Story and photos by Craig Reed
The axe rotates through the air. A quiet thud follows when the blade splits the softwood target, striking the bull’s-eye red circle.
It’s a common result for Darin Bartholomew. The 39-year-old has been aiming at targets for the past 2 years. In that fairly short time, he’s become an expert and a professional.
Darin’s points from his league play at The Blade House in Roseburg ranked him 24th in the 2023 global rankings compiled by the World Axe Throwing League.
In 2022, he received rookie of the year honors, topping a field of about 10,000 up-and-coming axe throwers.
The WATL global rankings show Darin is 1 of the best axe throwers on the West Coast and possibly the best in the Pacific Northwest.
“It’s a sport in which I can be competitive,” says Darin, a resident of Cole Road west of Sutherlin and a self-employed construction worker.
Darin remembers his first visit to The Blade House in November 2021. It was a birthday gift from his girlfriend, Hannah Clark.
“I had a blast,” Darin says. “I was kind of a natural. I was sticking the axe a lot.
“I remember growing up and throwing axes around campfires at hunting camps. They didn’t stick much in trees. This was a lot more fun.”
Shea Wheeler, owner of The Blade House, saw Darin throw on his first visit.
“She said, ‘Whoa, you’re a natural,’” Darin says. “‘You should join the league.’”
A month later, at Christmas, Darin surprised Hannah by signing them up for an axe-throwing league.
Darin says muscle memory is a key to being a good axe-thrower.
“You have to understand the rotation of your axe,” he says. “You have to understand how the axe flies. “You have to throw a few axes every day. And you have to have fun with it.”
Darin says his average scores dwindle if he gets too serious rather than having fun.
“You’re going to miss some,” he says. “Nobody is perfect.”
Not long after Darin and Hannah became hooked on throwing, it became a family activity. Darin’s parents, Janice and Bruce, have not only become their son’s supporters but have also joined him as axe throwers in league play.
“Darin has the discipline and focus to do this, more than anybody I’ve seen,” Janice says. “He just doesn’t throw willynilly. He puts so much time and discipline into it, but he does that with everything he tries."
Janice says her son’s passion for this sport reminds her of when Darin and his older brother, Blaine, played basketball at Oakland High School. They were members of the 1999-2000 team that compiled a 30-0 record and then won 26 straight games the following season before losing in the state tournament. The 56-game win streak is an Oregon high school basketball record.
In the past 2 years, Darin has competed in tournaments for tier-2 axe throwers in California, Washington and Medford. He finished in the top 10 in each event, including 1 first-place finish. In 2022, he placed 96th out of 258 throwers in a Wisconsin tier-1 tournament for the best throwers.
In a 2023 Colorado tier-1 tournament, Darin showed major improvement, placing 12th in a field of 96.
He now eagerly awaits the 2024 World Championship tier-1 tournament scheduled for April 18-21 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. That event, rescheduled from late last year, has a $60,000 prize pool and is televised by ESPN.
Darin will compete as a single and in doubles with his partner, Jacob Ligon of Roseburg. Gary Whitaker of Roseburg also qualified for the Tulsa tournament.
Bruce is Darin’s manager at the tournaments.
“It’s our father-son time together,” Bruce says. “I’m there to help him, to encourage him, to help him do the best he can do.”
Janice says raising the funds to finance Darin’s tournament trips is a family affair. 10 sponsors help cover the travel expenses.
As Darin became more passionate and skilled at axe-throwing, he began to build axe handles. Some are intricate with different types of woods, and some are decorated with deer and elk antler points.
He uses some of the handles and sells others.
Darin also gives private throwing lessons at his family’s Acorn Acres Axe Throwing range in a barn on his parents’ Cole Road property.
In a recent challenge, Darin took aim at a toothpick stuck in the target. On his sixth throw, he split the toothpick right down the middle. He hopes to carry that skill and success into the world tournament later this month.