The 2nd leg of Kubbapalooza was held in a new location this year on June 22nd, 2024. Fourteen teams descended upon Our Place in West Bend, Wiscosin, ready to battle it out through some stormy weather, wet sand, and puddles to not only win the Sand Games, but to improve their standings in the 2024 chase for Kubbapalooza glory! ECK sent four teams up North to represent our club. The kubb count was used, with a team getting an extra point for toppling the king. The playoffs split into a gold and silver bracket and was double elimination.

Scott Kent and Andy Mareska joined up and were known as Those Savages. They battled the conditions and drew a tough first match, Ragnarok (Lars Arneson & Alisha Pleotis), who took them down. They dropped their next match to The Darkness ‐ Huginn (Shane & Jenny), but then won the next 2 over the Kubbie Brothers and Kubb Krew. In the 5th round, they battled to a tie ‐ trailing against the All American Kubbjetcs (Bryan Jones & Sara Rydzik) and then closed qualifiying with a over the always tough, Kubb Nerds (Jason & Dee Dee Halvorson). That win secured them the 8th and final spot in the gold bracket and a matchup with the top seeded Eau Chaska (Spencer Ollmann & Trevor Bailey). Sadly, they were defeated and then were beat by Ragnarok for the second time on the day, ending their tournament.

The King is Dead returned after a strong finish in the Ice Games. Made up of Rory Ogea, Dan Figliomeni, and Bill Rausch, the boys started the day out with one of each. A win over the Kubbie Brothers, a loss to Kraken Kubbs (Scott & Stephanie Taylor), and a straight tie with the Kubb Nerds. They went on to win their next 2, which included beating Energy City Kubb before losing to top seeded Eau Chaska to end their morning. The ended up tying Ragnarok for 4th place in points, but were given the 5th seed based on opponent's score. They faced Raganrok and won in the first round of the gold bracket and beat them before falling to eventual champion, Eau Chaska. They then pulled a bit of an upset in beating Glori Holtz before losing to Kraken Kubbs. Congratulations on the 4th place finish!

George Sloan and Mike Nichol paired up as Energy City Kubb again and finished qualifying at 2-2-2 with a true tie against the Kraken Kubbs and a tie leading against Triple Threat (Matt Green, Bryce Pecore, and Dan Ivanuck). This found them at the top of the silver bracket, just 2 kubbs shy of potentially 6th place. They took care of business in the silver bracket, by heading into the championship after wins over the All American Kubbjects and the Kubb Nerds. More on the championship later.

Something Clever had 2 of its members return from the Ice Games (Brett Bauer and Doug Fetterman). They won their first match against the Kubb Krew, then tied losing to Triple Threat before going on to only win only one of the next four. They had Ragnarok on the ropes, but Brett went 0-3 from a short porch which not only cost them their last game of the morning, but pushed them down to 6th place. Had those 2 baseline kubbs had fallen, Something Clever would have found themselves headed into the gold bracket in 4th place with a more favorable matchup than the draw they got ‐ Triple Threat. The guys fell to them and then to Glori Holtz in their next match. Despite already losing twice, they were still alive in the silver bracket and had to go through the Kubbie Brothers, All American Kubbjects, The Darkness ‐ Huginn, and the Kubb Nerds on their way to face Energy City Kubb. The rain was falling, the sun was setting, and the rest of the tournament was over as friends and fellow ECK members battled back and forth for the silver bracket championship. Mike and George only needed to win one game to take home the title and boy were they close. But, some clutch inkastaring by Doug late in the game earned Something Clever game 1. If you thought game 1 was a marathon, I don't know what to use to describe game 2. It was a classic back and forth match and it became clear that whichever team made the first mistake wasn’t going to survive it. Something Clever found themselves with a porch late and that was enough to topple the king and win the silver bracket of the 2024 Sand Games. They also played the most games that were possible on the day, which made Brett very happy.

Many thanks to Steve & Christine McDiarmid for putting together a wonderful tournament and all the fun that come with Kubbapalooza. Congratulations to Eau Chaska on winning the gold bracket! Be sure to register for Grass Games on September 14th, which will be back at Our Place in West Bend, WI. We'll see you there!

The 2nd Annual Brew City Classic was held near the Milwaukee Preztel Company's grounds on May 25th, 2024. It is hosted by one of the kubb community's favorite couples, Sara Rydzik and Cody Glorioso. The stacked 10-team field enjoyed some wonderful weather after a night of heavy storms (I still would have played in some friendlies) and high winds. The pitches were perfect, the pretzles and pulled pork were delicious, and the trophies were baked. And the mad scientist of kubb, Steve McDiarmid, debuted the well received Pitch Pal! Stay tuned for my official review in a few weeks. In any case, we were all set for a wonderful day of kubb!

