The World Axe Throwing League (WATL) recently conducted a comprehensive survey to gather invaluable feedback from our community of throwers. We want to thank everyone who took the time to complete the feedback survey. Your input is valuable to us and it’s important to us to share that feedback with the axe throwing community. We are committed to using this data to refine the rules and make changes that benefit the sport, promote progress, and continue to maintain the integrity of competition.
The feedback survey had a record response from the community with an impressive 767 responses. The survey included both qualitative and quantitative questions and was conducted anonymously to encourage candid responses. With this opportunity to submit open-ended responses, we found that some people took the time to provide feedback that was not on topic, unable to be implemented, purposely unhelpful, or inconclusive, or wrote “Not Applicable”. As a result, you will see some specific categories where not applicable results were removed and noted with *. All feedback has been noted and reviewed overall and will be taken into consideration, even if it was entered into a not applicable section.
A huge thank you to everyone who participated. Below are our findings.
Survey Demographics
Most responses were collected from throwers who have been competing for more than 2 years, consider themselves intermediate or above throwers, and participate in axe throwing at least once per week.
- Experience level (How long have you been throwing axes?)
- 2-4 years – 57%
- More than 4 years – 27%
- Less than 1 year – 16%
- Frequency of participation (How often do you throw axes?)
- Weekly basis – 68%
- Daily basis – 24%
- Bi-weekly or longer – 8%
- Skill level (How would you classify your skill level as an axe thrower?)
- Intermediate – 64%
- Advanced (Pro) – 27%
- Beginner – 9%
Survey Results
32 questions were asked in the survey, broken down into sections:
- Demographics
- Big Axe and Duals
- Enjoyment and satisfaction with the game
- Specific rules
Of the 32 questions, 7 were open-ended to foster clear communication with respondents, collect suggestions on specific topics, and gain deeper insights into the thrower’s experience. Every one of the open-ended responses was manually reviewed and summarized by our team in the feedback you’ll find below.
Big Axe & Duals
There was an overwhelmingly positive response to Big Axe and Duals rules, with 498 out of 607* responses, 82% suggested no changes.
The responses that comprised the “Other/Various Suggestions” included miscellaneous changes that are incompatible with the current game system but will be reviewed for potential implementation in the future.
Hatchet
Taken from 572* responses, the top three favorite aspects of the rules were:
- Having additional aim goals (outer Killshots and bullseyes)
- The increase in strategy, complexity, and difficulty of the game
- The skill equalization and balance of gameplay between divisions
Taken from 666* responses, the top three least favorite aspects of the rules were:
- 15 foot rule
- Complexity and volume of changes made, and communication surrounding the changes
- Having additional aim goals (outer Killshots and bullseyes)
We paid special note to the fact that additional aim goals are listed as first place for favorite aspects and third place for least favorite aspects. This was able to happen because these were two separate questions and is noted that a ranked choice format for future surveys is a better option for this topic. This data also highlights how varied the community feedback is on additional aim goals, the new target design, and how individualized the game experience can be.
55% of throwers responded that the new rules have lowered their enjoyment of the game, and 60% stated that the new rules are worse overall than the previous ruleset. With that response rate, we looked further into the data for specific items that could be contributing to this overall feeling toward the new rules.
WATL specifically wanted to see how all throwers viewed the 15 foot rule since it has been a very highly debated topic. The data above shows that overall, 69% of throwers are not in favor of it. The overall feedback from 595* responses showed that the majority of throwers feel negatively toward it. Of 174* responses from just Advanced throwers, 74% are not in favor of it.
Next Steps
There will be no immediate gameplay changes to the rules. Our next step is to discuss proposed changes with the Rules Committee & WATL Council and determine potential solutions for 2025 and beyond. In the meantime, we will continue to listen to thrower feedback and collect game data for review later this year. We are grateful to the community for your invaluable feedback and dedication to the sport. Your insights and passion are instrumental in helping us enhance and grow the sport we all love. Thank you for your continued support as we improve the sport of axe throwing.
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