What Happens When Throwers Gather – The Pioneering EuroThrowers

The European Throwing Club Flying Blades (EuroThrowers) was founded in 2003 to act as an umbrella organisation to support knife and axe throwers in Europe, notably through hosting the annual Big Throwers Meeting aka European/World Championship in Knife and Axe Throwing.¹ Over the last twenty years or so, it has made a pioneering contribution to the development of axe (and knife) throwing, predominantly in the area of what we might describe as “club-based” throwing. That is, where enthusiasts typically attend regular club meetings at not-for-profit outdoor throwing ranges, and often also compete in periodic tournaments.

EuroThrowers has probably done more to support the development of this “club-based” axe and knife throwing in Europe than any other organisation, helping local enthusiasts to connect, compete and to establish new local clubs. It is the epitome of a ‘ground up’ organisation, having drawn throwers together in a democratic, collegial and gradual manner, such that the current EuroThrowers chairman, Christian Thiel likens it to the European Union.² Its contribution to the growth of the sport is all the more impressive in that it operates across a variety of countries, with different languages and often differing rulesets and styles of throwing. No mean feat!

In The Beginning, Throwing was Without Form…

EuroThrowers emerged in the early 2000’s out of a diverse and largely unstructured knife and axe throwing scene in Europe. Without the widespread communication media we now take for granted, different traditions and disciplines developed in their own ways in different locations. On the whole, individual throwers were largely pursuing their niche sport on homemade targets in their back garden, in isolation. Knife throwing was undoubtedly the main focus for many throwers, but the associated pursuit of axe and tomahawk throwing was also practised, with the majority throwing both knives and axes.³

The AKTA throwing rules (which were often adopted in Europe) were for both knife throwing and tomahawk throwing, for example specifying a tomahawk minimum length of 12inches.⁸ Otherwise, the specifications for “axes” were often flexible. An article on the Thrower website about axe throwing links to a variety of throwing axes, including small, all metal axes (ostensibly an extension of the all metal knives commonly thrown), and hatchet-sized “tomahawks” with wooden handles.⁹

There were a few localised throwing influences in Europe. For example, in Russia, knife throwing was one discipline within Unifight, a military-style obstacle race incorporating a number of other disciplines, such as unarmed combat and shooting.¹⁰ In the Czech Republic, cowboy novels, and the like, inspired an interest in “Western” (what we might call “cowboy”) culture, including the unique tradition of Tramping (going out into the countryside to live like a tramp).¹¹ This interest inspired Western clubs that pursued skills such as lasso, knife throwing, and axe throwing.¹²

The spread of the Internet in the 1990s not only enabled throwers to acquire helpful information about the sport, it also helped them to connect with other like-minded individuals. Christian Thiel recalls his experience, which was undoubtedly typical of the time:

Throwing was lonely, though, only myself and a makeshift target. The upcoming internet allowed for mailing lists to exist, and for knife throwers worldwide to connect.¹³

Christian Thiel

Throwers were finally able to organise meets (of more than a few mates in their back garden). In June 2001, a handful of German throwers met up for a competition in Kinsau, in Bavaria. It was a simple format with 15 knife throws and 15 axe throws, and the rules were fairly relaxed. There was even a bit of archery afterwards for fun.¹⁴ It was a fairly low key event, but prepared the way for more to come.

The First Big Throwers Meetings (2001 & 2002)

In September 2001, an online forum hosted by Thiel brought together a larger group of throwers to compete at The Big Throwers Meeting. The meeting was hosted by group member Christian Prestin at his Little Big Horse Ranch, in Müncheberg, Berlin.¹⁵ There were 16 throwers, 15 men and 1 woman, mostly French and German, but with also a couple of visitors from Switzerland and Denmark.¹⁶

There were 6 disciplines, 3 knife and 3 axe. These were the Short throwing from 3m, Medium from 5.5m and the Distance throwing, ie from the furthest distance the thrower could still stick. The target was a wood round with 4 rings (scored 4,3,2,1 out from the centre), and points were scored from 21 throws (for Short and Medium). Distance was scored from the distance away from the target. As is typical of EuroThrowers events (and this type of club throwing generally), the competition was held outdoors, and competitors had to dodge the rain between activities. Competition rules were still coming together and the specification of the implements was pretty loose. For example, axes simply needed to be over 500g and have an axe shape (ie “with handle and head clearly visible”). They could also be single or double bit.¹⁷

The 2001 event was hailed a great success and was followed up by a second Big Throwers Meeting a year later, in 2002. The event was hosted and organised by Christian Prestin again at his Little Big Horse Ranch. This time there were over 25 competitors. The disciplines were expanded to cover new categories of thrower, ie Short Knife: Men, Women & U18, Short Axe: Men, U18 (presumably there were no women axe throwers this year). Rules were much the same as for 2021, with the addition of under 18s needing to be accompanied by an adult, and a small registration fee per discipline.¹⁸

The success of the Big Thrower events and the increased communication between European throwers, raised the question of how best to formalise their association. This created big expectations for the third Big Throwers Meeting in 2003.