Deanna Barkocy joined Doug Fetterman to form DNA. Congratulations to Deanna on attending her first tournament! I have officially confirmed that the kubb community hopes it isn't your last and that we see you at several more in 2024 and beyond. Doug was clearly thrilled to get a break from his normal teammate (me, Brett Bauer), which was evident by the huge grin he had all day long. As fate would have it and after the two hour drive, DNA was matched up against fellow ECKers, George Sloan and Scott Kent playing under the team name, Energy City Kubb (maybe George wanted Scott's appearance to be a last minute surprise!). DNA fell short in that match as they did throughout most of the day, with their highlight coming in round 5, when they secured a dramatic draw against a familiar foe, the Sons of Norway Prezz Klubb (John and Darlene Arneson). Not too many teams fare well in their first outing, but DNA definitely had a blast with Doug's daughter even getting a few competitive throws in by day's end.

The aforementioned Energy City Kubb had an up and down day. They started out 2-1 with wins against DNA and the always tough Kubb Nerds (Jason and Dee Dee Halvorson) and a loss against a tournament favorite, Glori Holtz (Cody Glorioso and Adam Holtz). The went on to finish qualifying in 7th place and earned a match up against another tournament favorite and defending champions, Wolves Without Branches (Jesse Fraim and Matt Green). Though they battled hard, the Batavia boys fell short and found themselves in the Silver Bracket after an 0-2 defeat. However, in that loss, the duo found their stride and went onto dominate the round robin style bracket! An outstanding win over the Roking Tigers served as the highlight, landing them in the top spot! Congratulations to two of ECK's founding members on the win!

Brett Bauer teammed up with the king of the grind from Kraken Kubbs, Scott Taylor, to form the team, Kraken Something. Scott has been known to wear some bright colors on the pitch, and Brett certainly came dressed appropriately. Their day started on a pitch that was a bit difficult to master and they fell to the Kubb Nerds. They went on to win four of their next five matches, with a big time win (Brett had a turkey!) in the 6th round against the Roking Tigers to really shake things up on the final leaderboard. Kraken Something found themselves in 4th place and matched up against the Pitch Pals (Steve and Christine McDiarmid) in the Championship bracket. They won that match 2-0, but went on to battle and eventually fall to Glori Holtz for the 2nd and 3rd time on the day. With spirits high and outfits bright, the guys were paired up against Gettin' Kubby Wit the Mafia (Jerry Schuster & Austin Harper) in the 3rd place match. You can watch this match as you can with the finals of most tournaments via Kubb On's Facebook page. Brett and Scott got out to a lead by taking game 1 and had their opponent where they wanted them in game 2 until an incredible turn by GKWTM brought them right back in it and eventually led to the series being tied 1 - 1. The Championship match was put on hold as these titans headed to a third and final game. The last game was a back and forth battle with Kraken eventually having a king toss to win the match and to secure 3rd place in the tournament. Unfortunately, Scott missed wide right and GKWTM came back strong. Brett left back to back porches and that was too much to overcome. Congratulations to Jerry and Austin on winning that beautful and I am sure delicious 3rd place trophy! Kraken Something's debut ended with a 4th place finish.

ECK would also like to congratulate Branches With Wolves on repeating their title! Matt and Jesse are two of our game's finest ambassadors. If you don't know them, I emplore you to find 5 minutes at the Midwest Championship and introduce yourself. You won't regret it!

Finally, thanks again to Cody, Sara, and their families for putting together yet another wonderful tournament. There is a lot that goes into putting one of these together on top of everyday life and they didn't miss a beat. Please plan to play next year in the Brew City Classic if you can. It is on July 26th, it's an easy day trip and a wonderful experience. They also host the Wisconsin State Kubb Championship, which is in the Dells on July 27th. Until then, keep kubbin'!!!

One thing that all EKC members agree on is that the Stoughton Invitational is a great tournament! Heck, it is practically local (less than 2 hours away)! Unfortunately, the league didnt't send any teams in 2023, but made up for that this year by sending two! Those Glorious Bastards (George Sloan, Scott Kent, Matt Bucci) and Something Clever (Brett Bauer, Doug Fetterman) made the trip this year with both ending up in the top 10! It was a beautiful day up in Stoughton, WI, despite the incredibly inconsistent and frustrating wind!

Something Clever started the day hot with a three turn win despite a king miss, which unbeknownst at the time, was foreshadowing for later in the day. They played a solid game 2 and tied a regular foe and eventual champion, Ragnarok (Lars & Jens Aranson). Things shifted in game 3, when they left a second porch against Ready, Wham! (Andrew Schmidt & Caleb Lauer) after Brett went 0-3 on his blast. Brett missed another king in game 4, but luckily, he had another baton and Something Clever took out the Pitch Wizards (Steve & Christine McDiarmid). Something Clever played a very solid game 5 and beat Stoughton Kubb Club members and parents of Ragnarok, the Sons of Norway (John & Darlene Arneson). Stay tuned for an upcoming post as to how siblings Lars, Jens, and Sigrid have parents named John and Darlene.

