Fencing lessons for Westport families
A $40 trial lesson, one hour, gear provided, ages 5 to adult, at Tim Morehouse Fencing Club in New Canaan.
Text us and the desk answers by text. If you call, you hear a short greeting and get a text back.
Class times change by season. Text the desk for this week's times.
Westport families fence at Tim Morehouse Fencing Club in New Canaan, about 25 minutes from Westport, at New Canaan Country School, 635 Frogtown Rd. Children from age five, teenagers and adults start with a $40 one-hour trial lesson with the gear provided. This desk books it; the club teaches it. How that works.
Fencing near Westport
Westport has no fencing club inside the town. The club that was nearest to the east, Fairfield Fencing Academy on Old Stratfield Road, is permanently closed, and Stamford Fencing Club to the west is not running classes. The full program that remains, classes, private lessons, camps and a competitive team, is in New Canaan, two towns over.
For Westport that means the Merritt Parkway, the road most of the town already uses to go anywhere west. Twenty-five minutes is a real drive and this page does not round it down; the trial lesson is one hour, so the first trip is an afternoon rather than a day.
25 min
about, Westport to the club
The drive from Westport
From Westport the run is the Merritt Parkway west through Norwalk to the New Canaan side, then local roads north to Frogtown Road. From the Saugatuck or Compo end, Route 1 to the parkway adds a few minutes at the start; from the Weston Road end you are on the parkway almost at once. Allow about 25 minutes. A weekday evening class means the parkway in the tail of the commute, so time the first trip and after that it is a known run.
The desk texts the entrance and parking details with every booking.
What a first visit looks like
The $40 trial lesson
One hour, mask, jacket, glove and weapon provided. Bring sneakers, long athletic pants and water.
02Classes by age
Kids from five, teens and adults, each in their own group.
03Private lessons
One coach, one fencer, one weapon, booked through the desk.
04Camps and the competitive team
School-break camps, and a team whose fencers hold USA Fencing membership.
Class times change by season. Text the desk for this week's times.
Before you text
Have four things ready: who the lesson is for and their age, whether they have fenced before and in which weapon, that you are coming from Westport, and which days could work. The desk books the trial lesson with the club and texts back the day and time, the entrance and parking at New Canaan Country School, and the short list of what to bring. If a weekday evening will not fit the drive, say so; the desk looks at the weekend and the camp dates instead.
Why New Canaan and not somewhere closer
Because the closer option closed. Fairfield Fencing Academy was the club for this end of the county and it is permanently closed; Westport never had its own. What is in New Canaan is a full program: all three weapons, groups for every age from five up, private lessons, camps in the school breaks, and a competitive team whose fencers hold USA Fencing membership, founded by a 2008 Olympic silver medalist. About 25 minutes by the parkway is the honest figure.
Westport questions people actually ask
Where do Westport kids fence now that the Fairfield academy has closed?
At Tim Morehouse Fencing Club in New Canaan, at New Canaan Country School, 635 Frogtown Rd, about 25 minutes from Westport by the Merritt Parkway. It teaches foil, epee and saber to children from five, teens and adults, and this desk books the trial lesson there.
Twenty-five minutes each way for a child's class. Is that normal?
For fencing in this county, yes. There is no club in Westport, and the two that were closer have closed or stopped running classes. The shapes that fit are a weekend slot, a camp week in the school breaks, or a weekday class paired with something else on the New Canaan side. Text the desk with the days that could work.
What does the trial lesson include?
One hour on the strip with the mask, jacket, glove and weapon provided, for forty dollars. Bring sneakers with a clean sole, long athletic pants and water. Nothing has to be bought before the trial.
Are there camps in the school breaks?
Yes, full days of fencing for children and teens in the school breaks. A camp week is often the easiest way for a Westport family to try the club without committing to a weekly drive. The dates follow the school calendar, so text the desk for the next break's dates.
Does an adult beginner belong there?
Yes. The club takes adults from complete beginners up, and adults fence with other adults. Say you are an adult beginner when you text and the desk books the right hour.
