Fencers Club
The Fencers Club in Midtown Manhattan , New York City, is the oldest fencing club in the Western Hemisphere .[ 1] 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) 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.[ 2] [ 3] [ 4] One had to be in the Social Register to be a member.[ 5] 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.[ 6] [ 3]
In 1892 it had about 200 members.[ 7] In 1902 annual dues at the club were $30 ($1,060 in current dollar terms).[ 8] In 1914, one third of its members were women.[ 4] Rene Pinchart, a Belgian sergeant major in World War I, was fencing master at the club from 1927 to 1955.[ 9] French-American Michel Alaux was fencing master of the club from 1956 until 1974.[ 10]
It is the birthplace, in 1991, and home of the Peter Westbrook Foundation .[ 11] 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.[ 12]
In 2020, the Fencers Club fired a fencing coach after he made racist remarks.[ 13] [ 14]
Notable members
Miles Chamley-Watson
Tim Morehouse
Nicole Ross
Albert Axelrod (1921-2004), 5x Olympian, Olympic bronze medalist[ 15]
Norman C. Armitage (1907, as Norman Cudworth Cohn–1972), 6x Olympian, Olympic bronze medalist[ 16]
Robert Blum (born 1928), 2x Olympian[ 17]
Daniel Bukantz (1917–2008), 4x Olympian[ 18]
Miles Chamley-Watson (born 1989), 2x Olympian, bronze medalist[ 19]
Abe Cohen (1924–2016), Olympian[ 20]
Herb Cohen (born 1940), 2x Olympian[ 21]
Emily Cross (born 1986), Olympian, silver medalist[ 22]
Eugene Glazer (born 1939), Olympian[ 23]
Joel Glucksman (born 1949), Olympian[ 24]
Harold Goldsmith (1930–2004), 3x Olympian[ 25]
Emily Jacobson (born 1985), Olympian[ 26]
Dan Kellner (born 1976), Olympian[ 27]
Byron Krieger (1920–2015), 2x Olympian[ 28]
Ivan Lee (born 1981), Olympian
Nate Lubell (1916–2006), 3x Olympian[ 29]
James Carroll Beckwith , president of the Fencers Club[ 30]
James Margolis (born 1936), Olympian[ 31]
James Melcher (born 1939), Olympian[ 32]
Tim Morehouse (born 1978), 3x Olympian, silver medalist[ 33]
Nickolas Muray (born Miklós Mandl; 1892-1965), Hungarian-born 2x Olympian[ 34]
Nzingha Prescod (born 1992), 2x Olympian[ 35]
Nicole Ross (born 1989), 2x Olympian[ 36]
Keeth Smart (born 1978), Olympian, Olympic silver medalist[ 15]
James Strauch (1921–1998), Olympian[ 37]
Albert Strauss (1876-1963), Olympian[ 15]
Jonathan Tiomkin (born 1979), Olympian[ 38]
Maia Weintraub (born 2002), Olympian
Peter Westbrook (born 1952), 4x Olympian, bronze medalist[ 39]
See also
References
^ Herbst, Diane (May 23, 2016). "The unexpected way vets are rediscovering their competitive edge" .
^ Kroessler, Jeffrey A. (2002). New York, Year by Year: A Chronology of the Great Metropolis . NYU Press. p. 153. ISBN 9780814738382 .
^ a b Outing: Sport, Adventure, Travel, Fiction . W. B. Holland. 1913. p. 334. Retrieved 2020-06-18 .
^ a b General Federation of Women's Clubs (1914). Club Women of New York . Mail and Express Company. p. 137. Retrieved 2020-06-18 .
^ Bill Duryea (January 11, 1998). "En garde' AGAINST THE GHETTO" . Tampa Bay Times .
^ The Illustrated American . 1890. p. 276. Retrieved 2020-06-18 .
^ Livingstone, C.H. (1892). The Sun's Guide to New York: Replies to Questions Asked Every Day by the Guests and Citizens of the American Metropolis . Jersey City printing Company. p. 90. Retrieved 2020-06-18 .
