Our Impact

Numbers That Tell a Story of Transformation

Every statistic below represents a real student who discovered discipline, focus, and confidence through fencing. Here is what 15 years of FITS looks like.

How fencing works

“Physical chess — a contest of mind, body, and spirit.”

The Olympic ideals — focus, discipline, sportsmanship, and the courage to lose, salute your opponent, and try again — aren’t tagline ideas at FITS. They’re what kids practice every time they pick up a foil. The research below is what happens when that practice is repeated, week after week, in a real classroom.

What the studies actually show

The research backing what every kid feels the first time they pick up a foil.

Weight-bearing, explosive sports like fencing are associated with greater bone density and muscle mass — relevant to long-term bone health (Felsenberg & Gowin, European Journal of Radiology, 1998).

Fencing has one of the lowest injury rates of any Olympic sport, ranking among the safest at the Summer Games (Junge et al., American Journal of Sports Medicine, 2009).

Higher self-esteem in physically active children — fencing's strategic, non-size-dependent format welcomes athletes who self-select out of mainstream sports (Tremblay et al., 2000).

Executive function gains from martial-arts-style training documented across peer-reviewed studies (Diamond & Lee, Science, 2011).

More than 40 U.S. colleges sponsor varsity fencing — including Stanford, Notre Dame, Duke, and Ivy League schools — opening admissions and scholarship pathways for student-athletes.

Gender-equitable competition format. Boys and girls of equivalent skill compete on identical terms, with mixed-gender bouts standard at the school level.

Sportsmanship is built into the rules. Every fencing bout begins with a salute and ends with a handshake.

Case Study 01

Mott Hall, Washington Heights.

Students fencing at Mott Hall, a FITS partner school

Mott Hall, a public school community in Washington Heights — the neighborhood where Tim Morehouse grew up — anchored FITS’ return to school programming after the pandemic pause. FITS has worked with the Mott Hall public schools to bring fencing to their students.

Today, fencing is part of Mott Hall’s identity:

  • Fencing taught through the FITS 8-lesson, 6-week PE curriculum
  • Students introduced to the sport with an Olympian “Go for the Gold” kickoff
  • The partnership that re-launched FITS school programming

Case Study 02

Democracy Prep Charter Schools.

Students in a FITS fencing class

Democracy Prep is a charter network operating schools across New York City and beyond. FITS first launched fencing with Democracy Prep schools in Harlem in 2013. Beginning with the 2024–25 school year, the partnership was renewed to bring our Varsity Fencing program to schools across the network.

  • Serving 3–5 Democracy Prep network schools with varsity fencing
  • Pairing fencing, academics, and Olympic values
  • Expanding access for students in Harlem, the Bronx, and beyond

Ready to Bring FITS to Your School?

Join the Schools Already Transforming Lives Through Fencing

Whether you are a principal, teacher, parent, or donor there is a role for you in the FITS story.