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2003 Central US Knife Championship Results
by Scott Gracia


This is the day of the competition, October 12th! We were all hanging out and some were practicing, but since we had arrived 2 days earlier, I had already thrown a few thousand knives and figured "it wasn't gonna get any better". Plus my arm was sore and I didn't want to push it :-)

I know I always talk about how great the people are at these events but I have to do it again. I got to talk with all sorts of people! Some who had been throwing for years and others who were just now thinking about giving it a try. From the seasoned veterans, to the kids competing for their first time, they were all smiling and ready for some throwing!

Once the event got under way it seemed like it had a mind of its own! There were 4 separate ranges being used and they all had score keepers, judges, and many competitors waiting to throw. (It seemed to run on its own but I know a ton of hardwork went into this and the people at Bakido really deserve a round of applause. So you! in the computer chair... start clapping :-)))

QUALIFYING
Each competitor threw 5 knives from each distance (8 feet - 1/2 spin, 12 feet - 1 spin, 15 feet - 1 1/2 spins, 18 feet - 2 spins and 21 feet for 2 1/2 spins). When everyone finished, the scores were tallied and after a few "throw-offs" the competitors were divided into 3 categories: Novice, Intermediate and Expert.

The way they decided was simple. If there were 30 people who threw to qualify, the top 10 scores/throwers would be in the Expert category, the middle 10 were placed in the Intermediate and the last 10 were in the Novice category. Nice and simple.

I ended up in the Intermediate category! I always say that I'm not the greatest thrower by any means, but when you're around this many friends, who love to throw, it all just comes together! I was really surpised how well I did at the event! You may be able to see this in the pictures of me with the smile etched in my face :-)

After the knife event, we threw tomahawks 1, 1 1/2 and 2 spins and spears from 8, 12, 15, 18, 21, and 24 feet! It was a fun-filled day and literally thousands of "things" were thrown by some of the biggest names currently involved in the sport! And I got to be a part of it! Now tell me, how can that not be the coolest day ever? :-)

I can't wait to hang out and throw with everyone again next year! And hopefully we'll see many new faces too that want to take part in some fun!!!

Following are some pictures from that day. Enjoy!!! (I'd like to give a big thanks to Rick Lemberg, Todd Abrams, Joe Darrah and Mike Bainton for sharing their pictures with me to post on this page. Thanks guys!!!)

COMPLETE SCORES ARE POSTED AFTER THE PICTURES


(Hold your mouse over the pictures and information about the pic will pop up)

Scott Gracia throwing half spins from 8 feet
Here I am (Scott Gracia) throwing while one of the local stations was filming. (And where'd that bald spot come from??? :-)

Micah Posada - throwing 1 1/2 spins.
Here is Micah Posada, from San Diego, CA, throwing 1 1/2 spins.

Micah pulling his knives outta the
bullseyes
And here he is again, smiling, pulling ALL of his knives out of the bullseyes! Micah is a phenomenal thrower who started throwing in the beginning of 2003! He is also part of the "San Diego Chuckers" throwing club.

Mike Bainton taking aim with his favorite thing to throw, the tomahawk.
Here is Mike Bainton taking aim with his most favorite thrower around... tomahawks! (BTW, thats a joke, Mike hates throwing anything but knives :-)

Scott Gracia throwing 1 1/2 spins with hawks
Ahhh yes, I remember this one well. Throwing tomahawks 1 1/2 spins is really fun, but I'm just not that good at it. A big thanks to Todd Abrams for letting me borrow his hawks for the event though... you da man Todd!!! And check out the ink on that score keepers arm! It says "Ba Ki Do"... can you say "Dedicated Students?" :-)

------------------------------------------------------------
Here are some pictures from after the event, just a few minutes after the awards were handed out!

Novice Knife Winners
Novice Knife Winners - Steve Poldrack, Todd Abrams and Kyle Cowan
Steve Poldrack, Todd Abrams and Kyle Cowan.

Novice Hawk Winners
Novice Hawk Winners - Rick Lemberg, Kyle Cowan and Larry Czekaj
Rick Lemberg, Kyle Cowan and Larry Czekaj.

Novice Spear Winners
Novice Spear Winners - Steve Poldrack, John Aaron Castro and Larry Czekaj.
Steve Poldrack, John Aaron Castro and Larry Czekaj.

Intermediate Knife Winners
Intermediate Knife Winners - Mike Kolisch, Scott Gracia and Larry Czekaj.
Mike Kolisch, Scott Gracia and Larry Czekaj.

