The IATF announced today the upcoming retirement of AxeScores (bye, bud. Thanks for my unhealthy obsession with ya), and the upcoming release of the IATF App: "The IATF is excited to introduce our new IATF App, set to replace the AxeScores App after March 7, 2025, at the end of the League Qualification Period.
The new IATF App will offer both free and paid features. The free, ad-supported version will continue to provide essential league stats and standings at no additional cost, while the subscription tier (priced at 2.99 USD per month) will unlock benefits, such as extended player development views, personal achievements, eligibility for IATF Tournament Rank points, discounts in the IATF store, and much, much more. By subscribing, you will also be directly supporting the continued growth and development of the IATF!
Read more about the new IATF App releases and features at the link in our bio.
The new IATF App will be available soon for download in the Google Play Store and the Apple Store. The AxeScores App will be retired as of March 8, 2025." - International Axe Throwing Federation, 1/23/25, Facebook post
And, dear reader, I have some feelings about this.
First feel, real feel: AxeScores wasn't terrific. But this new thing better fix what was frustrating about AxeScores and give something more.
AxeScores was what it was (look at me, I'm already using the past tense and the poor thing is still among us). It worked often enough, often had hiccups, and was a bear to navigate/use in any capacity beyond checking your rating or seeing who you had to throw against on league night (and even then, I mean, 50/50, really).
So I don't think I'll miss AxeScores very much. I'm not gonna anthropomorphize it to a point where I have feelings for it, either. It was made to serve a purpose by someone/people who were trying to fill a need, and in that sense, it did a good job.
But I'm also not gonna say I'm hopeful for the new, IATF App. If this new app doesn't address the majority of the problems I had with AxeScores, what's the point?
Oh, and those problems? For me? My problems? They are thus:
Can't change my name easily
No built-in score/match corrections
Confusing league running process
Sometimes, AxeScores just won't do anything at all. It just straight up stops.
So if those things are addressed (or at least most of 'em. The name one isn't a big deal), all the better. But I suspect a new app will come with new problems, of course, so we'll all get to see what those new, unknown issues will be.
What's more, the new app better have some actual, new things. By that I mean: it better be an improvement. What that looks like, who knows, but it'd be great if the new app opens up the wild world of data to all of us in ways previously thought unavailable.
Second big feel: uh, a subscription service? Wut.
I get it. Truly I do. The IATF wants to make money off of the services they provide. That's only fair. If I could figure out some way to get a few bucks off of you, dear reader, I'd do it, because I'm about a grand in the hole with this website and the losses are only gonna build up over time.
BUT - my frustration at being charged about $3 USD each month for an app is there, and is pronged.
First: are the "extended player development views, personal achievements" included in the premium, paid version something that I don't currently have access to? If yes, then that price becomes a bit more palatable, I think (I already don't care about tournament rank points, and discounts are cool but not worth $36 a year).
But if it's all stuff I currently have access to through AxeScores, which will now be behind a monthly pay wall on the IATF App, then I'm a little...I'm a little grumpy about it. I guess I'm gonna have to see what the "free" version offers when compared to the "paid" version, and figure out how frustrated I am at that point. Oh, and being served ads. I don't have to deal with that right now, either. But, again, I'm not a child. I understand the IATF needs to diversify revenue streams. I'll probably end up running an ad on the ding dang app and hate myself the whole time. But man, that does seem like a great way to get some peepers on this site, no?
And, you know, a clarifying bit of language - if I'm paying for something, it's not a benefit. It's a service. Don't try your word games with me, IATF.
And a final feeling while I walk out the door.
Three dollars a month isn't outrageous. And honestly, if the new app is able to let me self-analyze a whole bunch during boring moments in my life, then all the better. But it's tough to go from something that's free-and-detailed to something that's (potentially) paid for and detailed is tough to swallow. I reckon I'll end up paying for it, but I also reckon there are plenty of people who won't. I kinda assumed the use of AxeScores was tied into the price I pay to the IATF via my league, but I guess my thinking on that was incorrect. But whenever you ask people to pay more for something, even when it's something they ultimately will benefit from, there's gonna be pushback. And with prices going up for everything else in this fun little sport, it's just another thing I've gotta figure out paying for.
I feel the same way. Well said haha