It’s been called darts on steroids and now locals will be able to release their inner lumberjack at Penrith’s newest extreme activity, Throw Axe.
As the name suggests, the aim of the game is to throw an axe at the target, but don’t be fooled, it isn’t as easy as it looks.
One of the owners, Nancy Aldred, said that the game really focuses on group interaction with a minimum six people required to play.
“There are different games that will run depending on the sizes of groups, but if you think of an activity like bowling or even aqua golf to a degree, it’s a similar sort of thing,” Ms Aldred said.
Having come across the unusual activity last year, co-owner Robert Hardcastle said it made sense to bring the activity out to Penrith, where there is already a variety of extreme sports.
“In February last year our family decided to go to an event in Sydney and we were like ‘why would we want to go do axe throwing?’ but we got there and it was a lot of fun,” he said.
“We started doing a bit of research and it’s really big in America and Canada right now, and then with the other owners of this, Shane and Chloe, we said ‘oh we should do a group day for the gym and do this axe throwing thing’, and as soon as we finished up they rang us up and were like ‘I see where you’re going with this’.”
Hoping to have its doors open by the end of this month, there will be four axe cages where each group will be able to participate in round robin style games for $55 per person. The space on Abel Street will also include an area for people to hang out and have a few drinks – non-alcoholic of course.
“We do find that everyone is a bit hesitant and as you get a bit more confident you kinda want to have your wits about you, you don’t want to be drunk off your face,” Mr Hardcastle said.
And if you’ve never thrown an axe before, fear not for there will be supervisors on hand throughout the game to help you out.
“Every time a group comes down there will be someone designated to that group, you’ll sign your waivers, go through safety instructions and everyone will have a few tries first,” Mr Hardcastle said.
Lauren Suttie is the Weekender’s General & Community News journalist.