The Establishment of the EuroThrowers Club (2003 – 2007)

After the throwing competitions on the Saturday, Sunday of the Big Throwers Meeting was turned over to a pivotal business meeting. The official founding meeting of the European Throwing Club Flying Blades was attended by fourteen of the weekend’s throwers.²¹ The bilingual meeting (French and German) resulted in the production of the articles of association of the new organisation and the registration of EuroThrowers as a voluntary organisation. A management committee was also elected, with Norbert Maier as Chairman.²²

EuroThrowers was the first European throwing club. The founding members were French and German, but there was also interest from throwers in Denmark, Spain, Italy and Poland.²³ It was a first step towards creating a truly pan-European organisation to continue to develop the sport. The next few years focused on establishing and expanding the club.

To spread their influence further afield, the Big Throwers Meeting was held in France in 2004, at Sames near Bayonne.²⁴ It was organised by Michel Dujay (aka Bison fou), one of the key French throwing pioneers.²⁵ Dujay had released a hugely influential instructional VHS video in 1995, Le Lancer de Couteaux.²⁶ He was also helped by Gérard Lecoeur, author of an equally influential book on knife throwing, Le Couteau de Lancer, published in 1998²⁷, and Christian Thiel, EuroThrowers board member and editor of the definitive German throwing website, Messerwerfen.de.²⁸

There were over thirty throwers at the 2004 event, including many French throwers who had never thrown before in competition. Along with a large German contingent, there were also a few Spanish and Swiss throwers, the latter throwing large Gransfors Bruks axes. The format was the same as in the previous years, with the three knife and three axe disciplines. Rules continued to develop, as new ideas were brought to the fore by competitors. For example, in 2004, the rule for axe blade scoring was tweaked to clarify that if the blade touched two scoring rings, the higher one counted.²⁹

2005 saw a return to Germany, although to a new venue: the Pullman City in Bavaria. Pullman City was opened in 1997 as a 19th Century Wild West theme town, complete with saloons, tipis and horse riding. Despite a ban on violence and gun slinging, the venue was very happy to promote and host knife and axe throwing events.³⁰ They hosted a trial competition in 2004 and then the Big meeting followed in October 2005. ³¹

The 2005 Big Throwers Meeting was again well attended, particularly with French throwers. There were even two throwers from Finland, Kari and Frank. Competition rules were still developing with minor changes here and there. The weekend also doubled as an opportunity for the EuroThrowers general meeting (in Spanish, French and German), with the executive management team of Norbert Maier, Christian Thiel and Philippe Catania being re-elected.³²

Earlier in 2005, various changes to the competition rules had been discussed, and tested at a meeting in Marseille in April.³³ As a result, the Pullman City meeting had slightly different axe disciplines. Knife distances remained at 3m and 5m, but Axe Short became 4m and Middle 7m. There was also a max weight of 1200g applied to axes.³⁴

The Marseille discussions also resulted in an additional discipline (Knife Long 7m) being added to the 2006 Big Throwers Meeting, which was hosted back in France, near Grenoble.

Hobby knife thrower and performer, Christian Buttarello hosted the 2006 meeting outside his bar, Geronimo, in the village of Isere.³⁵ There were thirty competitors, but significantly there were 134 registrations for the event indicating the rise in interest over the years. More than half were French, with the rest mostly German and Swiss. There was one representative from Italy for the first time, Americo Sabato, from the ALSI throwing club. Apart from the new 7m discipline, there were few other changes and the event was deemed a great success once more.³⁶

The 2007 Big Throwers Meeting, brought the second bi-annual EuroThrowers business meeting, with a new logo being unveiled and the executive committee of Catania, Maier & Thiel being re-elected for a further two years. Norbert Maier organised the weekend in Erlangen, Germany, which was well attended once again. Throwers came from Germany, France, Finland, Poland, and also from the Czech Republic for the first time.³⁷

Throwing Standardisation (2008 – 2010)

By 2008 many local throwing clubs had formed all across Europe, running a variety of throwing competitions.³⁸ The emergence of new clubs and competitions meant a diversity of styles and rules. For international competitions (like the Big Throwers Meeting) to move forward there needed to be a standardised ruleset, and EuroThrowers was well placed to draw the different traditions together to do that.

The Chomutov Agreement was agreed by official representatives of 5 countries, ie Germany, France, Slovakia, Italy and the Czech Republic. Unsurprisingly, the Czech Republic was well represented, with three members, from two clubs.⁴¹ Despite being fairly new to EuroThrowers, Czech throwing was fairly well established in their own country.⁴² For example, Chomutov signatory, Frant “Fery” Olbort had been throwing since 1965, and along with helping to establish the NAJA throwing club, also developed a stage show throwing knives, tomahawks and a variety of other more unusual throwing items such as cutlery.⁴³ Of the 40 competitors at the Chomutov competition, 17 were from the Czech Republic, and between them, they won over 50% of the events.⁴⁴

The new European standard rules were put to the test at the 2009 Big Throwers Meeting, in Villeflambeau, in France.⁴⁵ The meeting was the biggest pan-European event to date, with a record 71 competitors. (This included 11 women and 6 children, and the disciplines were split in to male, female and child categories accordingly.) Most of the competitors were French obviously, but seven other countries were also represented, and, at the third EuroThrowers members meeting on the Sunday evening it was decided that the next Big Throwers Meeting in 2010 would also be known as the European Championship.⁴⁶

The growing popularity of the Big Throwers Meeting drew new European faces to Villeflambeaue with first-timers from both the UK and Russia.

