Urban Rules: A path forward, or a bumbling step sideways?

For a moment, let's suspend the first rule of axe throwing (throw better) and instead imagine, if we can, that the sport has room to grow. More specifically, that the IATF has room to make the game more compelling, more varied, and more exciting for new and veteran players.

Something I'm drawn to with IATF league play (and by extension IATF tourney play) is how straightforward it is. There are 4 possible scores with 4 axes each round, with a final axe at the end which allows for a magical 5th possibility. Do that 3 times and you've got a match - with the possibility of throwing a big axe to feel like a big boi.

That sort of straightforward manner of scoring makes picking up the sport of axe throwing easy to get good at (and, with the introduction of Premier rules, difficult to master).

But, for some, the jump from standard rules (points are scored to wherever the majority of the blade lands) to Premier rules (no bleed points, and some effing rectangle of terror in the clutch one needs to break the top and bottom of) feels off. Premier rules do create a challenge for veteran throwers, it can't be denied -- but it makes for some pretty boring experiences for newer throwers. And while standard leagues still exist (of course), standard tournaments are, in my experience, few and far between. It feels like there's a step missing -- something between standard leagues and premier leagues and tourneys.

And, avoiding that first rule, it creates a potential problem: if people feel like there isn't a place for them to grow in the sport, they might stop being excited about joining leagues and going to tourneys. Naturally, there are a-plenty of throwers who are good enough to throw Premier, and who wouldn't have any issue if everything in IATF was Premier-rules focused. But making the point of entry and growth difficult doesn't really make for a vibrant, growing sport. At least not in this sport, I think.

URBAN'S SOLUTION

The introduction of Urban Rules is being hailed by a few folks as the future of the sport. People who had the chance to play using this ruleset at the Urban Open were, overwhelmingly, excited about it before, during and after the tourney. The differences are easy enough to understand, and you can read them all in that link at the beginning of the paragraph.

What this ruleset does, essentially, is reduce the penalization (tee hee) of missing a single bullseye during a match. Rather than getting a 3, for instance, it's possible to get a 4. Likewise, rather than totally miss out on clutch points, it's still possible to at least get 5 points with a clutch touch.

Now, I wasn't sure how I felt about this at first. It sounded like it was over-complicating scoring, which I am generally against. I also think I was a little defensive about anything changing in the sport after IATF took away my favorite throwing axe in their last equipment update, and with the WATL rules update. But I got to thinking about it after people seemed to really enjoy throwing with Urban Rules.

WHAT URBAN RULES ACHIEVE

My conclusion came down to this: how many avenues for success are there in the current standard/premier rules, and how many are there in Urban rules.

When I write "avenues for success" I am talking about how many opportunities a competitor has to win a round. I can't put any science behind this because, frankly, every time I try to create a chart to show it, I get very confused and overwhelmed. I went to school for creative writing, not for chart making. But with there being intermediary points, and points for a touch-clutch and for a premier clutch, there are more opportunities for variance. That means smaller gaps between competitor scores, and less importance (though still hella important) on a flawless match.

And reader, that possibility thrills me. Urban rules feels like a step that is currently missing: something where a less consistent/new thrower can have matches against very consistent, veteran throwers and not feel like they are just filling space. AND a step to push throwers to, you know, throw better -- but without punishing them for not throwing better yet.

ARE URBAN RULES A REPLACEMENT FOR CURRENT RULESETS?

Probably not.

Wait, were you expecting a build up to that answer? Sorry.

I do think that Urban rules have a place in the sport. Absolutely. I think it fills an existing gap, and can bring something new and exciting to the game. I want it to become integrated with IATF. Hell, I want to throw in an Urban Rules league at my home venue. It offers something for everyone, and you know I'm all about that kind of thing.

But I'd also like to see it tested out a bit more and adjusted. It's brand new, and maybe adding 2 and 4 point opportunities (alongside a 5-point touch clutch) won't change the game all that much. In my little, mead-fueled heart, however, I imagine it has the ability to make axe throwing more exciting and engaging for new and veteran throwers, and that's not something to take lightly.