The New York Athletic Club
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The New York Athletic Club is one of the very exclusive athletic clubs that were established in the United States in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Founded in 1868, the club's founding premise was to bring structure to a sporting environment that was lacking in organization and uniformity of measurement. The NYAC organized the first US championships in boxing, wrestling, and outdoor track and field, and brought the sport of fencing to the US. Today, the New York City club house, located on Central Park South and Seventh Avenue, is New York's premier athletic organization that offers its 7,000-plus members extensive athletic resources, as well as dining, recreation, and lodging facilities. Application for membership in the NYAC is by invitation only.
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[edit] Notable members
NYAC members have won 123 Olympic gold medals, 40 silver medals, and 52 bronze medals, more than all but four nations. Thirty-nine NYAC olympians took home five gold medals, one silver medal, and five bronze medals at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
Many NYAC members have been successful in a multitude of athletic competitions in their specialized fields other than the Olympic games. Their successes and accomplishments are chronicled in an impressive "Hall of Fame" display located on the second floor of the City House.
The NYAC has been an innovative force in the world of athletic competition as well. Amidst a crisis over the eligibility of amateur athletes during the 1880s, the New York Athletic Club led a group of clubs in forming The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU).
In 1921, a group of members of the New York Athletic Club spearheaded the founding of Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York. Winged Foot's name and logo was inspired by the NYAC's winged foot logo. The two clubs have never been formally affiliated.
In 1987, the transition to allow women to join as members had begun. The club's membership had previously only included men. The membership still consists of mostly men, however several women enjoy membership at an equal status. Notable members have included:
- Rocky Aoki — Founder of Benihana restaurants
- Marisol Deluna — Fashion designer
- Jack Dempsey — World boxing heavyweight champion
- A.P. Giannini — Founder of Bank of America
- Peter Jennings — Late ABC News anchorman
- John F. Kennedy, Jr. — Publisher of George magazine
- Wellington Mara — New York Giants owner
- Gavin McLeod — TV actor most noted for The Love Boat
- Charles Osgood — CBS News and radio show host
- Mark Simone — TV/Radio personality
- George Steinbrenner — New York Yankees owner
[edit] Facilities
The club operates two facilities, one in New York City and the other on Travers Island which straddles the border of New Rochelle and Pelham Manor, New York. The City House, located at 180 Central Park South, occupies one of the finest locations in the city. A large, cavernous building built in the early twentieth century, it offers panoramic views of Central Park and is the athletic as well as the social hub of the Club. The 24-floor facility includes two restaurants, a cocktail lounge, library, ballroom, billiard room, meeting rooms, and eight floors of guest rooms for members and club guests. The athletic training floors include a swimming pool, basketball courts, boxing rings, a fencing and wrestling room, judo floor, and squash courts.
Named for Wall Street businessman William R. Travers, who arranged for its purchase in 1886, Travers Island is the NYAC's summer home on Long Island Sound. It consists of the Main House and other buildings and facilities that sit on 30 acres of handsomely landscaped grounds. Centered around the Main House, the Olympic-sized salt water pool and accompanying cabanas, Travers Island extends the range of NYAC sports to include tennis, rowing, yachting, outdoor swimming and diving, a children's Day Camp, rugby, soccer, croquet and lacrosse.
The Club offers many sports, including rowing, wrestling, boxing, fencing, basketball, rugby union, soccer, tennis, handball, squash, and at least a dozen others not listed here.
[edit] Mercury Cup Series
The NYAC's Mercury Cup series is the premier regional fencing event in North America. The series includes a number of épée tournaments, ending each season with the famous 'Epeepalooza' event. Competitors earn points based on final placements at each tournament, with the champion being the highest ranked fencer at the conclusion of the season.
The Mercury Cup has proven successful due to the club's prestige, corporate sponsorship, and the event's extraordinarily high-level of competition.
2005 - 2006 Épée Series
Mercury Cup #1: Noah Zucker
Mercury Cup #2: Alexander Abend
Mercury Cup #3: Alexander Abend
Mercury Cup #4: Mykhaylo Mokretsov
Mercury Cup #5: Alexander Abend
Mercury Cup #6: Alex Tsinis
2006 Mercury Cup Champion: Alexander Abend
2006 - 2007 Épée Series
Mercury Cup #1: Alexander Abend
Mercury Cup #2: Alexander Abend
Mercury Cup #3: Soren Thompson
Mercury Cup #4: Alexander Abend
Mercury Cup #5: Brendan Baby
Mercury Cup #6: Tommi Hurme
2007 Mercury Cup Champion: Alexander Abend
2007 - 2008 Épée Series
Mercury Cup #1: Alexander Abend
Mercury Cup #2: Bas Verwijlen
Mercury Cup #3: Tommi Hurme
Mercury Cup #4: Jon Normile
Beginning with the 2007-2008 season, the NYAC is also holding a Mercury Cup series in sabre. As with épée, competitors earn points based on final placements at each tournament, with the champion being the highest ranked fencer at the conclusion of the season-ending Sabrage event.
2007 - 2008 Sabre Series
Mercury Cup #1: Sergey Isayenko
Mercury Cup #2: Ben Igoe
Mercury Cup #3: Sergey Isayenko
2008 Mercury Cup Sabre Champion: Sergey Isayenko
[edit] Other Notable Events
In November 2003, the club was the site of a four game chess match between Garry Kasparov and the computer program X3D Fritz. In November 2005, the Saturday morning program, the children's program run by the club gathered nearly $17,000 dollars for the Ronald McDonald House run, an event which the program has participated in for several years.
