A New Favorite Sport...

This weekend Andrew and I moved a little out of our comfort zones when we tried a new sport – axe throwing. According to Wikipedia, this sport is already quite popular in Canada and the UK. This is not something either of us probably would have tried had it not been for winning a Groupon (gift certificate) for a 1.5-Hour Axe Throwing Session for Two at Andrew’s company’s party in January.  As the Groupon expired at the end of March, we needed to get it scheduled soon, so we picked a time slot for Saturday and showed up at Stars Indoor Sports for our 2pm session.

Neither of us had any idea what to expect, though at least I got the dress code right, which was loose, casual clothing – flannel shirts & wool hats optional (though there were a few wearing that). Maybe next time I will wear the single flannel shirt I own and either my red or my brown cowboy boots with a pair of jeans. I say next time, because I would definitely go again.  

Our session started out with everyone taking turns with a few practice throws (which is definitely necessary both for your safety and that of everyone else).  

When I say ‘everyone,’ I mean our group of nine: Andrew & me, another couple, and a family of five. We were each instructed to come up with our own lumberjack-themed names, so I chose ‘Slayer’ (big fan of Buffy!) and Andrew chose ‘Wild Bill.’ My favorite names were: Axebert Einstein (who I think was on Andrew’s team) and Smart Axe. Next we chose team names. My team was ‘The Killers,’ (not my choice) and Andrew was part of ‘Kenny Loggins’ Kids.’ Another funny team name I liked was ‘Pains in the Axe.’

The first game we played was HORSE, though in this case, it was TIMBER. Each time the other team outscored you, you had to write another letter on your board. First team to make it to TIMBER are the losers (in this case, that was our team). Second game was 31. This was played like the Darts version where each team starts out with 31 points and gradually subtracts (depending on the amount of points scored where the axe lands) with the ultimate goal being to get down to exactly 0. I think our team won this (not sure, but I know we won at least one of the games).

The third game, best of three, was Tic Tac Toe, where each team gets to choose a position for their X or O depending on where the axe lands. The number scored on the board determines the position. Andrew’s team won two out of three, so they came out victorious.

The last game was Survivor where each of us was gradually eliminated depending on how we scored. The winner got the body part of their choosing (or someone else’s) stamped with the words, ‘LUMBER LORD.’ I think Axebert Einstein won this distinction, and he seemed proud of it.

I would say my axe landed on the board at least half the time (it always hit the board, but didn’t always penetrate), and Andrew did slightly better making it stick perhaps 60% of the time. Either way, both of us managed to hold our own without letting our teammates down.

Unlike some sports, I’d say everyone has an equal chance of success here. Some of the bigger (taller) team members occasionally threw their axes too hard so that they bounced back, so there’s definitely a certain finesse to the throws. Based on our success, I didn’t leave feeling discouraged, so I would be open to going again. It was fun trying something different and actually doing halfway decent.