The Moscow-based FreeKnife club became a member organisation that weekend (along with the Italian ALSI club) and sent along 7 throwers.⁴⁷ FreeKnife was established in 2003 as a club for hand-to-hand combat, knife fighting (with electronic knives) and sport knife throwing (including axe throwing).⁴⁸ “Sport knife throwing” had been growing in popularity in Russia. In 2007, the first Russian throwing championship, in Moscow, had attracted 100 competitors, including adults and junior throwers.⁴⁹

There were two UK competitors, John Taylor and Richard Sunderland. They were both founding members of the first UK throwing club, KATTA (Knife, Axe, Tomahawk Throwing Association), founded in 2007⁵⁰ They had both already competed in IKTHOF (The International Knife Throwers Hall of Fame)⁵¹ competitions in the USA for a few years, before discovering the Big Throwers Meeting, (with Taylor taking first place in the 7m Axe at Villeflambeaue).⁵²⁵³

There was also one significant non-European competitor at the 2009 event. Mike Bainton was the founder and president of IKTHOF, the largest throwing association in the world at that time. IKTHOF was founded in 2003 and had been running world championships in knife and tomahawk throwing since 2001 (although most competitors were from the USA).⁵⁴ Bainton was hailed as “the most prolific Knife and Hawk thrower in the history of the sport”⁵⁵ so it is interesting to note that, such was the quality of European throwing by this time, he failed (narrowly) to get in the top 3 of any of the Big Thrower events.⁵⁶ However, the close ties were to remain, with EuroThrowers influencing how American competitions were run.⁵⁷ IKTHOF competitions even came to adopt the European approach of using metric distances rather than imperial, ie 2-7m, in later years.⁵⁸

Despite the success of the Villeflambeau meeting, the competition revealed that the rules were not as clear, or universally acceptable, as needed. Although a useful starting point, the Chomutov Agreement needed to be updated and so, during the following year there was a widespread consultation to update the rules.⁵⁹

European Expansion (2010 – 2013)

For nearly a decade EuroThrowers had been establishing a firm base for European throwing. They next decade was to be one of expansion for the club. This included growth in numbers, but also growing recognition across the continent (and indeed across the world). 2010 marked the start of this expansion with the final draft of the new European Knife and Axe Throwing Rules and the first “European” Knife and Axe Throwing Championship (aka the 10th Big Throwers Meeting).

Following the consultation period, the new European Knife and Axe Throwing Rules were finally completed in May 2010. The EuroThrowers records actually started in 2009, based on the new European standard. The post-Villeflambeau changes only affected the distance axe records (which therefore started in 2010).⁶⁰ The axe specification was updated to make the minimum weight 500g now (blade width remained at 12cm), which finally excluded the lightweight throwers used by some throwers in previous years for the long distance event.⁶¹

The rules were largely based on the Chomutov Agreement, with additional clarification as needed. For example, specifying the colour of the five concentric target rings on the target. The distance events remained for both axe and knife, but 3m throwing ‘zones’, eg 4-7m, 7-10m, 10-13m etc, were clarified. The standard events remained at Knife: 3m, 5m & 7m and Axe: 4m & 7m. There was also the provision placed to rank events as male and female separately, provided there were more than 5 women competing.⁶²

As agreed in 2009, the 10th Big Throwers Meeting, in September 2010, was also known as the European Knife and Axe Throwing Championship, and provided the perfect opportunity to evaluate the new rules in the field (literally). It was hosted by Americo Sabato’s throwing club, ALSI (Associazione Lanciatori Sportivi Italia) in Rome, with competitors from Italy, Germany, France, Russia, USA, Poland and the Czech Republic taking part. There was a particularly strong showing from the Russian contingent, which included members of the federation of sport knife throwing in Samara this time, in addition to the FreeKnife throwers.⁶³ The Samara federation had been hosting throwing competitions since 2001⁶⁴

The new European throwing rules went down well with the international throwers. Although, some lateral thinking was required. For example, the requirement for a 1m diameter target for the distance throwing was initially a conundrum. Typically, competition targets were made on tree rounds, ie a slice of tree trunk with the end-grain presented to the thrower. Such rounds are not plentiful in Rome, and so the solution was to assemble a 1x1m square target constructed from 9 blocks of sawn wood, which worked just as well.⁶⁵

Nevertheless, the rules generally received the Championship’s seal of approval and were destined to remain in place until 2019.⁶⁶

The establishment of this new ruleset enabled the recording and publishing of international records for the different disciplines at the agreed standard. Most of the records were set at Big Thrower meetings, but some were also set at other throwing competitions that adopted the EuroThrowers’ European Knife and Axe Throwing rules, eg French Championship, Open Italian Knife and Axe Throwing Tournament, and Hungarian National Championship.⁶⁷ European (and international) throwers could now compare themselves easily against their peers, which helped to increase the influence of EuroThrowers even further.

However, the Big Throwers Meeting remained the EuroThrowers’ “central annual competition” (in addition to being a “relaxed and friendly meetup for throwers from all over Europe and the world”).⁶⁸ The strategy of hosting it in different countries helped to build its broad European base and providing a boost for the local clubs.

