In the lead-up to the first fencing events on July 27, members of the U.S. Olympic fencing team have been busy exploring the Olympic Village, trading pins, and learning new sports. Here’s what they have been up to.

Upon arrival in Paris, each fencer moved into the Olympic Village. Men's sabre fencers and Olympic Village roommates Eli Dershwitz and Mitchell Saron took stock of their room, checked out the welcome swag bags, and tested the sturdiness of their cardboard beds. They then toured the gym, posed for a group photo, and concluded move-in day with an ice bath.

Athlete processing, also known as the Team USA Welcome Experience, was the fencers’ first stop after moving into the Olympic Village. In this area, they and other athletes were fitted for their Opening and Closing Ceremonies outfits, placed orders for their Olympic rings, and received a variety of merchandise from Team USA sponsors. The gifts ranged from sunglasses and duffle bags to sweats and swimwear.

Snoop Dogg surprised the women’s foil team as they were trying on their podium outfits at the Team USA Welcome Experience. Foil fencer Lauren Scruggs was in disbelief when she realized Snoop Dogg was standing next to her.

Snoop Dogg couldn’t get enough of fencing, so he even stopped by to greet the women’s sabre team while they were practicing and borrowed Maia Chamberlain’s weapon. He also told foil fencer Jacqueline Dubrovich that he'll be attending the fencing events "in an interesting outfit."

"I don't know what that means," Dubrovich said.

Foil fencing couple Lee Kiefer and Gerek Meinhardt checked out the wall display of Kiefer’s gold medal-winning moment from the women’s individual foil event at the Tokyo Olympics in the Athlete365 House. Here, athletes can relax after a day of training and play video games, shoot some hoops, and throw darts.

Picky eaters need not worry. They can choose from over 500 food items within the Olympic Village. Saron feasted on hard-boiled eggs, salmon, and a yogurt bowl. 

“I’ve been so impressed with the food…it’s delicious, feels healthy, and there’s even raw cheese,” Saron wrote in his newsletter.

Foil fencers Alexander Massialas and Miles Chamley-Watson discovered hidden talents when they learned moves from Team USA gymnasts Simone Biles and Leanne Wong. Wong taught Massialas how to do a backwards roll while Biles recorded Chamley-Watson doing a handstand.

Who knows? With their talent trajectory, Massialas and Chamley-Watson may be able to compete in a second sport at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Massialas and Chamley-Watson are not the only athletes trying out new sports before the Opening Ceremony. Beach volleyball players Miles Evans and Chase Budinger borrowed sabres for a friendly bout.

Dershwitz and Saron ran into Spanish tennis players Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz while exploring the village.

A few days later, Saron and his men's sabre teammates Colin Heathcock and Filip Dolegiewicz met track and field sprinter Noah Lyles.

It wouldn’t be the Olympics without pin trading. Defending women’s foil gold medalist Kiefer is embracing all things pins by buying multiple fencing pins from the Olympic merchandise store and trading with athletes from Fiji, Estonia, and Malaysia. Her favorite thus far? The boba pin from Chinese Taipei.

Pin trading could be an Olympic sport, but the hottest commodity in the Olympic Village is condoms. Three hundred thousand condoms were made for the 2024 Paris Olympics, double the amount produced for the Tokyo Olympics, which had an intimacy ban. Each of the condoms feature Phryge, the 2024 Paris Olympic mascot, along with phrases such as, “Don’t share more than victory: Protect yourself against STDs.” Kiefer visited the health clinic to stock up on four designs before they run out.

Despite all the activity in the Olympic Village, Team USA fencers are ready to put their game faces on starting July 27.  The individual women’s epee and men’s sabre eliminations begin at 4 a.m. ET (NBCOlympics.com, Peacock) and bronze/gold finals scheduled for 1 p.m. ET (NBCOlympics.com, Peacock).