TAMPA, Fla. — In the inaugural Olympic Games in 1896, there were just nine sports included in the competition. Fencing was one of those sports, and it is still going strong today.

The sport itself can be difficult to understand and certainly difficult to play, but the Tampa Fencing Academy helps kids like Beata Jubilee get the hang of it.

“First thing is to be confident because if you’re not confident on the strip you’re not really gonna do good and second thing always think strategically because if you don’t think strategically because this is mostly a thinking sport it’s more mental than physical,” Jubilee said.

Jubilee seems to have it all figured out, and she’s only 10 years old! She started when she was seven, watching her older sister play it, so she ditched gymnastics and gave it a try.

“I love making new friends because you can travel all around the world and make new friends. It’s just so fun because I’m a social butterfly and I always meet new friends at tournaments,” Jubilee said.

She made some friends and perhaps some enemies earlier this year at the USA Fencing Y10 Epee National Competition. She cleared pool play and direct eliminations and won the national championship. She is now the No. 1 ranked 10-year-old fencer in the country.

“Well, I just tried my best and said, ‘Don’t stress it. It’s OK if you don’t get, like, first, first place.’ But, surprisingly, I got first place,” Jubilee said.

“Her natural skills because she’s a natural and the work that she does with us here stability, fencing is building character, building effort, building resilience,” Tampa Fencing Academy coach Enrique Claro said.

Now, Jubilee is already filling up her trophy case. She went to the USA Fencing national championships in Portland, Oregon last week and won a bronze medal in Y10 Epee, holding onto her spot as the No. 1 ranked 10-year-old fencer.

After all these achievements, it’s safe to say she’s getting pretty popular in school.

“They’re like, ‘No way.’ I’m like, ‘yeah’ and they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, Beata, you did so good.’ And I said, ‘Thank you,’ and they said, ‘We’re gonna need to add this on your poster.’ I was like, poster what?” Jubilee said.

She didn’t just get a poster. Her parents made her a batch of Beata Bobbleheads!

Now, Jubilee will keep training and get ready for the next jump up to Y12 competition when she turns 11.

“I’m working on better strategies, maybe to do better fakes so I can lure in the opponent and take six and stuff, and yeah, just improve in fencing,” Jubilee said.

“She’s the type of person that — I have this saying — whatever I throw at her, she catches it and says, ‘What else you got?’ OK, not once does she say, ‘I don’t want to go to fencing practice.’ Not once does she say, ‘I’m tired,’” said James Jubilee, Beata’s father.

Beata is also on the dance team at school and plays piano, models, and acts.