USA vs. The World in the Largest Non-Olympic Spectator Fencing Tournament in America

(Colorado Springs, Colo.) - Universal Sports Network will have multi-platform coverage of Fencing Masters: Kick Off To London this Thursday, July 19, at 7:30 p.m. ET on both television and online at UniversalSports.com. The broadcast marks the first time a U.S. fencing tournament will be available to a national audience. 

Founded by American fencer and 2008 Olympic Silver medalist Tim Morehouse (New York City, N.Y.), the showcase was held June 26 to a sold-out crowd in New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom and is the largest non-Olympic spectator fencing tournament event in the United States.

Fencing Masters: Kick-Off To London features members of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Fencing Team as they take on a team of International all-stars. The U.S. team includes two-time Olympic gold medalist Mariel Zagunis (Beaverton, Ore.) and World bronze medalist Lee Kiefer (Lexington, Ky.) on the women’s side, and Morehouse, World Champion Soren Thompson (New York City, N.Y.) and 19 year-old phenom Race Imboden (Brooklyn, N.Y.) for the men.

“Fencing is an amazing sport to watch, and I’m excited that more people in the United States will be able to experience its beauty, grace and athleticism on Universal Sports before our team competes in London,” said Fencing Masters founder Tim Morehouse who organized the tournament while simultaneously qualifying for the London Games.

Universal Sports provides viewers unparalleled access to world-class sporting events, including the most year-round, Olympic-related programming of any network. In the Olympic year 2012, the network debuted Countdown to London, a weekly studio news show which highlights news, features, athlete interviews and expert analysts leading up to the London games. In addition, Universal Sports Network is the home of 30 different sports and 25 World Championships, and will once again deliver exclusive U.S. television coverage of such prestigious annual competitions as the Boston Marathon, Giro d’Italia, Vuelta a España and Kona Ironman. 

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Universal Sports, a partnership between NBC Sports and InterMedia Partners, LP, is the premier multi-platform media destination for Olympic-related sports programming in the United States.  Offering more than 1,200 hours of original programming each year, Universal Sports has exclusive rights to world and national championship events in a wide array of sports, including swimming, track and field, gymnastics, cycling, skiing, figure skating and rugby. Whether on television, online, or on the go with mobile and tablet applications, Universal Sports offers a four-screen experience to fans of global sports every day of the year. For more information, please visit UniversalSports.com.