Players can choose to throw at their leisure or compete in matches: three rounds with five throws in each round with the winner chosen from best out of three. The point system is broken down as follows: bull’s-eye: five points, red ring: three points, blue ring: one point, green circles, also known as the clutch, are seven points. The throwing axes weigh 1.5 pounds but do get heavier if there’s a need to decide a tiebreaker. That particular ax comes at a whopping 6 pounds. Yikes!
Ax throwing, you say?
When your business card reads “Axe Master General,” people take notice. After all, when you serve as the general manager for Philadelphia’s newest leisure activity, ax throwing, first impressions really are everything.
Yes, you read that correctly. Competitive ax throwing is now a thing in the City of Brotherly Love. Open exactly one week ago in the area’s Kensington section, Urban Axes Philadelphia is 8,000 square feet of pure testosterone.
“What could be better than throwing axes, drinking beers and hooting and hollering?” says David Wilson of New Jersey who brought a bachelor party to opening weekend.
Let’s explore this deeper, shall we?
The owners of Urban Axes Philly discovered the sport of ax throwing from our neighbors up north and thought, why not Philadelphia?
Here’s the hard and fast.
Every person who visits has to be at least 21 years of age (sorry kids) and fill out a waiver before engaging in any ax throwing. Then there’s the rules: 1) Obey your coach — better known as “axperts” 2) Wear closed-toe shoes. 3) Don’t get your ax until both axes are thrown. 4) After your turn, place ax on block. 5. Don’t be a d—!
Interested parties can join in on the fun by either being a member of an eight week league, hold a group event or wait for available walk-in hours. It’s currently BYO for wine, beer and food. Think about the savings!
The response has been overwhelming, says Lily Cope, the Axe Master General who first heard about this opportunity from a chef during her time in the restaurant industry and thought it must be a typo/ autocorrect. “Ax throwing you say?” She now says “It’s the best gig I’ve ever had in my entire life.”
The public couldn’t agree more. “I wanted to do something that hasn’t been done before for my 40th birthday.” says Stefan Jakowenko from Broomall. “This is awesome.”
And if you really needed another reason to indulge in an afternoon of drinking beers and throwing axes, Alison Adamski of Fishtown says “It’s a great core workout.” Simply perfect.
