Northern Axperts, which started in Sudbury, opens North Bay axe-throwing lounge

Because apparently I am not!

Northern Axperts, the new axe-throwing lounge located in the Voyager, was kind enough to let the BayToday.ca team come in for a little bit of friendly competition. I thought I’d do pretty well, considering I’m a Northern boy, born-and-raised.

However, Jeff Turl, our editor, promptly crushed me, putting it lightly, in our first round of throwing. Honestly, I was surprised and a little embarrassed at how badly I lost. Kelsey Cutinello, the one responsible for creating the axe-throwing lounge spreading across the north—and witness to my defeat at the hands of Jeff—said it was a truly northern experience that surprisingly started down south.

“I first heard about when I saw a friend of mine competing in Toronto—it’s really big in larger urban centres, like there, Ottawa, or Montreal,” she said. “We started in Sudbury, are opening here, and plan to own a third in Sault Ste-Marie. And lumber jacking is a northern thing, so it’s about time we really bring it back up here.”

And what might an axe-throwing lounge entail, you may ask? It’s an odd-sounding place for sure, but it’s not much different than a dart board, other than instead of darts, you get one-and-a-half-pound headed axes on a wooden handle—hatchets—and the board is made of wood.

“It’s going to be a whole new experience for people up here,” Cutinello said. “It’s like darts, or bowling, or pool. You can play against others too—it’s really fun.”

With no age restriction, their Sudbury location has already seen great success with young and old, from young-teen hockey team parties, to bachelor parties, to even divorce parties—for those who need to blow off some steam—Northern Axperts has provided a fun and safe activity for northerners to feel a little more northern.

“We’re in charge of the axe throwing but we have a lot of space the Voyager is looking to use, like for giant Jenga and there is going to be bacchii courts, pool tables, music, a bar, and the restaurant in the building,” she said. “It’s going to be a one stop entertainment facility in town.”

However, as much fun as it may sound, Cutinello said it was important to ensure people reserved their spots online—the primary way to get a chance to chuck axes at the wall. Otherwise, Wednesday nights, started at 7 p.m., they’ll have drop-in availability for $20 / hour.

“We also do our leagues on Tuesday night and we are already booking Christmas parties and special events like that,” she said, talking about the already bustling popularity in North Bay. “We launched our mobile unit this summer in Sudbury; we were at Rib Fest, fairs, private events, and whatnot. Our mobile unit is the same thing here, but on wheels.

She was also excited to host all sorts of skills competitions, league games, and expanding into other types of throwing in the future, like knives.

And before people get too concerned, Cutinello said safety is a number one concern for them, ensuring there would always be a throwing instructor present to teach, watch, and be there in case of any emergencies. Surprisingly, the only issues that have happened, she said, have been small splinters from people putting their hands on the boards while trying to remove their axes.

For more information, visit their website and Facebook page.