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Axe throwing is a target striking sport, similar to archery, in which competitors throw axes at a circular target. The sport evolved from the lumberjack pastime activity of throwing axes.

The target used is a circular board made of wood, with five 4-inch wide color coded concentric circles. The target is placed at a distance of 21-ft from the throwing line, which is regarded as the standard, though some axe throwing competition organizers have used distances ranging from 15 to 30ft.

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Points are awarded for each throw based on where the axe lands on the target board. The mark on the outermost ring that the axe touches is used for awarding points. Hitting the bulls eye is worth five points, hitting the outermost circle is awarded one point, followed by two, three, and four points for the subsequent inner circles.

In competitions, each thrower get five attempts to throw. If a thrower misses the target completely, or if the thrower steps past the target line before the axe makes contact with the target, the throw is disqualified and is awarded zero points. The thrower with the maximum total number of points is declared as the winner.

Axe throwing competitions are mostly conducted as a part of lumberjack sporting events.

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Similar Sports

• Knife Throwing — like archery, the knife is thrown towards a target.
• Target Archery — archery competitions held indoors or outdoors between 18 m and  90 m from the target.
• Slingshot — stand 10m away from a target and score points for accurately hitting a target.
• Darts — a throwing game in which small missiles are thrown at a target dartboard.
• Archery — competitive archery involves shooting arrows at a target for accuracy from a set distance or distances.
• Wood Chopping — participants attempt to cut or saw a log or other types of wood in the quickest time.
• Lumberjack — competitions involving many different events, including log rolling, chopping, timed hot (power) saw and bucksaw cutting, and pole climbing.

Related Pages

• Complete list of sports
• The Encyclopedia of Sports