The modern sport of axe throwing involves a competitor throwing an

axe An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has ma ...

at a target, attempting to hit the bullseye as near as possible. Axe throwing has historically been an event in

lumberjack Lumberjacks are mostly North American workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to loggers in the era (before 1945 in the Unite ...

competitions. As of the fall of 2020 there are commercial locations in Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and Poland where participants can compete, similar to dart throwing, as well as opportunities at

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

s and some

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

Rules

Depending on the type of league, there are different boards and scoring, but the board needs to be made of wood. Generally the wood for axe throwing targets are made from cottonwood, poplar wood or pine wood. In 2020 there were two very popular leagues: IATF (International Axe Throwing Federation, formerly

National Axe Throwing Federation The National Axe Throwing Federation (NATF) is a global organization established in the United States in 2016 for the sport of axe throwing. NATF has over 4,500 league members in over 55 cities and seven countries. Its leagues culminate in the Na ...

) and WATL (

World Axe Throwing League The World Axe Throwing League (WATL) is the global governing body of urban axe throwing. WATL was founded in 2017 by representatives from Canada, the United States of America, Brazil and Ireland. It has 19 axe throwing nations with membership. M ...

). IATF targets have 4 zones: 3 main and 1 extra – the clutch. WATL targets have 5 main zones and 1 extra. The distance of the throwing line to the target should be around to allow the axe to rotate only once, but every league has its own rules for games, distance, board and even axes. For example, when playing IATF classic league matches, the majority of the blade in the board counts but in the WATL it is enough to touch the line to have a point. Matches of both leagues are individual. The common rule is that thrower must not step over the throwing line before the axe hits or misses the target; a thrower who steps over the line gets 0 points. Before the competition, a special target for practice throws must be made available. Throwers practicing on the competition target will be disqualified from the competition. There are also championships in other games or trickshots. There are two main sizes of axes using in the leagues: small () for normal rounds and big () for "tiebreakers". Weights previously written apply only to the blade. The rules of IATF allow to play only axes with wooden handles, WATL does not have any restrictions.

History

Ming Culture Village - axe throwing - P1060946

While axe throwing has been a part of

woodsman Woodsman (also, woodsmen, pl.) is a competitive, co-ed intercollegiate sport in the United States, Canada and elsewhere based on various skills traditionally part of forestry educational and technical training programs. In North America, the sp ...

and timbersports for some time, the resurgent popularity of axe throwing leagues and clubs has been tied to the 2006 formation of the Backyard Axe Throwing League. Sport axe throwing started in Europe around 2001, with enthusiasts rist gathering in rural settings, and later formalising their sport under the EuroThrowers umbrella. In 2016, the first commercial axe throwing venues started to open in the UK and Poland. As of 2020, there are hundreds of axe throwing venues across Canada, USA, Australia, Europe and Thailand. The typical axe throwing venue in North America has at least five lanes and a place to sit, watch and write down points. There may also be bars serving beer and other drinks or snacks. The sessions last around 1–2 hours.

Hazards

Lexington Barbecue Festival - lumberjack 1

The sport of axe throwing deals with a dangerous weapon, so the throwing area must be kept safe at all times. Axe throwing has the possibility to cause serious injury or even death. If there is an open area behind the target, then spectators and others should be plainly prevented from walking into said area. The target area should be taped off using flags or light fencing materials. A first aid kit and a person trained in first aid and CPR should be at hand in the event of an emergency. For competition in rural and remote areas, the GPS location for the event should be reported in the case of

first responder A first responder is a person with specialized training who is among the first to arrive and provide assistance or incident resolution at the scene of an emergency, such as an accident, disaster, medical emergency, structure fire, crime, or terr ...

s being needed.

Organisations

The

is the global governing body of urban axe throwing. The

, founded in the United States, has over 4,500 league members in over 55 cities and seven countries. The umbrella association for non-commercial axe throwing sports clubs in Europe is the European Throwing Club Flying Blades (EuroThrowers). With more than 250 direct members from 15 nations, it standardises the competition rules for Europe, which are adhered to by its more than 25 member clubs. The annual World Knife Throwing and Axe Throwing Championship takes place in a different country each year.

References

External links