Our mission

Bring fencing — and what it teaches — to every kid who wants it.

Fencing in the Schools is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that brings the sport — and what it teaches about focus, confidence, and going for the gold — to K–12 students who would never otherwise see a foil.

Students fencing with FITS school-safe equipment in a school gym
Mott Hall, Washington Heights
Partner school.
In partnership with
Mott HallDemocracy Prep+ public schools across New York City
2011
Founded by Olympic medalist Tim Morehouse
100s
Varsity scholar-athletes trained at no cost since 2015
8
Lessons in our 6-week PE fencing curriculum
40+
NCAA colleges sponsor varsity fencing programs
Why fencing

A sport built for every kid in the room.

Gender-equitable.Boys and girls of equivalent skill compete on identical terms. Mixed-gender bouts are normal.
Body-type-equitable.Tall and short children both find their advantage. Kids who get cut from basketball or soccer find their sport here.
Builds executive function.A growing body of research links martial-arts-style training to gains in attention, focus, and working memory in children.
Teaches losing.Every fencer loses bouts. The ritual of “shake hands, hit the strip, try again” trains resilience.
One of the safest sports there is.Studies rank fencing among the lowest-injury Olympic sports — and our specialized “Instant Fencing” equipment makes it safer still.
Tim Morehouse, Olympic silver medalist and FITS founder
From the founder

A note from Tim Morehouse — Olympic Silver Medalist, Beijing 2008, three-time Olympian, Teach For America alum, founder of Fencing in the Schools.

“At thirteen I stumbled onto fencing and a coach who believed in me. While I was working on turning on the scoring light, I was turning on my own internal light. I founded FITS so kids who’d never seen this sport could have the same chance.”
Tim Morehouse
Founder & CEO · Olympic Silver Medalist · Champion of Change, White House 2012
Donate

Fund a school that can’t pay.

$5,000

sponsors a school for an entire year — equipment, curriculum, teacher training, and an Olympian visit. Every gift, at any level, puts foils in kids’ hands.

Donate today
Programs

Bring FITS to your school.

$5,000 flat

One flat rate covers the full program — equipment, curriculum, teacher training, and an Olympian assembly — then $3,500 a year after that. Custom partnerships available for clubs, varsity teams, and districts.

See programs
Programs

How FITS works in your school.

All programs & pricing
— 02
Custom Partnership
Clubs · Varsity · Districts
Let’s talk
Scope and pricing designed together
  • After-school fencing clubs
  • Varsity team development
  • Multi-school and district rollouts
  • Built on the full FITS program
Get in touch
“Tim has done an amazing job by trying to expand fencing in inner cities. Whenever someone wants to do that, I welcome it.
Peter Westbrook · U.S. Champion · Olympic Medalist
Get involved

Help us bring fencing to the next 100,000 kids.

Whether you give $50 or run a program at your school — every act of support puts a foil in another kid’s hand.

A 501(c)(3) Nonprofit · EIN 45-3576364 · All gifts tax-deductible