Showbiz Foils: USA Fencing Courts Hollywood on the Road to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles

En garde! Fencing is having a moment in America, and USA Fencing is looking to ride that momentum into the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Leaders of USA Fencing, the governing body for fencing in the U.S. and part of the U.S. Olympic Committee, have been making the rounds in Hollywood of late as part of a campaign to capitalize on the growing interest in the centuries-old sport described as “physical chess.”

“People found new things to try in the pandemic, and fencing was one of those things,” says Phil Andrews, CEO of USA Fencing.

The ranks of industry insiders who have joined fencing clubs in recent years has grown, along with the number of clubs in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Los Angeles and Orange County, among other major cities. USA Fencing is emphasizing the history of fencing in film as it looks to generate enthusiasm for the sport in Hollywood that will eventually resonate with the general public.

At the same time, fencing is also touting is status as an Ivy League favorite, a discipline that has historically appealed to artists and egghead-y types including engineers, architects, finance and technical wizards, as well as artists.

“It’s a sport where a lot of intellect is required. One of the things the world underestimates about the creative industries is how vastly intelligent a lot of creative folks actually are,” says Andrews. “Juilliard is not known for its sport, but it could put together a legitimate club fencing team, if not varsity team.”

At a recent gathering held in the outdoor plaza at UTA headquarters in Beverly Hills, a small group of boldface names (including Misha Green, Robin Swicord, Jurnee Smollett) mingled and enjoyed a fencing demonstration by two top Team USA hopefuls, Nick Itkin and Bryce Louie. Laura Karpman, a composer who has worked on numerous Marvel TV series, disclosed that she will compose a special fanfare theme for Team Fencing as it travels the road of tournaments and qualifying events for the 2028 Summer Games.

Karpman tells Variety there is a clear parallel between the process of writing music and the strategy it takes to compete with a foil in hand. The pandemic shutdown prompted her to revisit fencing after having tried it as a youth. It grew on her as a source of inspiration and stress relief.

“That kind of experiential learning and the connection between the heart the mind and the physicality of it all is very much like learning music,” Karpman says. “I can tell you that at the end of scoring a superhero film, nothing feels better than getting out there and stabbing.”

Fencing has seen a surge of interest in other unexpected pockets, from urban hubs across Asia to Kentucky. The rise of K-pop rapper Jackson Wang, who was a competitive fencer before turning his attention to music, has also spurred awareness of the sport among Gen Z and Gen Alpha. The swordplay seen in Netflix’s “Wednesday,” “Kpop Demon Hunters” and other anime films has also driven interest, Andrews says. This cumulative effect has made USA Fencing redouble its outreach to Hollywood, especially given the location of the 2028 games.

“After ‘Wednesday’ came out [in 2022], you see yet another wave of people becoming interested in fencing because of entertainment,” Andrews says.

USA Fencing is exploring options for more long-form storytelling around fencing. Andrews, like every other sports executive, has taken note of the “Drive to Survive” model that revved up interest in Formula 1 racing through the success of the Netfix docu-series that put a human face on the drivers and explained the intricacies of the F1 racing universe. At present key fencing TV rights are held in the U.S. by CNBC — a sign of the appeal of the sport to C-suite types.

With a host of young competitors coming into the mix and streaming platforms hungry for sports rights, Andrews feels confident that fencing’s profile will grow. And he knows that the LA 28 games will be a crucial accelerant.

At the competitive level, fencing requires a great deal of coordination and physical exertion. Karpman is an evangelist for the sport as being one that amateur hobbyists can grow with over time.

“Talk about an anti-aging sport. It’s all about balance. It’s quick decisions, it’s aerobic, it’s using your mind and your body, and it literally ticks off every box in terms of what people should be doing as they get older. I just think it’s the next great undeveloped sport.”