Fencers Club


The Fencers Club in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, is the oldest fencing club in the Western Hemisphere. It is a member of the Metropolitan Division of the U.S. Fencing Association. Established in 1883, it has evolved into a 501 not-for-profit 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 to be a member. Its first fencing master was Captain Hippolyte Nicolas, a French officer who had fought in the Franco-Prussian War 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 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 as a Community Olympic Development Program, 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, 5x Olympian, Olympic bronze medalist
  • Norman C. Armitage, 6x Olympian, Olympic bronze medalist
  • Robert Blum, 2x Olympian
  • Daniel Bukantz, 4x Olympian
  • Miles Chamley-Watson, 2x Olympian, bronze medalist
  • Abe Cohen, Olympian
  • Herb Cohen, 2x Olympian
  • Emily Cross, Olympian, silver medalist
  • Eugene Glazer, Olympian
  • Joel Glucksman, Olympian
  • Harold Goldsmith, 3x Olympian
  • Emily Jacobson, Olympian
  • Dan Kellner, Olympian
  • Byron Krieger, 2x Olympian
  • Ivan Lee, Olympian; banned for life by SafeSport
  • Nate Lubell, 3x Olympian
  • James Carroll Beckwith, president of the Fencers Club
  • James Margolis, Olympian
  • James Melcher, Olympian
  • Tim Morehouse, 3x Olympian, silver medalist
  • Nickolas Muray, Hungarian-born 2x Olympian
  • Nzingha Prescod, 2x Olympian
  • Nicole Ross, 2x Olympian
  • Keeth Smart, 3x Olympian, Olympic silver medalist
  • James Strauch, Olympian
  • Albert Strauss, Olympian
  • Jonathan Tiomkin, Olympian
  • Maia Weintraub, Olympian, Olympic gold medalist
  • Peter Westbrook, 5x Olympian, Olympic bronze medalist