Queen City Kubb Spring Fling 2017 Recap

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — The Queen City Kubb Spring Fling is one of the smallest kubb tournaments on the kubb circuit, but what it lacks in numbers it makes up for in quality play and enthusiasm! The week prior to the tournament the field saw three days of heavy rain, making the pitches soft. The weather forecast was calling for high temperatures and boy were they right. By the time play started at 10 a.m. it was already 80 degrees and by noon, the temperature reached 90 degrees. With little to no cloud cover, this made the day not only a battle between each of the teams but a grueling struggle against the sweltering heat. The heat did a number on the pitches as well, changing the ground from soft and wet all morning, to hard and dry by the semi-finals.

The day started with six rounds of qualifying play. The qualifying rounds were filled with great matches all around. Many of the games took almost the entire 25 minutes and there were a few ties. At lunch, volunteers from the Appalachian Service Project served some North Carolina barbecue sandwiches, cole slaw, chips, cookies, and a drink while everyone took shelter under the tents to keep out of the sun.

After lunch, each team was seeded into the championship bracket with the Kubbstaches (Bob Hickes, Jake Leavitt) coming out as the number one seed without a loss all morning. The top seeds won each of the quarter-final matches setting up semi-final matches with the top seeded Kubbstaches taking on Mac & Cheese (Mike Davids, Melissa Davids) and Das Kubb (Nicholas Bartlett, Eli Jackson, Michael Roberts) taking on second seeded Pillsbury Throw Boys (Drew Gander, Kyle Weakland). Both matches were great to watch with the Kubbstaches pulling out the victory and Das Kubb upsetting the two seed 2-0 to advance to the finals.

The finals match was streamed through Facebook Live, with the first game proving that these were the best two teams on the field. After trading eight meter hits back and forth, Das Kubb was able to blast a pile of seven with three batons and hit the last eight meter with their next baton, jumping out and taking the first game. The second game went back and forth until Das Kubb gave up and advantage. They couldn’t dig themselves out of the hole and Kubbstaches took game two to tie it up at one game a piece. In the third game, Das Kubb’s inconsistent short game carried over, and they gave up an early advantage line. The Kubbstaches jumped on the opportunity and took out the king with their last baton for their second straight Spring Fling Championship.

In the third place game, Pillsbury Throw Boys took on Mac & Cheese and it was an exciting battle. The Throw Boys were able hit some great eight meter shots and eventually take game one. In game two Mac & Cheese gave up a couple advantage lines which eventually cost them the game. Two other awards were handed out for the top finishing female (Melissa Davids) and kid (Aidan Fletcher).

Final Results

1. Kubbstaches (Bob Hickes, Jake Leavitt)
2. Das Kubb (Nicholas Bartlett, Eli Jackson, Michael Roberts)
3. Pillsbury Throw Boys (Drew Gander, Kyle Weakland)