Man who started ax throwing 18 months ago headed to national championship
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Updated: 7:48 AM PDT Apr 8, 2021
Travis Lee
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Updated: 7:48 AM PDT Apr 8, 2021
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DEVELOPMENT FOR A GUY WHO HADN'T THROWN AN AXE 18 MONTHS AGO . IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN DESTINY THAT ORION SICKELS FINDS HIMSELF ON THE WAY TO THE U.S. OPEN OF AXE THROWING. "LIKE THE FIRST DAY I JUST PICKED IT UP REALLY QUICK." IN THE FALL OF 2019, HE WAS IN BETWEEN JOBS WHEN HE SAW A POSTING FOR AN AXE THROWING COACH AT "THE AXE PIT". "I DIDN'T HAVE ANY COACHING EXPERIENCE, LIKE I PLAYED SPORTS HIGH AND EXPERIENCED COACHING BUT I HAD NO COACHING EXPERIENCE" BUT HE GOT THE JOB, AND SELF TAUGHT HIMSELF, HE SAYS THE SPORTS' INCLUSIVENESS IS DRIVING ITS POPULARITY. " WE HAVE 80-YEAR-OLD WOMEN HERE THROWING WITH HER GRANDKIDS YOU KNOW WE HAVE A GENTLEMAN IN HERE IT WAS IN A WHEELCHAIR AND HE WAS ABLE TO THROW WE GOT A GENTLEMAN WHO IS A MARINE VET WITH ONE ARM WAS ABLE TO THROW." HE PUT HIS THROWING TO THE TEST AT THE REGIONALS AND SURPRISED HIMSELF. "I HELD MY OWN I FOUGHT REALLY HARD. I GUESS THE COUPLE PEOPLE THAT I'VE BEEN DOING IT FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS AND I PLACED HIGH ENOUGH TO GO TO THE U.S. OPEN AND IT WAS A HUGE SHOCK FOR ME." HE'S LOOKING AT THE U.S. OPEN AS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE, KNOWING, SOME DAY HE'D LIKE TO GO BACK AND TRY TO WIN THE WHOLE THING. "IT'S DOUBLE ILLUMINATION SO I'M HOPING TO WIN AT LEAST ONE IF I WIN ONE. I WILL BE FINE IF NOT I'M JUST THERE TO LEARN TO. SICKELS IS BELIEVED TO B THE FIRST MAINER TO EARN