Flinging axes around for sport in the middle of Wicklow
REPORTER DAVID MEDCALF JOINED THE WICKLOW AXE THROWERS AS THEY PREPARED TO HOST THE IRISH OPEN
OF all the playthings in the world, one of the most extraordinary must be a hefty double-bladed axe. But deep in the heart of Wicklow, a merry bunch of enthusiasts are tossing axes around for fun. They have discovered a sport which is a bit like darts and a bit like an ancient Viking battle.
This is a pastime which does exactly what it says – axe throwing requires participants to, yes, throw axes.
And the axes they throw are not little hatchets designed to rustle up some kindling for the fire on a winter’s night.
These axes are full-blooded weapons, the sight of them conjuring up thoughts of mediaeval blood-letting. They are so heavy that almost all axe throwers need to use two hands when chucking them at targets.
The very best axe thrower in the world uses a one-handed technique, but he is an enormous Canadian who is spoken of with undisguised awe by mere mortals.
Axe throwing is certainly not a sport practised on every street corner in Ireland, though it has a growing following in this country.
And its profile is being given a boost as the axe throwers of Wicklow host the Irish Open inviting all comers to Greenan on July 14/15.
The result is that throwers from Germa- ny, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK are all lined up to join the locals in the hills above Rathdrum for a couple of days of sport and comradeship.
Rumour has it that one or two Canadians may also be accepted as late entries, with at least 60 expected to line up on the day.
‘We are a very mixed group,’ muses Matthew Wilson from Greystones on the make-up of the Wicklow Axe Throwers club.
Some members are very much outdoor types, such as Heath Dawson who gives lectures in survival and foraging techniques.
But Matthew in contrast earns his living as an IT consultant, who runs a community internet forum for all comers in the town where he lives.
He also enjoys sailing but has taken to this latest dry-land activity with enthusiasm.
He traces the rise of axe throwing in Ireland back to the initiative taken by Ashley Glover when he imported an axe from Sweden a just three years ago. Ashley has proven not only a natural high achiever as a thrower on his own account but also an inspiration to others to take up this novel pastime.
The format is simple enough. Axes must weigh at least two pounds and have two blades. The throwing line is 21 feet from the target. The bullseye on the target comprises a cross section of a tree and it is set five feet off the ground. To score, a competitor must lodge the axe in the target, counting five points for a bullseye, four points for the next ring out from the centre and so on down to one point for the outermost ring.
‘ The first skill is to reach the target,’ says club member Bernard Farrell, stating the obvious with a grin, ‘ then to get near the scoring area consistently.’
Honing these basics is undertaken in a big barn in Newtownmountkennedy where the club has established its training facility. However, the Irish Open event is being staged out of doors in a grassy field at the Greenan Maze complex surrounded by mature sycamore and Spanish chestnut trees. Bernard and Ashley are both experienced archers, though the finely judged technique involved with bow and arrow turns out to be completely different. The orthodox axe throwing method requires participants to hold their weapons behind them as though seeking to scratch their backs.
Then they launch their axes forward in a controlled arc over their heads and off towards the target, completing one graceful revolution on the way through the air.
Axe throwing is big news in Canada and in Sweden, two countries blessed with plenty of trees and plenty of lumberjacks.
It makes sense that forest workers would turn their everyday skills into a game, the rules of which have been increasingly codified and standardised in recent years.
Other nations have joined in, notably the Germans, who are due to arrive at Greenan in good number for the big event.
‘IT IS VERY MUCH up and coming,’ says Matthew, who reveals one secret of the appeal of axe throwing. ‘It is very sociable – you have the chance to stand around and chat.’ Among those joining the conversation are Tallis Dixon who has developed his own very individual one-handed style and Vaughan Mason who is a mountain rescue volunteer.
It is logical that Wicklow, with all its forestry, should be the pioneer of axe throwing in Ireland, though reports suggest that Dublin and Galway will not be far behind, with Carlow and Cavan maybe to follow.
The standard competition format involved six targets and six throwers.
The throwers all launch their axes at around the same time, filling the arena
with flying metal. Once the coast is clear, the adjudicators then inspect the targets and call out the scores which are compiled on a computer spread sheet housed in the boot of a jeep.
Each thrower takes six throws, moving between throws from one target to the next so that at the end of the round they will have visited each target once. The highest scorers qualify for the next round, with shootout duels – called ‘axe-offs’ – sometimes required to sort out the qualifiers in the event of ties.
With a cosmopolitan horde of axe wielding foreigners due to arrive, the hosts have been anxious to ensure that they have the best of targets. Experiments have been conducted with the assistance of the Coillte forestry company, to find the ideal timber.
Throwers are understandably miffed if they make what appears to be the perfect throw only for their blade to ricochet off a knot in the wood.
So birch, spruce, ash and fir have all been tested in the search to find a knot-free timber which is neither too hard nor too soft.
Tallis Dixon’s day job is as forester, so he is to the fore in finding suitable material. It seems that poplar is the best but it is in short supply.
Ireland’s rise through the ranks of the sport has been remarkable, with Roundwood based Heath Dawson winning the British Open title at Nottingham, where Arklow resident Anthony Clavey also made a favourable impact. Anthony’s speciality is speed throwing, a sideshow discipline, capable of rattling up 15 points in 18 seconds of frantic activity.
THE Irish have shown willing to learn from the best, with twelve club members travelling from Wicklow to take part in a Swedish event, part of a Nordic Games gathering. On the way home, the travelling Irish contingent took the precaution of arriving early at the airport to ensure their fiercesome looking sporting equipment would pass security checks.
They need not have worried, as the locals were familiar with such hardware and waved the dozen axes through with a smile.
‘We don’t have a lumberjack culture here in Ireland,’ observes Matthias John from Newtownmountkennedy, ‘ but now it is taking off.’
One factor which could have held the sport back was the difficulty of finding good axes, as they are produced in just three forges around the world – two in Sweden and one in far-off New Zealand.
But the club has come to an agreement with the Hultafors brand to ensure supply of these specialist items while Asavie Technologies is supporting the score keeping system.
Enthusiasts insist that technique is much more important than mere brawn in a sport which appeals to all ages and both genders.
Still they have to concede that muscle power helps.
The word around Greenan is that the man to watch out for at the Irish Open will be Daniel Hedberg from Sweden, described by his admirers as ‘a monster of a man. He never misses. He is like a machine.’
At the top level of competition, the best throwers expect to be close to the bullseye every time, with scores of 20-plus in each round required to make progress.
The host contingent will feature six women and 15 men, who will be split up into teams of three.
‘We are mostly from Co. Wicklow,’ says Heath Dawson. ‘With a big competition coming up we are training two nights a week – on top of individual training. I have a range in the back garden.’
Heath has been spreading the word about axe training at courses that he runs for company staff and executives.
At such corporate events, team building is promoted around the campfire deep in the woods and axe throwing is the obvious form of recreation.
This is a sport very much on the rise.