Intermediate Hawk Winners
Intermediate Hawk Winners - Chuck (Walking Eagle) Weems, Mike Bainton and Todd Abrams.
Chuck (Walking Eagle) Weems, Mike Bainton and Todd Abrams.

Intermediate Spear Winners
Intermediate Spear Winners - Jimmy Dees, Chuck Weems and Ron Thomas.
Jimmy Dees, Chuck Weems and Ron Thomas.

Expert Knife Winners
Expert Knife Winners - Mike Bainton, Pat Minter and Jim Tanner.
Mike Bainton, Pat Minter and Jim Tanner.

Expert Hawk Winners
Expert Hawk Winners - Micah Posada, Pat Minter and Roy (Moses) Neal.
Micah Posada, Pat Minter and Roy (Moses) Neal.

Expert Spear Winners
Expert Spear Winners - Roy Neal, Pat Minter and Jim Tanner.
Roy Neal, Pat Minter and Jim Tanner.

Junior's Division
Juniors Division, this is Royce Morales (Overall Winner) with his first prize swords.
From the Juniors Division, this is Royce Morales (Overall Winner) with his first prize swords!

Micah Posada, Scott Gracia and Todd Abrams.
Here are me and my buddies from California (Micah and Todd)! Actually they're old aquaintences that I've talked to before online, but this was my first chance to meet them in person and call them names to their faces :-) Can't wait to see ya next year fellas!!!

Cameron Hoyle and his prizes.
This is young Cameron Hoyle (Jr. Knife Division) with his prizes donated by Doc Gundersen of L&H Knife Works.

All 16 of the tournament winners!
All 16 of the winners from the tournament
(Back row - left to right) Kyle Cowan, Steve Poldrack, Jimmy Dees, Roy Neal, Mike Kolisch, Chuck Weems, Pat Minter, Jim Tanner, and Larry Czekaj. (Front row - left to right) John Castro, Ron Thomas, Rick Lemberg, Scott Gracia, Micah Posada, Todd Abrams, and Mike Bainton.

Congratulations to everyone involved and a special thanks to Mike Bainton, Audrey West, Mike Snowden and everyone else involved in making this great idea a reality!!!

AND NOW ON TO SOME SCORES FROM THE EVENTS...

KNIFE THROWING

(ADULT MALE - AGE 16 AND UP
20 Knives From Each - Half Spin, Full Spin, 1 1/2 Spins, 2 Spins, 2 1/2 Spins.)

Pat Minter - 203
Michael Bainton - 201
Jim Tanner - 184
Micah Posada - 176
Joe Darrah - 167
Roy Neal - 160
Jimmy Dees - 155
Scott Gracia - 148
Todd Abrams - 147
Paul Elliott - 142
Larry Czekaj - 137
Mike Kolisch - 117
John Aaron Castro - 108
David Fettig - 108
Steve Poldrack - 103
Chuck Weems - 101
Rick Lemberg - 88
Ron Thomas - 85
Kyle Cowan - 76
Russell Weber - 71
Houston Carrigton - 68
Randy Beard - 68
Gregg Howling Wolf - 36

KNIFE THROWING DIVISIONS AND PLACES

ADVANCED
Pat Minter - 1st Place
Mike Bainton - 2nd Place
Jim Tanner - 3rd Place

INTERMEDIATE
Scott Gracia - 1st Place
Larry Czekaj - 2nd Place
Mike Kolisch - 3rd Place 31

NOVICE
Ron Thomas - 1st Place
Steve Poldrack - 2nd Place
Kyle Cowan - 3rd Place

TOMAHAWK THROWING

(ADULT MALE - AGE 16 AND UP
Tomahawk Competitions - 15 Hawks from 1 spin, 1 1/2 spins, and 2 spins.)

Pat Minter - 91
Roy Neal - 80
Micah Posada - 78
Mike Kolisch - 74
Jim Tanner - 72
Todd Abrams - 70
Joe Darrah - 66
Chuck Weems - 58
Kyle Cowan - 58
Mike Bainton - 54
Jimmy Dees - 53
Scott Gracia - 50
Rick Lemberg - 48
Larry Czekaj - 44
Steve Poldrack - 42
Ron Thomas - 42
John Aaron Castro - 28
Paul Alliott - 18
Dave Fettig - 15

HAWK THROWING DIVISIONS AND PLACES

ADVANCED
Pat Minter - 1st Place
Roy Neal - 2nd Place
Micah Posada - 3rd Place

INTERMEDIATE
Todd Abrams - 1st Place
Chuck Weems - 2nd Place
Mike Bainton - 3rd Place

NOVICE
Kyle Cowan - 1st Place
Rick Lemberg - 2nd Place
Larry Czekaj - 3rd Place

SPEAR THROWING

(ADULT MALE - AGE 16 AND UP
Spear Competitions - 15 Spears from 8 feet, 12 feet, 15 feet, 18 feet, 21 feet and 24 feet.)

