Ben Bosworth and his axes are flying to Chicago.
Bosworth, a Vancouver Island man now affectionately known as “Bullseye” Boz punched his ticket to the World Axe Throwing League Championships for a one-day, single-elimination tournament to be broadcast live on ESPN3, and does so after discovering axe throwing on a whim.
“Came here with a couple friends for an afternoon of entertainment and found that I was pretty good and able to sink the axe pretty consistently,” Bosworth said. “And from that I just started to come here a little bit more and a little bit more.”
After throwing axes for less than a month, Bosworth signed up for a tournament at the Axe & Grind, an urban axe throwing range in downtown Victoria and promptly won it. A few months later the former baseball pitcher signed up again, knowing he would be offered an opportunity to represent his local club at the World Axe Throwing League Championships in Illinois if he won. He won again.
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“It started to sink in a little more now that I’ve got my flight booked and hotels booked I get nervous when I think about it honestly,” Bosworth said. “I have not competed in anything this major, I have done some tournaments for other sports but nothing at this level.”
The Victoria resident trains five days a week in preparation for the Dec. 15 tournament with with coach Ragnar Olafson, who placed second in the league and travels to Chicago as a wild card entry. Together they represent Victoria in the international event featuring entries from around the world.
“I was happy, very happy and proud to be capable of doing this and representing the city and this club,” Bosworth said. “(It) will be something that I remember probably for the rest of my life.”
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