OREM — They say it is like playing chess — at 80 miles per hour.

En garde. Lunge. Parry. Lunge. Disengage. Lunge. Parry. Counterparry. Score.

They also say it is a bit like a ballet — on a narrow track, with 35 inches of metal in your hand.

Attack. Fall back. Defend. Feint. Attack.

They call it the sport of knights, the modern descendant of 17th century dueling.

They call it fencing.

It's a great sport, says Bethany Andrews, who was on the fencing team at Brigham Young University — until the school dropped the program. In 1996 she and fellow fencer Julie Seal started the Utah Valley Sport Fencing Club in Orem.

"Fencing is very athletic, but it's also a mental game," she says. "And there are so many things that can make you good. Being tall — or being short. Intelligence. Demeanor. Fencing is unique in that it teaches students to use the talents and qualities they already possess to their advantage."

She also likes it because "it's a very individual sport. You win or you lose. But it teaches you to face your fears. It teaches self-esteem."

There are currently four fencing clubs in Utah. Besides the one in Orem, there are clubs in Park City, Ogden/Salt Lake City and Kaysville. A few high schools have fencing teams, but the popularity of the sport has taken an interesting track, says Ron Hendricks, coach of Wasatch Fencing Club in Kaysville, who has also been involved in Utah's youth fencing league since its beginning.

Fencing used to be very popular at the college level, he says. In the 1980s, all the colleges had teams. "It was so popular that in 1991 Utah hosted the national championships. But we looked around at that time and realized there were only four youth in the state who were fencing, and if the sport was to grow, we needed to get the youth involved."

Since then, fencing has become a lot more popular outside the universities. "In fact, many of the universities have dropped their programs."

It is a sport you can get into very quickly, he says. And yet, it can take a long time to truly master.

Six years ago, the youth league began with 30 students. At the end of last year, there were about 175 kids, ages 8 to 19, participating in the sport. A tournament this past weekend in Orem brought together about 135 fencers from Utah's four clubs, as well as a group from Pocatello, Idaho.

In competitions, the students earn a rating, ranging from A to E, with A being highest. Those who have not earned a rating are designated with a U for unrated. "Tournaments help them move up in the ratings," explained Garry Bryant, who got involved in fencing a few years ago because he saw it as a way to do something with his sons. (When health problems prevented Bryant from actively fencing, he became the armorer for the league, which, he says, is the fancy name for a repairman. "It's my job to fix anything that's broken.")