The 2010 European Championship was followed by 3 more European Championships in 2011, 2012 & 2013 (Big Thrower Meetings, 11, 12, & 13 respectively. The number of participants increased slightly each year, but the number of countries participating was more significant.

In 2011, the 11th Big Throwers Meeting (2nd European Championship) returned to Germany. This time it was hosted by Holger Wycisk at his 5.5 hectare sports activity centre in Herrischried, in the Black Forest.⁶⁹ There were 58 men and 13 women, an increase of 25 overall compared to 2010, with now 8 countries represented (Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Poland and Russia).⁷⁰

The 2012 meeting was hosted by Gaetano d’Avenia, Gabriella Mestroni and the Giusto Verso throwing club, in Forni Avoltri, Italy.⁷¹ This time there were 72 men and 15 women, from 10 different nations (Italy, Germany, France, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Russia, UK, USA, Finland and Poland).⁷²

Finally, in 2013, Dušan Dvořák’s western activities club, W-club, hosted the 4th European Championship in Nivnice in the Czech Republic. W-club was started in the early 1990s to promote “western activities” such as lasso throwing, and of course knife and axe throwing.⁷³ The other Czech club, Naja, also helped to set up the event.⁷⁴ Participation was similar to the previous year, with 69 men and 17 women, but the number of countries participating was now up to 13, including two South Africans. The other countries were: Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany, France, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Russia, Slovakia and UK).⁷⁵

The success of the Big Thrower Meeting/European Championship, now into its 13th year, spurred EuroThrowers on to think even bigger. Even before the 2013 meeting was tidied away, preparations were already underway for a step change in the EuroThrower’s flagship event.⁷⁶

The First EuroThrowers World Championship (2014)

IKTHOF had run World Championships in Knife and Axe Throwing since the early 2000s, with a few European throwers travelling to the USA to compete. They often did well. For example, the IKTHOF 2013 Gold Cup World Champions for Knife and for Hawk were Mikhail Sedychev (Russia) and Werner Lengmuller (Germany) respectively.⁷⁷ However, these World Championships were heavily focused on North America and few European throwers made the trip over to compete. French thrower Pierre Cazoulat recalls:

I had participated in several world championships in the United States with very few nations present. I wanted to highlight European and Russian throwers who, for me, are the best in the world.⁷⁸

Pierre Cazoulat

Cazoulat was not the only one who wanted to showcase European and Russian throwing, and so, at the first ever online EuroThrowers members meeting, it was decided (by 52 votes to 8) to declare the 2014 Big Throwers Meeting to now be a World Championship.⁷⁹

Cazoulat took the lead in organising the event in his home town of Callac, with the help of his throwing club, Lanserien Kontili Breizh, which he’d founded in 2010.⁸⁰ The Championship was run in conjunction with a town festival, and so, in addition to the competitors, there were estimated to be about 5000 spectators for the competition too.⁸¹

This 14th Big Throwers Meeting well deserved the title of World Championship, with twelve countries competing: Czech Republic, France, Germany, Russia, UK, Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, USA, Latvia, Belgium, and Poland. For the first time, there was a country ranking, for countries entering at least 5 competitors (most of them, except for USA), with the Czech Republic gaining first place. There was also a big step up in the number of competitors, for both men (114) and women (33).⁸²

A number of innovations were tried out at Callac that Cazoulat and others had picked up competing in the USA. The competition kept to the 2010 Knife and Axe Throwing rules for the usual 7 events, but then additional events were also held, such as 5m Axe, Duel Cup (fastest to throw at the target, one v one elimination), Silhouette (hitting the target excluding the silhouette) and Speed (as many hits as possible in 20s). There was also no/half spin knife throwing for those who were interested in that.⁸³

In particular, Cazoulat also introduced the IKTHOF-style walk-back mode of competition throwing, for knives and axes.⁸⁴ Up to that point, the EuroThrowers standard events entailed the competitors throwing all their knives/hawks from a set distance, eg 4m & 7m Axe. At Callac, to gain the World Champion in Axe Precision title, the top throwers had to take three throws from 4m, then move back to 5m and throw again, and then repeat at 7, 8 & 10m (similarly for Knife Precision).⁸⁵ This made it much tougher, as the throwers had to quickly re-set themselves for each new distance. However, the changes seemed to have been generally welcomed by the throwers.

These innovations were continued and built upon, as a succession of Big Thrower Meetings/World Championships continued annually, with the numbers and prestige generally growing each year.

