 1892–1965), Hungarian-born 2x Olympian * Nzingha Prescod (born 1992), 2x Olympian * Nicole Ross (born 1989), 2x Olympian * Keeth Smart (born 1978), 3x Olympian, Olympic silver medalist * James Strauch (1921–1998), Olympian * Albert Strauss (1876-1963), Olympian * Jonathan Tiomkin (born 1979), Olympian * Maia Weintraub (born 2002), Olympian, Olympic gold medalist * Peter Westbrook (1952–2024), 5x Olympian, Olympic bronze medalist

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.fencersclub.com/ Fencing organizations Fencing in the United States Fencing clubs Fencing venues Sports clubs and teams established in 1883 1883 establishments in New York (state) Sports in Manhattan

History

Notable members

See also

References

External links