From Our Lanes to the World Championships
Most people walk into the Hatchet Barn for a birthday or a first date. Some of them never really leave. They come back on league night, then every league night, and a few of them end up on a plane to the world championships.
That is exactly what happened here. Nine throwers who practice in these lanes qualified for the World Axe and Knife Throwing Championships in Wisconsin, and FOX 13 Tampa Bay came out to the barn to meet them before they went.
Nine Throwers, One Barn
Among them was Leo Brnada, who had taken second place at the national championships in Arizona only weeks earlier, losing out to a thrower who was already a world champion. Not a bad way to arrive at worlds.
Most of the team picked up an axe for the first time within the last few years. Not one of them started as a professional. They started the same way you would, on a walk-in lane with a coach showing them where to put their feet.
What the Coaches Are Actually Teaching
Coach Dan Steel put the whole sport about as plainly as it can be put. Speaking to FOX 13, he described the target simply: “A blue dot is a kill shot.”
That is the difference between throwing axes for fun and throwing them competitively. Everyone learns to stick a blade in the wood. League play is about putting it exactly where you meant to, on purpose, under pressure, with people watching.
The Part That Keeps People Coming Back
Ask anyone in our league what keeps them here and you will not hear much about scores. Thrower Jonathan Beard told FOX 13 that “it's almost like we've all become family.”
That is the honest answer. The competition is real, the standings are real, and people absolutely want to win. But most nights it is nine or ninety people in a converted garage, drinking something cold from the brewery next door and yelling for someone else's bullseye.
You Start in the Same Place They Did
There is no tryout and no experience required. Our league seasons run nine weeks and every skill level throws, from people who have never held a hatchet to the ones with national hardware. Hatchet, Big Axe, Duals and Knives each run as their own league.
Come throw a few. See if it sticks.
Quotes reported by FOX 13 Tampa Bay, “Local axe throwers head to world championships,” Sean Barie. Read the original story and watch the segment.