On Top of the World (2015 – 2019)

2015 saw the World Championship go to England for the first time ever.⁸⁶ It was organised by the KATTA club and hosted by Dan Mosely at his Woodend Farm Complex in Hutthwaite.⁸⁷ Twelve countries competed again (France, UK, Russia, Italy, USA, Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Poland, Latvia, Finland and Hungary), with France taking the top nation title and the UK coming in third behind Germany.⁸⁸ The number of competitors was now up to 133.⁸⁹

In addition to the competition, a new EuroThrowers management committee was elected. Christian Thiel and Norbert Maier remained, being joined by Pierre Cazoulat, Duri Vetsch from Switzerland and Melody Joy-Valerious Thomas (nee Cuenca) from the USA.⁹⁰ Thomas, has dual Swiss citizenship, but lives in the USA, and had competed in Callac and Huthwaite (becoming the World Champion in Precision Knife Throwing title). She had over ten years experience of knife and axe throwing at that point and was welcomed to the committee for the international perspective she could bring. She recalls:

I was quickly voted in as I am one of the few people in the world that travels to different continents to compete and am pretty well versed in the rules of all the main organisations…my part was really to talk to people and see if we could come together with more similar rules between all the different competitions across Europe and America.⁹¹

Melody Joy-Valerious Thomas

This role was important. As mentioned, the EuroThrowers’ rules were already beginning to evolve, particularly in taking on USA-style disciplines such as the walk-back mode of throwing, and, of course, the USA rules were also influenced by the Europeans. The 2015 World Championship again included extra non-standard (ie not in the 2010 ruleset) events, such as duel cup, silhouette and speed.⁹² This was to continue throughout the 2010s, although the standard disciplines remained as set until 2019.⁹³

The following year, the 2016 World Championship was held in the Italian town of Maniago (often referred to as the town of knives, appropriately, due to its knifemaking industry⁹⁴). The championship was hosted by the Italian School of Knife and Axe Throwing (SILCA), a EuroThrowers affiliated club, established in 2010 by Stefano Cristini.⁹⁵ As in 2015, there were 133 throwers, from eleven countries (Czech Republic, Germany, Russia, France, UK, Italy, Switzerland; Hungary, USA, Finland and Poland). This time the Czech Republic regained the top country spot.⁹⁶

The 2017 Big Throwers meeting was declared a European Championship rather than a World Championship, because it was anticipated that not so many competitors would travel to the quaint village of Alsomocsolad, in Hungary. In the end, 132 throwers took part, although only from nine countries (Russia, Czechia, Germany, France, England, Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, Slovakia; Finland, USA, and Poland).⁹⁷

The World Championship moniker returned in 2018, for the 18th Big Thrower’s Meeting in Rýmařov, Czechia and then again in 2019, in Newark, UK. Both championships were well attended, although the Newark meeting had fewer competitors than in recent years (124 compared to a record 158 in Rýmařov).^{98 99}

Appropriately for World Championships, competitors attended from a number of different countries. In Rýmařov, 15 countries were represented (Russia, Czechia, France, UK, Germany, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Italy, Switzerland, Canada, Finland, Latvia, Sweden, USA). There were slightly less at Newark, but still a respectable 12 countries were represented (Russia, UK, France, USA, Czechia, Germany, Sweden; Belgium, Finland, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia). Russia maintained its number one position in the country ratings for both championships.^{98 99}

The third Big Throwers Meeting in the Czech Republic was this time hosted at the western-style campsite Kemp Indiana¹⁰² by the Western Arts Club (WAC), under the direction of Ladislav Šín (aka Gin).¹⁰³ In addition to being a EuroThrowers’ affiliated club, the WAC also run an annual European Championship in western arts (including activities such as whip cracking, knife throwing and axe throwing).¹⁰⁴ WAC was officially formed in 2008, but its origins go back to the early 1990s.¹⁰⁵

It had become normal practice for the Big Meeting/Championship events to include other events in addition to the disciplines set in the official 2010 European Knife and Axe Throwing Rules.¹⁰⁶ Rýmařov 2018 was no different. There were 21 different events, including a novel “combat track”, an obstacle course competitors had to navigate while throwing knives and axes.¹⁰⁷

The Newark 2019 championship held 33 separate events in the UK, including the KATTA speciality “Mountain Man/Woman” (hitting playing cards attached to the target round).¹⁰⁸ It was again hosted by KATTA, this time at the Newark Showgrounds (in conjunction with a European juggling convention.¹⁰⁹

Newark also provided the opportunity for a EuroThrowers’ members meeting, where in addition to the management committee being elected, a number of changes to the standard (2010) rules were formally accepted. As noted, adaptions to the core rules had been made per competition and now “provisional” events such as no-spin knife throwing, the Duel Cup, and Sports silhouette were added as standard. The walk-back mode of throwing (ie throw at one distance, then walk back to the next distance, and repeat) was officially adopted for all throwers, creating more alignment between the European and USA competitions.¹¹⁰

As the end of the decade approached, EuroThrowers were looking forward to building on their success, and in particular, trying out the new competition rules at the 2020 World Championship.

The Next Chapter (2020 onwards)

Plans for 2020 changed, of course, (for many people). The Covid-19 pandemic caused the indefinite postponement of the Big Throwers Meeting in 2020. Attempts were made to re-establish it in 2022, at Herrischried, in Germany, but that was also cancelled. No local groups have been able to take on hosting the event to date, and there are no current plans for 2025.¹¹¹

Despite the absence of the Big Throwers Meeting, EuroThrowers continued to operate. The rules were once again clarified for the Herrischried event in 2022 (although not used there of course).¹¹² Then, in November 2023, a trans-national consultation was started to adapt the rules further. Ten nations, with more than 20 EuroThrowers members, were asked to provide input, with additional feedback coming from throwers in nations with fewer members, including USA, via the committee.¹¹³