^ Club Men of New York: Their Clubs, College Alumni Associations, Occupations, and Business and Home Addresses, with Historical Sketches of Many Prominent New York Organizations . Republic Press. 1902. p. 18. Retrieved 2020-06-18 .
^ "Rene Pinchart, 28 Years at Fencers Club, Is Dead" . The New York Times . November 4, 1970.
^ "MICHEL ALAUX: Fencing Master: Maitre D'Armes: Biography" . www.alaux-fencingmaster.com .
^ Kirby, Jen (August 10, 2016). "New York's Olympic Sport Is Fencing" . New York Magazine . Retrieved June 18, 2020 .
^ U.S. Olympic Committee names Fencers Club as CODP , archived from the original on June 15, 2012, retrieved 2012-08-24
^ Taylor, Derrick Bryson (June 13, 2020). "A St. John's Fencing Coach Is Fired After Making Racist Remarks" . The New York Times .
^ http://fencersclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Boris-Termination.pdf [bare URL PDF ]
^ a b c "Fencers Club: Past, Present and Future booklet by Elizabeth Cross - Issuu" . issuu.com . 14 May 2016.
^ "Norman Cohn-Armitage Bio, Stats, and Results | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com" . April 17, 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17.
^ "Blum, Robert – Museum Of American Fencing" . museumofamericanfencing.com .
^ Goldstein, Richard (July 31, 2008). "Dr. Daniel Bukantz, 90, a Champion Fencer, Dies" . The New York Times .
^ Smallwood, John (July 13, 2012). "Philadelphian sets sights on gold medal in fencing" . The Philadelphia Inquirer . Retrieved June 18, 2020 .
^ "COHEN,11 OTHERS REACH EPEE FINAL; Defender Posts 3-1 Record in Semi-Final Round-Robin of U.S. Championship" . The New York Times . June 12, 1956.
^ "Axelrod, Cohen Among 5 Picked For U.S. Olympic Foils Team" . The New York Times . July 15, 1964.
^ "Olympic Medalist Emily Cross Back in Training" . USA Fencing . October 17, 2010.
^ Litsky, F.; Tyno, S.; New York Times Company (1965). The New York Times Sports Almanac . American sports library. Franklin Watts, Incorporated. Retrieved 2020-06-18 .
^ "Lekach Wins Saber Final In National Fencing" . The New York Times . July 1, 1978.
^ "FOR THE RECORD" . Sports Illustrated Vault .
^ "Olympic fencer inspires Elis" . Yale Daily News . 4 April 2012.
^ "Seven Ivy League fencers going to Athens" . ESPN.com . April 25, 2004.
^ "Byron Krieger Photo Gallery" . www.byronkrieger.org .
^ "Copy of American Fencing" (PDF) . www.fencingarchive.com . Retrieved 2020-06-18 .
^ "Yale genealogy and history of Wales. The British kings and princes. Life of Owen Glyndwr. Biographies of Governor Elihu Yale" . Archive.org . Milburn and Scott company. 1908. pp. 532–533.
^ "Asbury Park Press from Asbury Park, New Jersey on June 29, 1962 · Page 36" . Newspapers.com . 29 June 1962.
^ Willoughby, Jack (August 30, 2004). "En Garde!" . The Wall Street Journal .
^ "Spotlight: Olympic Silver Medalist Tim Morehouse Hopes to Create a Fencing Hub on the UWS" . 6sqft .
^ Grimberg, Salomon; Muray, Nickolas (October 26, 2006). I Will Never Forget You: Frida Kahlo and Nickolas Muray . Chronicle Books. ISBN 9780811856928 – via Google Books.
^ Okeowo, Alexis. "Nzingha Prescod, Olympic Fencer" . The New Yorker .
^ "Nicole Ross" . Team USA . 2019-12-09. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved 2020-06-18 .
^ "Listing" (PDF) . museumofamericanfencing.com . Retrieved 2020-06-18 .
^ "Jon Tiomkin Bio, Stats, and Results | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com" . April 18, 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18.
^ Black, David (January 19, 1984). "The Black Musketeer" . Rolling Stone .
External links