USA Fencing

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Call us biased, but we believe that fencers are some of the sharpest minds in the athletic world. That’s in part because fencing and education are inextricably intertwined — fields that champion strategy, discipline and the ceaseless pursuit of personal growth.

So we’re both proud and delighted to announce that Avenues Online, the online campus of Avenues The World School, which is renowned for its innovative, globally-minded education, has become the official school of USA Fencing. This collaboration lives at the intersection where intellect meets athleticism, paving the way for a new generation of scholastically talented fencers to unlock new opportunities.

Busy fencers and their families especially will benefit from Avenues Online, which provides a digital learning platform that’s tailor-made for fencers. The program offers personalized calendars and flexible schedules, allowing students to fully commit to their athletic goals while simultaneously pursuing a world-class education, regardless of their training or competition schedules. 

That means whether a fencer is training at the club down the street, competing across the country at a North American Cup event, or even traveling internationally to represent Team USA, they can do so without sacrificing their rigorous academic schedule.

Avenues’ track record speaks for itself. Similar partnerships with organizations that serve youth golfers and youth equestrians have helped talented young students pursue their dreams of enrolling in top-tier schools, including Ivy League institutions.

The USA Fencing-Avenues partnership is a three-year agreement that also sees Avenues take the mantle as the title sponsor of our Regional Series, encompassing more than 100 tournaments with at least a dozen in each region.

“Avenues and USA Fencing both provide young people with exceptional pathways to the country's most prestigious institutions of higher education,” says Phil Andrews, CEO of USA Fencing. “The logical alliance between our organizations underscores the important ties between fencing, education and overall personal development.”

Headquartered in New York and co-founded by a former President of Yale, Avenues operates multiple campuses worldwide. It offers a top-tier private education for students from toddlers through grade 12. With Avenues Online, students learn alongside peers from over 20 countries and six continents, led by a global faculty dedicated to providing a world-class education.

Here are just some of the ways that fencers and their families will notice this exciting new partnership:

• A new Avenues booth set up at all seven of our national tournaments in the 2023-24 season. That will be a great chance for fencers and their families to speak face to face with an Avenues representative and learn more about their world-class programs.

• A new scholarship program offering Avenues scholarships for fencers.

• A new website, avenues.org/usafencing, where families can learn more.

“Avenues’ commitment to providing flexible, personalized learning perfectly complements the commitment and drive we see in our fencers,” Andrews says. “We’re excited for the opportunities this partnership will bring to the USA Fencing community and look forward to a future of molding not just exceptional athletes, but well-rounded global citizens.”

USA Fencing is the national governing body for the Olympic and Paralympic sport of fencing in the United States. Our mission is to grow and promote the sport of fencing in the United States, honor its rich traditions, and achieve sustained competitive international excellence. In USA Fencing, our athletes are strong and competitive both on the fencing strip and in life — a reminder that fencing provides physical and mental benefits that last a lifetime. Learn more about USA Fencing at usafencing.org.

Avenues The World School was founded in 2012 with a mission to redefine schooling for a fast-changing world. Today, Avenues is proud to operate as one school across six continents in leading cities around the world, serving students from the age of two to 18 years old in New York, São Paulo, Shenzhen, Silicon Valley and anywhere in the world through its virtual campus, Avenues Online, which opened in 2019. Learn more at avenues.org/usafencing.