This kind of widespread consultation is very much in line with EuroThrowers’ raison d’être. The legacy of the organisation has been to draw together and support knife and axe throwers from different countries, and of course from different throwing styles and disciplines. Since its formation in 2003, EuroThrowers has helped to build up a membership of 34 throwing clubs (mostly clubs that didn’t exist before 2003) and attracted over 200 individual members from 22 different countries worldwide.¹¹⁴

It is important to note that the EuroThrower’s model doesn’t imply any kind of control over their members. While the umbrella organisation has helped these member clubs and individual throwers to interact, organise and develop, the clubs are still free to act as they wish. For example, EuroThrowers have steered clear of double bit axe throwing (throwing double bladed felling axes) as there are already established organisations doing that.¹¹⁵ However, some member clubs do encourage double bit throwing, amongst other things.¹¹⁶

There is a downside for the EuroThrowers organisation, of this lack of top-down control. The vacuum created by the lack of a Big Throwers Meeting since 2019 has encouraged some throwers to take things in to their own hands. For example, the United Knife and Axe Throwers (UKAT) was formed by some EuroThrowers’ members.¹¹⁷ UKAT has a similar aim to EuroThrowers of bringing international throwers together. They created their own throwing rules and have run annual World Championships since 2022.¹¹⁸

On the flip side, the EuroThrowers grassroots-driven model has meant that EuroThrowers’ member clubs have been encouraged to run their own competitions over the last twenty or so years. This has continued. The KnifeThrowing.info website (managed by EuroThrowers Chairman Christian Thiel), advertised 21 different throwing meetings in 2024 (including UKAT meetings).¹¹⁹ This has meant that throwers can continue to achieve EuroThrowers’ world records, despite the lack of the Big Throwers Meeting. For example, at the French Championship in 2022, Olivier Feret scored a world record distance of 27.53m in the Long Distance Axe event.¹²⁰

Establishing a repository and standard for world records has been one of the main EuroThrowers’ achievements. This has helped to establish parity in international competition, and, alongside the outlet of the annual championship meeting, has helped to inspire throwers and increase the quality of throwing to a high level.

A study of the records helps to appreciate the impact of the regular international competitions on throwing development. Even by 2009, when the record keeping began, the standard of throwing was high. For example, in the Mens competition, Dieter Führer of Germany scored 95 out of 105 points in the 4m Axe, in 2009. By 2016, Czech Stanislav Havel had scored the maximum 105 points. Feret’s Long Distance Axe record of 27.53m at the French Championship in 2022, was over 10m more than Italian Americo Sabato’s 15.5m record in 2009. The Women’s competition also developed similarly. For example, in 2009, Ludmila Fedosenko of Russia scored 44 in the 4m Axe. By 2017, Cosima Dell’Anna of Italy had brought that up to 95 out of 105.¹²¹

The EuroThrowers management team do see a future for EuroThrowers, and the intention is still to support a future Big Throwers Meeting/World Championship. However, if for any reason that was not to happen, the EuroThrowers legacy will clearly live on through the many clubs and throwers it has inspired. In a little over twenty years, club axe and knife throwing has moved a tremendous distance from the isolated throwers in their backyards, and out on to an international platform of high quality professional throwing. As we can see, the pioneering EuroThrowers have been at the forefront of this movement.

