Eighteen hours of driving can take a toll. The car ride from Massachusetts to Georgia was brutal with melting sun the first day and endless rain on the second. Had I not been sick the whole way down, it might have been more tolerable but that was my choice. I was going to compete no matter what!
Atlanta, Georgia has become an amazing city since I last visited 30 years ago. The skyline is striking, the food is remarkable and the streets are reasonable to navigate. The Works Upper Westside neighborhood where American Axes is located was particularly appealing. Full of eateries and small parks this area was a fun stop for getting drinks or to watch my girl Iris throw down at the Hatchet Marathon.
The Hatchet Marathon was just one of a number of side events to keep throwers busy and amused. There was also a cash tournament, a women's tournament and a throw with the Pro's clinic. That last one was kinda redundant because to throw with a pro all you had to do was show up at almost any practice. The Pros were happily helping the amateurs and giving out free advice.
Dan Fisher, Jacob Crossan and the crew who run American Axes were very hospitable and welcoming. This was most apparent at the after party which was a wild celebration complete with food, drinks, karaoke in the dark, beer pong, trash can basketball and spontaneous line dancing. Iris and I brought balloons and glows sticks that were quickly adorned by all.
Over at Bad Axe Throwing which was only a mile and a half away, the amateur championship was rolling through three days of matches. My girl Iris and our friend Kev Fang competed on Friday. Kev put in a strong showing and made it through to Saturday where I also got to compete due to a bye based on circuit points. While the Friday matches included a lot of first time tournament throwers, Saturday was a huge step up in competition.
In groups of five you would play everyone in your squad in two out three bouts for a winner. That would determine the top two who would move to the finals on Sunday. I had 4 crazy matches which included a comeback from a drop against Marcus Morant who thankfully shook me out of my nervousness. Then a sudden death shoot off against Andrew Sudol was decided by the narrowest of measurements. By some miracle I made it to Stage 3.
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This was also a moral victory because I was dealing with that lingering illness that kept me weak and often in pain. I was constantly washing my hands and going outside to cough or take medicine. I had minimal sleep and a truckload of nightmares. Were it not for Iris keeping my energy up, I'm not sure I would have competed at all.
As for performance I can't complain. These were high quality opponents in really tough matches. In truth it was some of the best throwing I have ever done. In 7 total matches over 2 days I managed a 4-3 record with 43 bullseyes. My high scores were in the low 50's with 6 out of 12 killshots. I came in 30th out of 164 and the Guy who knocked me out of the tournament came in 15th.
When asked if I was going to stick around till the end to take photos, I needed to remind myself that I am no longer a sports reporter. Having said that, I couldn't help but congratulate Tommy Runkle when I met him at the after party. Tommy had qualified by winning the prestigious Throhio event. He told me that he used the habits he had learned that day here at Am Champs to keep himself focused. It clearly worked. He swept the field with an undefeated run!
He also won the Pro/Am Duals tournament with his partner Noah Vargas. Tommy proved to be an incredible talent and a fun guy to hang out with. I look forward to seeing how he does at the World Championships.
For many the real prize was seeing so many people from the Axe throwing community in one place. I got to meet throwers that I have only ever seen on ESPN including Sebastian Arnold, Krissy Teets and Leslie Wellman, who was my judge on Stage 2. I was excited to meet some Florida throwers (My adopted state) like Austin Sheppard and Dalton Wilson who helped my confidence with a couple practice matches.
Who impressed me the most? Davontae Washington. Davontae only started throwing last January, same time as me and yet he climbed all the way up into 12th and earned a bid to Worlds! Way to go!
What impressed me the most? Everyone's willingness to help other throwers. It was clear that this community cares about the sport and the people who do it. Everyone wants to see it thrive and grow.
I was tempted to make a list of shout outs to all the athletes I spoke with but we'd be here all day. What I will say is thank you to everyone who was bold enough to introduce themselves, I enjoyed putting faces to the Facebook names. I reveled in this experience and I can't wait to do it again.
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