Forged in the fires of Viking lore, reanimated in modern day Scandinavia, and imported to the quiet village of Ballard - Kubb is set to continue it's roaring American debut. In 2010, the amateur circuit sprang from humble grass-roots, and captured the imagination of everyone from young professionals to the occasional curious homeless Seattleite. This year Co-Commissioners 4 Life, Blake "The Closer" and Courtney "The Laser" have unveiled the newest semi-pro league in America, the Seattle Kubb League (SKL).

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Kubb Spring Training Tips

In the lead-up to the the season, there are many different formulas to get back into into Kubb shape. Some athletes spend time in the weight room, others focus in on their cardio, still others such as Jason "The Boeing Bomber" traveled as far away as China to train with some of the worlds best.

In reality, all available off season options pale in comparison to participating in live action matches. With this in mind, a dozen or so of the Seattle Kubb League's brighest and most talented had a scrimmage at SKL headquarters on Easter Sunday in the annual "Jesus Died and Resurrected for Our Sins So Now We Throw Sticks at Sticks While Drinking A Lot Invitational". However, for those who don't have a regulation Kubb field in the vicinity, here are a few suggestions on ways to hone your talents in the leadup to the start of the season.

1. The best way to shed unwanted pounds accumulated in the offseason is through an intense cardio regimen. Jumping over a Kubb Kung twice should be about enough to get that heart rate up. Make sure you stick that landing! Do that, and you'll be sure to see the pounds melt away.

2. Success for many comes with arm strength. We weren't all born with the natural shoulder strength of the legendary Sven Burgensvengendurgensson; so frequent raising of full beers to your mouth should be a good way to get back into game-shape. The brilliant thing about this technique is that the weights naturally become easier to lift with each successive rep.

3. The experienced Kubb player knows just how important it is to have a strong core and lower body. Numerous squat thrusts while holding kubb pins provides excellent resistance. Note, this should only be done shirtless while wearing unnecessarily baggy hammer-pants. Ladies, you might want to do this one behind closed doors.

4. This technique allows you another method of strengthening your core and lower body with the added benefit of taking out the recycling. A quick toss of your empties, for example into your next door neighbors' back yard, is both good for your body and good for the environment!

5. We've all been there. You win! The crowd goes wild! Everyone's eyes are on you. You do your best to channel your inner Ochocinco, but instead perform the most awkward version of "The Robot" ever done at the conclusion of a major sporting event. So with this in mind, while your working on improving your ability to play the game, why not work on celebrating after it? This simple resistance based exercise will help the disco moves come to you faster than you can say "Saturday Night Fever". Note: Ochocinco has reportedly expressed interest in fulfilling his lifelong dream of playing Kubb. He has yet to report to Spring Training.

6. So Disco's not your thing huh? Well the above resistance based exercise will keep you on the cutting edge of dancing technology. Say hello to the "Lawn Mower". With slight modifications this can also be used to improve your skills at "The Shopping Cart".

Well folks, that about wraps it up. I don't want to give you everything out of my repertoire. Afterall, your humble commish is also a competitor. But until the day that the Kubb season goes into full Swing (perhaps this Saturday at the Husky Spring Game Invitational), happy training, and happy drinking.

Skål!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Shaking off the rust ...

It has begun! Kubb season is upon us! We had a beautiful day, which meant it was finally time to finally christened the backyard. Needless to say it was a monumental day!
L'Assassin and Señor Steuck:

The early season session also allowed a little bit of experimenting with the infallible SSBI. As of now the feeling is:

Outright victory = 3 pts
Victory when opponent misses the king = 2 pts
Loss by failing to hit the king = 1 pt
Loss = Minus a billion points

Scores will then be normalized by the number of matches.

So, for example, if we were keeping official tallies:

Match 1: 2 B - 1 K
Match 2: 3 B&C - 0 K&L
Match 3: 3 B&C - 0 K&L
Match 4: 1 B&C - 2 K&L

Matches Played:
BD 4
CO 3
KS 4
LP 3

SSBI:
CO 2.33
BD 2.25
KS 0.75
LP 0.67

If anybody has any suggestions on a more fair way to do it by all means let me know. Though I reserve the right to completely ignore it.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

4/17: The Sun is Shining!

The sun is shining folks. It's time for Spring Kubb Training to begin. Hopefully you've been doing your offseason exercises, because this year we're playing for keeps! (Whatever that means).

This blog may not be worth my trouble, in fact I'm certain it isn't. But it will be be a means to post photos, tell our stories, and most importantly to keeping a running ranking of all the stats of Kubbery. Rankings will be established by the Super Secret Blake Index (SSBI) which will find a way to balance team and individual performance to crown a champion.

What I need from you is
a) for you to follow this blog so you can get up to the minute stats,
b) any suggestions that would make this more interactive or fun,
c) a nickname with which you will be known by (I reserve the right to ignore it and put something completely different in place)

Welcome to the League folks! Skål!