1. EuroThrowers.org. “Articles of Association”. ↩︎
2. Christian Thiel. Personal communication. 24 February 2024 ↩︎
3. Christian Thiel. Personal communication. 24 February 2024 ↩︎
4. Impalement arts are throwing knives, axes et al at a human target for entertainment. The idea being to miss the person. See for example: Dr. David Adamovich “The Great Throwdini”  ↩︎
5. These websites are no longer online, but archive copies are held on knifethrowing.info of Thrower and Sticking Point. The Great Throwzini website can be retrieved at: https://web.archive.org/web/20000815072649/https://www.throwzini.com/ ↩︎
6. Now at Blade.com. ↩︎
7. AKTA-usa.com ↩︎
8. AKTA-usa.com. “Rules” ↩︎
9. Thrower website (archived at thrower-archive.knifethrowing.info). “Throwing Axe!” ↩︎
10. Metatel.su. “Knife Throwing: The Path to the Olympics”. 31 October 2013 ↩︎
11. Pickering, M. The joys of Czech tramping: ‘Hiking with friendship, freedom and fun’. The Guardian [online]. 10 July 2020 ↩︎
12. See vrhaci.webnode.cz ↩︎
13. Christian Thiel. Personal communication. 24 February 2024 ↩︎
14. Axtwerfen.de.“Report — 1. German Throwers Meeting” ↩︎
15. Now called Sunbow Ranch Sunbow-ranch.de ↩︎
16. Axtwerfen.de. “Report — The First Big Throwers Meeting, Berlin 2001” ↩︎
17. Messerwerfen.de. “Report on the big throwers meeting on 8/9 September 2001 at the LBHR near Berlin” ↩︎
18. Messerwerfen.de. “Report on the 2nd Throwers’ Meeting from 30.08 – 01.09.2002 at the LBHR near Berlin” ↩︎
19. Messerwerfen.de. “Report on the 3rd Throwers’ Meeting from 29 – 31.08.2003 at the LBHR near Berlin” ↩︎
20. Messerwerfen.de. “Report on the 3rd Throwers’ Meeting from 29 – 31.08.2003 at the LBHR near Berlin” ↩︎
21. Knifethrowing.info. “Report of the 3. Throwers Meeting at the LBHR in Müncheberg/Berlin 29. – 31.08.2003” ↩︎
22. EuroThrowers.org. “Articles of Association” ↩︎
23. Axtwerfen.de. “Invitation” ↩︎
24. KnifeThrowing.info. “Report on the 4. Big Throwers Meeting near Bayonne in France from 1-3 October 2004” ↩︎
25. Pierre Cazoulat. Personal communication. 2 August 2024 ↩︎
26. See ThrowingZone.fr for the updated 2015 video. ↩︎
27. See Amazon.de ↩︎
28. Messerwerfen.de. “Contact” ↩︎
29. KnifeThrowing.info. “Report on the 4. Big Throwers Meeting near Bayonne in France from 1-3 October 2004” ↩︎
30. PullmanCity.de ↩︎
31. KnifeThrowing.info. “Report of the 1. Throwers Meeting in Pullman City / Germany (25. – 27. June 2004)” ↩︎
32. KnifeThrowing.info. “Second Big Throwers Meeting in Pullman City/Germany, October 2005” ↩︎
33. EuroThrowers.org. “Marseille 2005 Talk” ↩︎
34. KnifeThrowing.info. “Second Big Throwers Meeting in Pullman City/Germany, October 2005” ↩︎
35. LancerCouteaux.info. “2006 Throwing Tournament” ↩︎
36. KnifeThrowing.info. “First Big Throwers Meeting in Grenoble/France, 9th/10th September 2006” ↩︎
37. KnifeThrowing.info. “Big European Throwers Meeting 7.-9. September 2007 in Erlangen, Germany” ↩︎
38. Axtwerfen.de and KnifeThrowing.info list 8 different events in 2008, in addition to the Big Throwers Meeting ↩︎
39. Metatel.su. “European Rules of Knife and Axe Throwing Competitions” ↩︎
40. EuroThrowers.org. “Outdated_Chomutov_Rules_2008_to_2010.pdf” ↩︎
41. EuroThrowers.org. “Outdated_Chomutov_Rules_2008_to_2010.pdf” ↩︎
42. For example see the competitions attended by the NAJA club in the early 2000s at vrhaci.webnode.cz ↩︎
43. KnifeThrowing.info. “European Throwers” ↩︎
44. KnifeThrowing.info. “Results of the Big European Knife Throwers Meeting 2008 in Chomutov.” ↩︎
45. LancerCouteaux.info. “2009 Throwing Tournament” ↩︎
46. KnifeThrowing.info. “9th Big European Throwers Meeting, 12th/13th September 2009 in Villeflambeau, France” ↩︎
47. KnifeThrowing.info. “9th Big European Throwers Meeting, 12th/13th September 2009 in Villeflambeau, France” ↩︎
48. FreeKnife.ru. “Information” ↩︎
49. Matanie.Narod.ru. “Sport Knife Throwing” ↩︎
50. KATTA website ↩︎
51. IKTHOF website ↩︎
52. KnifeThrowing.co.uk. “‘Little’ John Taylor” ↩︎
53. KnifeThrowing.co.uk. “Richard ‘Thunk Junkie’ Sunderland” ↩︎
54. IKTHOF.org. “World Champions 2009” ↩︎
55. IKTHOF.com. “About”. Archived at web.archive.org ↩︎
56. KnifeThrowing.info. “Results_Villeflambeau_2009_summary.pdf” ↩︎
57. Melody Joy-Valerious Thomas. Personal communication. 24 June 2024 ↩︎
58. IKTHOF.org. “Target/Range Rules” ↩︎
59. EuroThrowers.org. “European Knife Throwing and Axe Throwing Rules.” ↩︎
60. EuroThrowers.org. “Records” ↩︎
61. EuroThrowers.org. “Outdated_European_Rules_2010_to_2019.pdf” ↩︎
62. EuroThrowers.org. “Outdated_European_Rules_2010_to_2019.pdf” ↩︎
63. KnifeThrowing.info. “10th Big Throwers Meeting / European Championship in Knife Throwing and Axe Throwing, 25th/26th of September 2010, Rome” ↩︎
64. Ivek.ru. “Results of the Russian Championship in sport knife throwing” ↩︎
65. Messerwerfen.de. “Throwing targets for knife throwing” ↩︎
