Today’s Skill Builder Wednesday focuses on baton throws from an advantage line (short porch) and precision blasting shots.

The Short Porch Challenge

Example of the setup for The Short Porch game.

I designed the Short Porch Challenge to work on loose piles and the 2 and 3 meter distances. It’s great work for working the quarter, half, and full baton rotations. You’ll find lots of angles to throw from along the baseline to try and maximize getting kubbs down. You’ll also be working around debris, as well. The following picture shows the set up. There are four rows of kubbs arranged on the near pitch. Place the kubbs in each row as follows: two, three, three, and two. Space the kubbs one kubb distance apart side to side and a baton distance apart starting from the king and moving towards your baseline.

The object if the game is to try to get all the kubbs down and the king last with six batons or less. It’s okay if the king falls after the last field kubb, but not before, or you lose.

Blast to the King

Blast to the King is another short porch game, but this time you’ll only use five kubbs and three batons. The kubbs are arranged in domino fashion on the near pitch from the king back toward your baseline in the following baton length distances: two, one, two, one, and two. You’ll need to get doubles or better every time you throw to win this game. Hitting the last field kubb and then the king down in one throw is okay, but if the king falls early you lose.

The London Bridge Throw

The London Bridge Throw is a game that originated in Europe. There are times when a blaster needs to throw a baton with great precision to get a kubb down, especially when there’s a lot of debris around it. The London Bridge Throw prepares blasters for this situation. At the 4 meter mark (mid-field) three kubbs are stacked like London bridge, two vertically and one horizontal on the top. The one on top should barely catch the edges of the vertical kubbs. This leaves about a four inch space through the bridge. Right behind the bridge is a kubb standing so it is visible to the blaster. The blaster works on throwing a baton softly and low with the right rotation to slide it through London Bridge and hit the kubb down. But if you topple the bridge you lose. How many can you get in a row? Try using 12 kubbs and make three towers across the centerline. Can you get all three kubbs down without a miss?