Timber! Axe Throwers go to worlds
Paul MacInnis and John Hughes like to throw axes.
Their shared passion has driven them to compete internationally for a $15,000 USD prize in Tucson, Arizona.
They are participating in the 2019 World Axe Throwing Championship in December.
“There are going to be people from multiple countries there,” said MacInnis, owner and founder of HaliMac, a company that runs axe-throwing clubs in Kentville and Halifax.
MacInnis sees high-profile events like the world championship as proof of axe throwing’s ascendancy to a more recognized and respected sport.
“It’s growing exponentially, in terms of popularity, and people’s skill levels in it,” MacInnis said. “We’re excited to be part of it.”
In order to qualify for the world championships, an aspiring axe-throwing champion has to do two things: score enough points over the course of the season to be ranked in the top 12 point-getters in the world and win in their own local league.
“We have a pretty robust league here in Kentville, which is actually amazing,” MacInnis explained. “Once all the local league winners are ranked from top to bottom, the top 12 players get an invitation to the world championships.”
The level of competition made for quite a challenge for MacInnis and Hughes.
Although they practice together, Hughes and MacInnis never directly competed in their pursuit of the world championships, with Hughes qualifying at the Kentville HaliMac venue, and MacInnis qualifying while competing in Halifax.
“We are buddies outside of axe throwing and I’m not sure there are people who spend more time chatting about axes together than John and I,” MacInnis said. “The fact that we’ve gone from just throwing together in Kentville to hopping on a flight to Arizona together to compete internationally is a pretty amazing experience for sure.”
Part of their experience entailed building the level of skill they needed to compete at the international level.
Hughes had a quick and straightforward answer when asked how to build skill as an axe thrower: “Watch a lot of video. Watch all the top throwers and take every piece you can get from them,” he said. “Then, try to bring it into your own game and pass it on to other people in the league, so they get good.”
Hughes started watching footage of other axe throwers in 2018, watching the first U.S. Open. It became a habit, he noted, the following year, when he watched the world championships.
“I saw some stuff from those, and it started to make sense,” Hughes said.
Reflecting on how far they have come in the last half a year, Hughes described the process as “crazy.”
“Paul and myself started throwing together, trying to figure out how to be better, but never really imagined at that point that we’d be where we’re at,” Hughes said. “It’s kind of mind boggling in a lot of ways.”
A game-changing moment for both axe throwers occurred when HaliMac Axe Throwing in Halifax hosted the Canadian Open in March 2019.
“The throws were different, and the mechanics were different, and everything has been completely different ever since,” said MacInnis, describing the Canadian Open.
To prepare for the next level of competition, the duo is practicing as often as they can.
“Not enough,” Hughes laughs, when asked how often he practices. “I mean, we practice, but it’s tough. Paul owns this business, so that takes a lot of time. I work here, so when I get a chance to throw, I throw.”
If they had the time, they said they’d devote most days of their week to practice.
“But if we’re lucky it’s maybe one to two days a week,” Hughes said.
There are four main seasons for axe throwing in the run of a year. In each season, 12 players from around the world qualify for the world championship. MacInnis and Hughes qualified in the fall.
Participants can also qualify for the world-level competition based on their performance in a previous world championship, other tournaments like the Canadian and U.S. Open, and a wildcard tournament that takes place briefly before the world championship.
“We’re going to be two of a whole bunch of people travelling to Tucson to throw very few axes,” MacInnis said.