The WATL Team Melee: A New Way to Compete

July 2nd, 2020

Today the World Axe Throwing League introduces a new way to play. Throwers have been asking for a team based throwing format for a long time and the WATL and its council are excited to have finalized a ruleset to allow official competition to happen at tournaments and events under WATL rules.

A QUICK OVERVIEW

Each match will consist of three rounds. Each round will consist of five games between five individual throwers. Points are awarded for score difference, the team with the most points after three rounds is awarded the victory.

DEFINITIONS

  • MATCH: Any team team based competition consisting of three rounds.
  • ROUND: A round is a series of 5 games. Team A Thrower 1 vs. Team B Thrower 1, Team A Thrower 2 vs. Team B Thrower 2, etc. There are 3 rounds in a Match.
  • GAME: A game is 10 throws between on player of each team. There are 5 games per round.
  • TEAM: A roster of 5 active players. A team may also have 1-5 inactive players on the roster. A team must have a name.
  • LINEUP: A lineup is the set throwing order for each team in a given round. A lineup is set by the captain and/or coach and declared to the official before each round. The first thrower in a lineup is called the “lead off” and the last thrower is called “the anchor.”
  • COACH: Coaches are representatives for the team. If a player is only a coach, they are a non-thrower.
  • ACTIVE ROSTER: For a match a team must have 5  active throwers.  Only the active players may compete, though their throwing order may change each round.
  • INACTIVE ROSTER: A team may bring 1-5 inactive throwers to participate. These players would become active in the event of an emergency or at the coach or captains discretion between rounds.

LINEUPS, SUBSTITUTION AND COACHING

  • INJURY SUBSTITUTIONS: If a player becomes injured or unable to throw during a round. A coach or captain may call up an inactive thrower. That thrower picks up exactly where the injured player left off. Example: On throw 3 a player become injured. The benched player begins on throw 4. The match does not start over.
  • STRATEGY SUBSTITUTIONS: A coach or captain may substitute any player between rounds for any reason. The coach or captain need only submit their set lineup to the official before the start of the next round.
  • LINEUP STRATEGY: The team with fewer points heading into the next round may view the leading team’s lineup before submitting their own. This allows the trailing team to create advantageous head to head pairings.
  • CAPTAIN/COACH CLARIFIED: A team only needs a captain to participate. Teams may also opt to have a coach. A coach is a non-thrower chosen to represent the team for all official matters. A team must choose the captain or the coach to attend coin tosses, deliberate with officials, and set the roster during gameplay.
  • COIN TOSS: A coin toss begins every match. The team captain or coach attend the coin toss. The loser of the coin toss must submit their round 1 throwing order first.

SCORING

Scores are determined by the number of points a team has in advantage. Example: Team A Player 1 scores a 64. Team B Player 1 scores a 60. Team A is now in the lead by 4 points. After all players from each team have thrown in a round, the scores are tallied.

Each round, if the anchor throwers are tied on throw 10, they must call a killshot under standard WATL rules.

The team in the lead after each round must set and submit their next rounds roster first, giving the losing team the ability to view and adapt their roster order.

The team with the most points after 3 rounds is declared the winner. In the event of a tie each team will throw killshots in the order they choose. Teams will set a blind lineup and proceed through killshot throws in order. The team who hits the most killshots is declared the winner. In the event of a tie after all 5 players have thrown each team starts back at the beginning of their lineup.

PERFECT SCORE BONUS

  • Each round a coach or captain can call for a “perfect bonus” 
    • If the player who is selected for a perfect bonus gets a 64 they are awarded an additional 2 points
  • A team may choose to call 1 “perfect bonus” each round and must do so before the selected player throws
  • A team’s captain or coach can choose to block their opposing team’s selected “perfect bonus” each round
    • The team which chooses to block forfeit’s their own “perfect bonus” selection for that specific round
    • The blocked team may choose a new player to go for the “perfect bonus” if they choose for that round

Format created with help from Zach Crawford and Valkyrian Steel Axe Throwing Club.

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