66. EuroThrowers.org. “European Knife Throwing and Axe Throwing Rules” ↩︎
67. EuroThrowers.org. “Records” ↩︎
68. KnifeThrowing.info. “Knife Thrower Meetings and Competitions” ↩︎
69. HWS-events.de. “Grosser Wurf” ↩︎
70. KnifeThrowing.info. “11th Big Throwers Meeting / European Championship in Knife Throwing and Axe Throwing 10th/11th of September 2011, Herrischried, Black Forest, Germany” ↩︎
71. iKnifeCollector.com. “Big Throwers Meeting / European Championship in Knife Throwing and Axe Throwing” ↩︎
72. KnifeThrowing.info. “12th Big Throwers Meeting / European Championship in Knife Throwing and Axe Throwing 8th/9th of September 2012, Forni Avoltri, Italy” ↩︎
73. w-club.cz. “The history of the W-club” ↩︎
74. See the NAJA club photos at rajce.idnes.cz. ↩︎
75. KnifeThrowing.info. “13th Big Throwers Meeting / European Championship in Knife Throwing and Axe Throwing 13th-15th September 2013, Nivnice, Czech Republic” ↩︎
76. KnifeThrowing.info. “World Championship in Knife- and Axe Throwing / 14th Big Throwers Meeting, 21st-24th of August 2014, Callac-de-Bretagne, France” ↩︎
77. IKTHOF.org. “World Champions 2013” ↩︎
78. Pierre Cazoulat. Personal communication. 6 August 2024. ↩︎
79. KnifeThrowing.info. “EuroThrowers Report 2014 / 2015” ↩︎
80. lkbzh.fr website ↩︎
81. Pierre Cazoulat. Personal communication. 6 August 2024. ↩︎
82. KnifeThrowing.info. “World Championship in Knife- and Axe Throwing / 14th Big Throwers Meeting, 21st-24th of August 2014, Callac-de-Bretagne, France” ↩︎
83. KnifeThrowing.info. “Rules for the 2014 Championship” ↩︎
84. Pierre Cazoulat. Personal communication. 6 August 2024 ↩︎
85. KnifeThrowing.info. “Rules for the 2014 Championship” ↩︎
86. The Newsroom. “Learn how to wield a blade as world axe-throwing championships comes to Notts”. The Chad [online]. 13 May 2015 ↩︎
87. WoodendFarmComplex.co.uk ↩︎
88. Knifethrowing.info. “Results of the World Championship in Knife Throwing and Axe Throwing” ↩︎
89. Knifethrowing.info. “World Championship in Knife Throwing and Axe Throwing / 15th Big Throwers Meeting, August 2015, Huthwaite, England” ↩︎
90. Knifethrowing.info. “World Championship in Knife Throwing and Axe Throwing / 15th Big Throwers Meeting, August 2015, Huthwaite, England”  ↩︎
91. Melody Joy-Valerious Thomas. Personal communication. 24 June 2024 ↩︎
92. Knifethrowing.info. “Rules for the 2015 Championship” ↩︎
93. EuroThrowers.org. “European Knife and Axe throwing Rules” ↩︎
94. Turismovg.it. “Maniago: the town of knives” ↩︎
95. Lanciarecoltelli.it ↩︎
96. Knifethrowing.info. “World Championship in Knife Throwing and Axe Throwing / 16th Big Throwers Meeting, July 2016, Maniago, Italy” ↩︎
97. Knifethrowing.info. “European Championship in Knife Throwing and Axe Throwing / 17th Big Throwers Meeting – September 2017 in Alsómocsolád, Hungary ↩︎
98. Knifethrowing.info. “World Championship in Knife Throwing and Axe Throwing / 18th Big Throwers Meeting – August 2018 in Rýmařov, Czech Republic ↩︎
99. Knifethrowing.info. “World Championship in Knife Throwing and Axe Throwing / 19th Big Throwers Meeting – August 2019 in Newark, UK” ↩︎
100. Knifethrowing.info. “World Championship in Knife Throwing and Axe Throwing / 18th Big Throwers Meeting – August 2018 in Rýmařov, Czech Republic ↩︎
101. Knifethrowing.info. “World Championship in Knife Throwing and Axe Throwing / 19th Big Throwers Meeting – August 2019 in Newark, UK” ↩︎
102. kempindiana.cz ↩︎
103. euwestern.eu. “Events History” ↩︎
104. euwestern.eu. “European Championships” ↩︎
105. euwestern.eu. “The history of the WAC” ↩︎
106. EuroThrowers.org. “Outdated_European_Rules_2010_to_2019.pdf” ↩︎
107. ChampionshipWAC.com “Results of the Knife and Ax Throwing WC/Big throwers meeting 2018”. Retrieved at: https://web.archive.org/web/20190429122825/http://championshipwac.com/vysledky/vysledkova-listina-2018 ↩︎
108. Knifethrowing.co.uk. “2019 Eurothrower World Championships” ↩︎
109. BladeAces.org. “Blade Aces Team USA headed for Eurothrow 2019” ↩︎
110. EuroThrowers.org. “European Knife- and Axe Throwing Rules (Version 2019)” ↩︎
111. Knifethrowing.info. “20^th World Championship 2025/2026″ ↩︎
112. Knifethrowing.info. “Rules of the World Championship in knife and
     axe throwing, Herrischried, August 2022″ ↩︎
113. EuroThrowers Facebook Group post. 10 November 2023. [Private group] ↩︎
114. Christian Thiel. Personal communication. 24 February 2024 ↩︎
115. Christian Thiel. Personal communication. 24 February 2024 ↩︎
116. For example the UK KATTA club ↩︎
117. For example, the current UKAT president, Mauro Magnanini, was elected to the EuroThrowers management committee in 2019 ↩︎
118. The first UKAT World championship was in Italy in 2022. See lanciocoltellidasce.com. ↩︎
119. Knifethrowing.info. “Meeting Calendar” ↩︎
120. EuroThrowers.org. “New Record in Precision Axe Long Distance Male in 2022” ↩︎
121. EuroThrowers.org. “Records” ↩︎