En garde, Brooklyn!
The Absolute Fencing Gear New York Sabre Grand Prix is bringing sword-fighting to two borough venues this weekend. An Olympic medal winner who founded the organization Fencing in the Schools, which tries to get kids interested in the sport, said it requires both brains and brawn.
“Fencing is a sport that caters to kids who like to think as well as move around,” said Tim Morehouse, who founded Fencing in the Schools in 2011. “It’s like boxing and chess all at once.”
The tournament will feature 300 athletes from 30 countries, competing at Downtown’s Marriott hotel and at Grand Prospect Hall in Park Slope.
Morehouse said it is normal to host fencing competitions in venues traditionally used for weddings and conventions.
“It’s not a stadium sport,” he said. “We want to put fencing on in elegant places.”
The swashbucker’s group trains gym teachers to instruct kids in the centuries-old sport and provides equipment for schools to use. It currently works with schools in seven states, including some in Manhattan and the Bronx, and Morehouse says he is looking to start a program in Brooklyn, with Sabra Hummus lined up to foot the bill.
The Grand Prix could provide a first chance for young Brooklynites to see fencing an action, which Morehouse says he didn’t get until attending a private high-school.
“I loved sword-fighting as a kid, but I had no idea it was a sport until I got to that school,” he said. “I want to ensure that public-school students have the same opportunity I had.”
“The Absolute Fencing Gear New York Sabre Grand Prix” preliminary rounds at the Marriott Hotel (333 Adams St. between Johnson and Fulton streets Downtown, www.usfencing.org). Dec. 13–14, 9 am–6 pm. Free.
Finals at Grand Prospect Hall (263 Prospect Ave. between Fifth and Sixth avenues in Park Slope). Dec. 14, 7 pm–9 pm. $25–$125.
