USA Fencing Names NextShark an Official Media Partner

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — USA Fencing has named NextShark an Official Media Partner, pairing the national governing body with one of the most widely followed media brands covering Asian American and Pacific Islander news, culture and community on an integral but non-exclusive basis

The partnership takes effect Aug. 1 and centers on two goals: telling the stories of AAPI fencers to an audience that rarely sees them, and giving people who have never picked up a fencing weapon an easy first step into the sport.

Under the agreement, NextShark will distribute, along with other partners, the next season of "The Fencing Show" to its channels, produce social storytelling built around USA Fencing athletes, and promote USA Fencing’s Try Fencing program, which connects newcomers of any age to beginner classes at clubs near them. NextShark will also provide creative direction and audience guidance to USA Fencing's content team, and will serve as an advocate for the sport across its platforms.

NextShark will also become a partner of USA Fencing’s pioneering Creator Showdown, due to be hosted in New York City this September 21-23. 

Fencing has one of the deepest benches of AAPI talent in the American Olympic and Paralympic movement, from Olympic champion Lee Kiefer OLY to teenagers like Jaelyn Liu who are rewriting the record books on the junior circuit; to Jataya Taylor PLY looking ahead to her second Paralympic team and Bryce Louie trying to make his first Olympic roster

The scale of that community sets fencing apart. Forty-six percent of USA Fencing's members identify as AAPI, the highest share of any sport in the United States, and 40% of the U.S. fencing team at the Paris 2024 Olympics were AAPI athletes. Fencing also has the highest percentage of AAPI and Asian athletes of any NCAA sport, and it is the fastest growing sport in the AAPI community. Those athletes and families have built an enormous following inside fencing. This partnership is designed to carry it well beyond.

NextShark’s founder has firsthand experience with the AAPI journey in sport. CEO and Founder Benny Luo was a nationally ranked junior badminton player before founding NextShark and later served on USA Badminton’s Athletes Representative Council, representing athlete interests within the sport’s national governing body.

"Some of the best stories in American fencing belong to our proud AAPI athletes," says Phil Andrews, CEO of USA Fencing. "Our community knows those names. The rest of the country doesn't, yet. NextShark has spent years earning the trust of an audience that cares deeply about these stories, and that makes them exactly the right partner as we build toward Los Angeles in 2028. We're also asking their audience to do one simple thing: find a club and try our fencing. That's exactly how our Olympians and Paralympians started."

“As a former competitive badminton player, I see a lot of similarities between badminton and fencing,” Luo says. “USA Fencing has built an incredible community with so many talented AAPI athletes who deserve more recognition outside the sport. We’re excited to work together to tell their stories to a wider audience and hopefully inspire more people to find a local club and try fencing for themselves.”

The partnership's first joint project comes Sept. 21-23, when NextShark serves as media amplification partner for USA Fencing's Creator Showdown at the Seaport in New York City, where some of the biggest creators on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube will pair up with elite fencers to experience our sport and showcase it to their audiences. USA Fencing will handle venue access, athlete coordination and content capture on site, and NextShark will publish highlights and social content from the event.

Additional activations are planned across the year, including a "Road to LA28" reception and joint campaigns to be announced.

USA Fencing is the national governing body for the Olympic and Paralympic sport of fencing in the United States, dedicated to inspiring a lifetime enriched by fencing. Headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA Fencing is recognized by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, the International Fencing Federation (FIE) and World Abilitysport and serves more than 50,000 members and 750 clubs nationwide. For more information, visit usafencing.org.

NextShark is a leading media and culture company serving Asian Americans and the global Asian diaspora. Founded in 2013, its digital and social platforms generate more than 100 million monthly views. Its work spans journalism, award-winning films and brand campaigns, original entertainment, live experiences, sports and ventures. For more information, visit nextshark.com.