Roy Neal - 112
Pat Minter - 111
Jim Tanner - 101
Micah Posada - 99
Joe Darrah - 98
Todd Abrams - 97
Jimmy Dees - 96
Chuck Weems - 90
Mike Bainton - 87
Larry Czekaj - 77
Steve Poldrack - 76
Ron Thomas - 73
John Aaron Castro - 71
Mike Kolisch - 70
Scott Gracia - 69
Randy Beard - 65
Dave Fettif - 62
Rick Lemberg - 57
Paul Elliott - 53
Kyle Cowan and John O'neal - 50

SPEAR THROWING DIVISIONS AND PLACES

ADVANCED
Roy Neal - 1st Place
Pat Minter - 2nd Place
Jim Tanner - 3rd Place

INTERMEDIATE
Jimmy Dees - 1st Place
Chuck Weems - 2nd Place
Ron Thomas - 3rd Place

NOVICE
Larry Czekaj - 1st Place
Steve Poldrack - 2nd Place
John Aaron Castro - 3rd Place

OVERALL CHAMPIONS
(Knife, Hawk and Spear scores combined)

Overall Champs from the tournament
(Overall Winners from right to left) Novice - Ron Thomas (200 pts), Intermediate - Scott Gracia (267 pts), and Expert - Pat Minter (405 pts.)


KNIFE THROWING FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD

Youth Division:
Christopher Villalpando - 69
James Tanner - 68
Erik Conrad - 43
Shane Deforest - 43

Junior Division:
Royce Morales - 34
Sean Weber - 28
Brandon Cramer - 18
Cameron Hoyal - 10

TOMAHAWK THROWING

Youth Division:
Christopher Villalpando - 24
James Tanner - 16
Erik Conrad - 7

Junior Division:
Brandon Cramer - 18
Royce Morales - 14
Cameron Hoyal - 12
Sean Weber - 10

SPEAR THROWING

Youth Division:
James Tanner - 46
Chris Villalpando - 38
Erik Conrad - 21

Junior Division:
Royce Morales - 72
Brandon Cramer - 48
Sean Weber - 44
Cameron Hoyal - 29

YOUTH OVERALL
Chris Villalpando - 1st Place
James Tanner - 2nd Place
Erik Conrad - 3rd Place

JUNIOR OVERALL
Royce Morales - 1st Place
Brandon Cramer - 2nd Place
Sean Weber - 3rd Place




=======================================

2003 Central US Knife Championships


Dear Participant:

We are pleased to announce the Second Annual Central United States Knife Throwing Championship. You and your guests are hereby cordially invited to participate and/or attend our Tournament on October 12 and 13, 2003.

Saturday evening, October 11, 2003 we will be holding an induction ceremony for the International Knife Throwers Hall of Fame inductees. The cost of attendance to the International Knife Throwers Hall of Fame Banquet will be announced. Everyone is welcome to attend.

I am personally looking forward to seeing you and your guests at the Second Annual Central United States Knife Throwing Championship.

To find out more info about the events, like the rules, regulations, target distances, number of throws, daily itenerary and even registration forms, just click the following link and "Open" or "Save" the file. It will open up in Microsoft Word:

Central United States Knife Throwing Championship 2003 Information
and Registration Forms



Thank you for taking the time to read this and we hope to see you here in October!

Sensei Michael J. Bainton Ph.D.
South Austin Karate
10203 Old Manchaca Rd., Austin, Texas 78748
(512)280-0611
www.bakido.com



To find out more info about the International Knife Throwers Hall of Fame, you can visit www.knifethrowershalloffame.com or contact Mike Bainton directly!


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PREVIOUS Central US Championships:

Results For The 1st Annual 2002 Central US Championship


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HOME THE GREAT THROWZINI FREE NEWSLETTER THROWING HAWKS TARGETS
LOCAL THROWERS INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO THROWING SPIKES CLUBS/EVENTS SAFETY
THROWING MISC. THROWING ARTICLES THROWZINI STORE THROWING KNIVES PAST NEWSLETTERS