Kubboom Jr. No Longer Junior

EAU CLAIRE, Wisc. — Kubb unites people and creates peace on Earth. Everyone is welcome in our sport. Age is just a number. Gender doesn’t matter. Everyone has a spot on our baseline. These are the sentiments you hear repeated over and over when it comes to our game.

We crowned new U.S. National Champions on Sunday and they are young men. It would be easy to focus on their age, after all, their team is named Kubbom Jr. For years, their age was the story. Sam Klages is the elder statesman of the team at just 20 years old. He’s the anchor, meaning he goes last. The success or failure of a turn is often decided by him. Max Klages, the blaster extraordinaire, is Sam’s 17 year old younger brother. Sy Ellringer, 19, is the third-generation star that can do it all. Plug him in wherever you need him, and he will succeed. While age is undoubtably part of the story, this story is much bigger than age.

While young on this Earth, they are grizzled veterans on the kubb pitch. They have been playing on family formed teams that have shaped the foundation of kubb. These three have played right beside their families since they were old enough to hold batons. These teams and their families are considered royalty in kubb, and these three boys were the princes.

As a giant fan of our game for many years, I’ve been asking myself if this was the year Kubboom Jr. would put all the pieces together and lift the Stapp King over their heads. Their “break out” season as a team came in 2018 when our current champions won the U.S. Junior Kubb Championship on the Friday before the big show. The Klages brothers would then be joined by Scott Graham for the main tournament, but they retained the Kubboom Jr. name. Sy would play with his father and grandfather for the main tournament. Kubboom Jr. would run the table and advance to the semi-finals for the first time and come up against three amazing players. The Klages brothers enjoyed an amazing reception from the local Eau Claire fans as everyone watched a near upset. However, their tournament would end there in “the Cage.”

If 2018 was the breakout season, then 2022 was the year they proved they belonged as an elite team. All three of our 2023 National Champions were in the Cage, but playing on two separate teams. Kubboom Jr., again with the guidance of Graham, returned to the semi-finals while Sy Ellringer would win Basta Inkastre (Best Kubb Tosser) playing on his three-generation family team, El Ringers. Playing separately, they would fall just short of their goals by finishing with the bronze medal and fourth place.

This year, the three kubb superstars rejoined forces and played under the Kubboom Jr. name once again. Sam, Sy, and Max played with the legacy and expectations of their family names, and with the supporting admiration of the fans. They returned to the Cage once again and stood toe-to-toe with the most decorated kubb team to ever compete in Eau Claire. Two of their opponents are our nation’s greatest players and all three are one half of the team that are the reigning world champions. Together once again, this time on U.S. soil, they stood in Kubboom Jr.’s way.

As I said at the beginning, this story isn’t about their age and it isn’t about their opponents. I only used our central characters’ names in this story to highlight my point (no disrespect is meant). They were mighty and they all played well, but this story was about the three locally grown stars completing their journey. This story was about the passing of the baton, both figuratively and literally.  From three amazing, awe-inspiring, titans of kubb to the next generation. Kubboom Jr. took that baton and Max blasted it into a pile of kubbs that his brother Sam skillfully placed for him. Sy and Sam took that baton given to them and came up clutch. Baton turning, arching in the air, the weight of the world now off their shoulders. All they could do is believe. There’s no better sound on this Earth than a baton hitting a baseline kubb and the crowd exploding with celebration! The coronation of the three princes is complete. No longer princes, but kings! Kings of kubb—and long live the kings! 

I checked my phone right after shutting down the livestream and saw a message from a friend of mine, who I think said it best, “Kubboom Jr. no longer Jr.”