Though people throw around the word “sport” as though it’s just one thing, that’s of course a blanket way to use the term. There are dozens of sports that have risen up to the mainstream in the United States, many more if you count those around the world. Even the world’s most widely known athletic competition, the Olympics, does not include popular sports like American football and cricket, while at the same time highlighting smaller niche sports like archery, curling, and yes fencing.
That reality got me to thinking, how niche is our niche sport? Unlike many other sports, it seems like even people who have never dreamed of fencing know at least that it is out there. The footprint of our sport is bigger than that of say rowing or polo. Maybe it’s because of the history or the movies, or because everyone picked up sticks in the backyard when they were kids. However though everyone seems to have an idea of what fencing is, the sport itself is extraordinarily small.
The holidays are almost here! By almost we mean they’re right around the corner and we can see them pulling into the driveway. But oh no, you’ve forgotten to get the gift for them that you meant to pick up and now you’re feeling like a heel. There’s got to be a solution!
It’s a common thing that people don’t understand which color of fencing scoring lights belongs to which fencer. Parents often 
Google “fencing” and you’ll get results that look like this:
Fencers tend to be pretty 
