Tim Morehouse Fencing Club’s Y10 Saber girls pose on the podium at Rocky Point RYC. The 4 fencers earned the top 4 spots in the event: Anika Von Marie Kabiling (Gold), Alaia Varah (Silver), Chloe Chen (Bronze), Katherine Ong (5th)
February 25, 2025— Tim Morehouse Fencing Club’s fencers delivered another slew of commanding performances at Mission RYC in Rocky Point, Long Island, this past weekend in both saber and foil. After an incredibly successful Junior Olympics, we were delighted to end February on a strong note. Even though Mission was not a designated event for TMFC—which meant our fencers had to compete without any strip coaching—they showed up in big numbers nonetheless.
The tournament results, which included 15+ medalists and more than a dozen top 16 finishes, proved the growing self-sufficiency of our fencers as the season has progressed. They have taken what they’ve learned from our elite coaching staff this year and applied it to become not just great students but great athletes in their own right. who have mastered the fundamentals of fencing and added their own styles to resounding success.
The success we had this month at Junior Olympics and Mission RYC starts young. While students get the bug for fencing at all different points in their life and everyone’s path is different, the value of fencing consistently at a young age in both group classes and private lessons cannot be understated if you want to eventually attain competitive success. The students who achieve the greatest results in competition (from our in-house Youth Cups to regional tournaments to the international circuits) stand apart for their commitment and dedication to the sport. This typically means taking at least 2 classes and 2 lessons a week. For example, Ella Calise (TMFC- Port Chester), who won Junior Women’s Foil at Junior Olympics this month, has the highest average for sessions/week among all TMFC fencers at 10 and more than 1,200 total!
But even if you’re not interested in one day competing at the Olympics, fencing is as good a sport as any to build essential athletic and life skills. What may seem like a purely individual sport can be so much more at a club like TMFC where we put great emphasis on building camaraderie and a sense of teamwork in our classes and camps, and we welcome all fencers regardless of their end goals.
We thought JOs were big for our Cadet and Junior fencers, but Mission RYC proved that the kids are alright and the future is bright! Take a look below at some of the biggest stories of this past weekend at Mission RYC. We are proud of everyone who competed, regardless of result. All of you have put in the work in your training and are building what we hope can become fruitful lifelong careers with fencing.
⭐ Royce Zhao's FIRST EVER gold medal, earned in Y14MS
⭐ TMFC girls DOMINATE Y10WS- Anika Von Marie Kabiling 1st, Alaia Varah 2nd, Chloe Chen 3rd, and Katherine Ong 5th. This marks Anika's first gold medal in Y10 AND all four girls are ranked in the top 50 Y10 women's saber fencers in the country
⭐ Three medalists in Y12MS- William Lucas gold, Aidan Song + Leo Shapiro top 8
⭐ Kai De Castro's 6th regional medal of the season- silver in Y12WF
⭐ Sienna Young's first regional medal this season- 5th place in Y14WS
⭐ Sibling Slayers- Lucas and Katherine Lin both medal (3rd in Y10MF and 7th in Y14WF) and Katherine renews her E rating
⭐ A total of 15+ medalists and 13+ top 16 results- notable ones include Will Qian (pictured in slide 3, top 8 in Y10MF) Bennett Sabino (6th in Y10MS) Leo Constantine (11th in Y10MS, his best regional result this season) and Luna Hagn (12th in Y12WS, her best regional result)
⭐Walker Passman's first regional of the season and Olivia Upbin's first regional with TMFC
TMFC YOUTH CUP MARCH 15/16
The next in-house tournament at TMFC will take place March 15th and 16th. Day 1 is at Port Chester and Day 2 is at Manhattan-West! Sign up for both days or just one. Great for beginners and intermediate fencers!
Registration fee: $65 until March 8 + Event fee: $20/event
Registration fee $85 after March 8
Event times are listed for each day. All fencers must have their own equipment.
Port Chester Tournament Sign Up
SPRING BREAK CAMP IS COMING + SUMMER CAMP EARLY DEADLINE #2 ENDS MARCH 18TH!
Join us for a transformative experience full of fun and fencing with Olympians and Olympic Coaches! Our camps are designed for youth fencers to learn and practice their fundamentals in an engaging and exciting group environment. We encourage beginners aged 7-11 to sign up for any and all of our camps, but Spring Break Camp will also be a great opportunity for our competitive youth students to gain an edge on the competition with extra training.
For Spring 2025, we are offering 2 sessions of Spring Break Camp.
Session 1: March 17-21 Time: 9:30-3 PM Locations: ALL
Session 2: April 14-18 Time: 9:30-3 PM Locations: Both Manhattan locations (great for NYC Public Schools spring break!)
All you need to bring is a packed lunch. See you there!
Additionally, you still have a few weeks until prices raise for Summer Day Camp! A week of camp costs $899 until March 18th, after which the price will rise to $999. Full details and discounts can be found on the camps dropdown of our site.
TMFC’s Brynnley McKee and Keira Lauri Top the List of USA Fencing’s Latest Rankings
After their incredible performances at the Junior Olympics, both Brynnley McKee and Keira Lauri have risen in the US rankings to massive heights. As per USA Fencing’s latest published national points rankings (02/16/2025), Lauri has risen to 5th and McKee to first in the country among all Cadet Women's Saber fencers. Brynnley has also been selected as 1 of the 3 fencers to represent Team USA in CDTWS at the 2025 Junior and Cadet Fencing World Championships in Wuxi, China that are taking place in April. We could not have more pride for their dedication and achievements, and we know this is just the beginning of both Keira and Brynnley's bright futures.
