I don't talk about it much, but I have a pretty storied past as an investigative journalist. The McCarthy report? Who stole the Lindbergh baby? Yeah, I definitely had to look both of those up to come up with examples.
But there are times in my...journalistic(?) career with The Axe Badger that I'm truly amazed by what I uncover. Times when I feel like it's just me, my wits, and my phone-with-a-cute-recording-app against the world. And this, dear reader, was one of those times.
I managed to get insider details on the IATF from one of the highest-ranking members. Yes, I spent...uh...minutes tracking down leads and chasing sources (read: Christina suggested I speak to this person and I was like "oh yea, that'd be great!"), to bring you this UNFILTERED. UNALTERED INFORMATION about dark secrets in the hidden corners of the International Axe Throwing Federation.
Anyway, here's the interview with Kat Riley - I MEAN WITH MY ANONYMOUS IATF SECRETS INFORMANT:
WHAT IS YOUR INVOLVEMENT WITH THE IATF?
I'm the senior manager of communications and operations. I've been full time for less than a year, but I've been on contract since early spring 2022.
WHAT'S INVOLVED WITH THAT JOB, OUTSIDE OF THE OBVIOUS?
I do a lot of management of the tournament circuit. Chris Collins and I work closely together to work with host venues, to make sure the calendar flows, to make sure communications are happening clearly in relation to the IATF. We also make sure that slots for IATC are being communicated and trickle down properly.
I also communicate with new or prospective members - anyone who emails and wants to know about becoming a member of the IATF. So I'll chat with people who are interested and do onboarding if they decide to join. I also do social media and maintain the website as best I can. I work closely with the Panel of Throwers as their main point of contact.
I THINK IATF HAS, OVERALL, MADE A LOT OF PROGRESS IN COMMUNICATING - OR AT LEAST IS TAKING THE RIGHT STEPS TO COMMUNICATE WITH THROWERS WHEN IT COMES TO BIG AND LITTLE CHANGES/ADDRESSING CONCERNS.
MY QUESTION IS: HOW MUCH OF THAT IS JUST THE IATF GETTING BETTER AT THE JOB, AND HOW MUCH OF IT IS A MINDFUL EFFORT TO ADDRESS ISSUES?
I think it's one-hundred percent a conscious effort. Even when I was just doing contract work, that was always a piece of feedback we were hearing. People want to know what is going on, and the more we can share, the less frustrated they feel.
Connecting with the community members and venue owners is really, really important to the IATF, especially as we try to separate the IATF from BATL - that means we need more buy-in and more input for the community, so we can grow and move forward.
THERE ARE OBVIOUSLY LIMITATIONS ON HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH FOLX. WHAT ARE SOME WAYS, YOU FEEL, THE IATF HAS DONE WELL WITH VARYING COMMUNICATION?
That's a great question. I think we rely too heavily on Facebook and Instagram as a source of communication. We're trying to move away from that. We're trying to send out emails more regularly, trying to use the website more fully. There are opportunities there for us to build within our bandwidth.
It's a tiny team we have. It's mostly Chris and I doing this work. Matt Wilson is mostly wrapped up in higher-level things. So it's trying to figure out ways to increase all those paths of information while also being able to do all the other things we have on our plates.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE OF IATF. I DON'T MEAN "I THINK WE'LL STILL BE DOING THIS FOR 100 YEARS!" BUT MORE LIKE: HOW DO YOU FORSEE IT CHANGING? WHAT TRENDS DO YOU SEE AS FAR AS EXPANDING AND CHANGING, RULES, ETC.?
Yeah. I think we're gonna start working on more stuff to create a "best-of-the-best" type circuit. There's some stuff in the pipeline that's coming down to lead to that. IATC and the Wilson Cup specifically - sure, it's invitational but it's still, because of the representational nature of it, it's still a lot of people who make it or qualified at a venue who wouldn't have qualified at a venue, or people who don't qualify at a venue who would have qualified somewhere else.
So moving toward a place where it is truly the best of the best - while maintaining representation and people of different skill levels is super important - but the more we elevate all of those levels, the better the sport.
Also something to note: the women throwers in this sport - the trajectory I see over the last two years is incredible. And seeing that greater representation is just going to encourage more women. I'd love to see more diversity at the top level and I think we're starting to see that. I feel like I'm seeing it more and it's very exciting for me, as the sport grows.
I THINK IT'S CHALLENGING FOR...THE IATF ISN'T THE BUSINESS AS MUCH AS IT'S A GOVERNING BODY FOR A SPORT. BUT THE IATF NEEDS TO CONSIDER ITS MEMBERSHIP - WHICH ARE PRIMARILY BUSINESSES.
BY WAY OF EXAMPLE: THE SURVEY THAT WENT OUT ASKING IF STANDARD AND PREMIER SHOULD COMBINE TO CREATE A UNIFIED RULESET. I WAS SURPRISED THAT WE DIDN'T JUST MOVE OVER TO PREMIER AND KEPT THE TWO RULESETS - BUT LOOKING THROUGH THE LENS OF AXE HOUSES, IT MAKES SENSE THAT WE KEPT BOTH.
HOW MUCH DOES THE IATF BALANCE ITSELF BETWEEN ADVANCING THE SPORT AND KEEPING ITS BUSINESS MEMBERS IN MIND?
Totally. It's a tough thing, and it's important to juggle both of those things. Consider the sport in general: we want to do what's best for the sport, but it's exactly like you said: if there are no venues, there is no axe throwing, and there's no IATF. It's all connected. So we have to consider all of those things. And it's challenging, there are going to be people who don't like some of the decisions we have to make.
For instance, I know there were people who didn't like that we reduced the minimum number of games from 28 to 20 for a regulation season, but it was really important to venues, so they could offer a "less commitment" option and enabled them to entice more new throwers, and that's really important - getting new throwers while retaining current throwers.
I was surprised by the results of the premier/standard questionnaire, too. I thought for sure we were going to get rid of standard or at least a new, unified ruleset. But we looked at the survey results and realized "oh, wait, I guess we're not going to do that because that's not what the community wants at all, throwers or venues."
So it's really important for us to keep listening and working with our members and the Panel of Throwers, and thrower feedback in general. The IATC survey, as long as it was, has already given us so much valuable insight to make tough decisions.
IS THERE ANYTHING I SHOULD HAVE ASKED, OR YOU WANT TO ADD?
I don't think so.
[[Dear reader: What Kat actually said was a bunch of very kind things about me/this blog, but it feels egotystical to share it here. So for transparency: know that it happened, and that I blushed.]]
A pleasure to meet and chat with you! 😁