Game 6 is when it all changed for Something Clever. Matched up against the tough duo Left in Suspense (Joe Dekan & Spencer Ollman), Something Clever came out firing and took advantage of their opponents struggling to find their 8-meter shots. Doug had an incredible baseline triple and in his following turn, he managed to clear 7 kubbs with 2 batons and take out an 8 meter. In what turned out to be a crucial miss, Brett went wide left on his first 8-meter toss. Thankfully, he knocked it down on his next throw and prepared to hit the king with his last baton to finish off what would have been one of the biggest upsets of the day. On a throw that will haunt him for the rest of his days, Brett missed the king. Giving Left in Suspence another chance was too much for Something Clever to overcome and they pulled out a victory a few turns later as time was expiring.

Those Glorious Bastards started the day slow but found their stride as the day went on. Facing Ivant the Glori (Dan Ivanuk & Cody Glorioso) is no easy feat at any part of the day, but especially at the start of a tournament. The boys hung around and lost as time was running out. They were rewarded for their strong play by being matched up with one of the Madion Kubb Leaguet's toughest duos, Regicidal Timber Mafia (Jerry Schuster & Aaron). In yet another marathon of a match, the Appleton Dr. neighbors came up just short again, dropping to 0-2 on the day. They found their stride in game 3 and beat a regular Kubbapalooza opponent, Team Sisu (Joe & Emily Malkasian). Their hot play continued in Game 4 and this time Those Glorious Bastards ended up victorious at the last minute, knocking down the king against Feeling Kubby (Wayne Fell & Jim Hansen) just before time ran out. Game 5 found them match with the Wild Bucks (Bryce & Everett Pecore). Young, up and comer Everett gave the gang all they could handle, and the game ended in a draw. The 8-year-old is already a great player and would hold his own in our Tuesday night league! I can't wait to watch his game continue to develop. Those Glorious Bastards took care of the Sons of Norway in Game 6 and headed to lunch at 3-2-1.

After lunch, the two EKC teams were scheduled to duel it out in the last qualifying match for a spot in the top 10. In what was expected to be a battle turned out to be a dud. Something Clever again came out hot and were in the lead, but a hot turn by Those Glorious Bastards tied things up and they then went perfect from a line to defeat Something Clever with a baton in hand. Those Glorious Bastards (4-2-1) qualified 6th and Something Clever (3-3-1) entered the Championship Bracket as the 14 seed.

Something Clever found themselves across the pitch from Ragnarok for the second time on the day. Game 1 was back and forth for a bit, but a porch was left and Jens took out the king for the W. Ragnarok found their stride that would eventually take them on to win it all in game 2 and eliminated Something Clevert's championship hops quite quickly. The high school pals got a nice draw in the Silver Bracket with the Porch Pounders (Bryan Englebert & Forrest Howk) from the Madison Kubb League, but playing as uninspired as possible, left an early porch and were sent packing with a T9 finish. A tournament that started out awfully well for them all turned on that last king miss, which was also the last king toss they had all day. Way to go, Brett!

Those Glorious Bastards drew the 11th seed and frequent foe, the Kubb Nerds (Dee & Jason Halvorson). Ragnarok must not like Batavia very much, which was already evident by Lars' refusal to play in our tournament each year. He's always claimed to have conflicts, but after today, I wonder how true those were. Jens and Lars took care of the Batavia boys in two games, making them 4-0-1 against EKC teams on the day. But, when you run into a buzzsaw, there isnt't much you can do. I was hoping that they would have thanked Energy City Kubb for the part we played on their way to their first Stoughton Kubb Invitational, but I sure didnt't hear anything. Maybe they were too busy opening their trophy for a quick post tournament snack! Congratulations to Those Glorious Bastards for their T5 finish!

In all seriousness, congratulations to Ragnarok on the championship! And many thanks to Todd and the entire Stoughton Kubb Club for running what is always a wonderful tournament. If you can make it next year, you should! I am sure Ragnarok would enjoy crushing the dreams of as many Batavia teams as they can!

When one of the original Energy City Kubb members relocated to Southern California, it was all but a done deal that some players from our league would venture out to compete in the West Coast Kubb Championship. That's exactly what four member did! George Sloan and Brian Beling traveled the 2,000 plus miles to not only visit their friend and fellow league member, Mark Burke, but to also team up with him under the memorable name, Taste the Biscuit. They were joined by Brett Bauer and Doug Fetterman, who played as their usual name, Something Clever.

Unlike most tournaments, the West Kubb Coast Championship takes place on a Sunday. This year it was on April 28th and hosted by the LA Kubb Club at Orange Grove Park in South Pasadena, with the 3rd place and Championship games later played at a private (and super fancy) residence. The teams couldn't have asked for better hosts nor weather. The two Illinois based teams were joined by some familiar Midwestern faces that were all in need of a break from the brutal winter weather of the upper Midwest. The Kubboom posse out of Eau Claire, WI, combined to make three teams, including two-thirds of this year's national championship team, Kubboom Jr., Max and Sam. DeeDee and Jason of the Kubb Nerds also escaped the cold of Kasson, MN to try and win the left coast championship. Be sure to check out their tournament, Kubbin' to Kick Cancer on June 8th.

Taste the Biscuit finished the qualifying round with a big win in game 6 and ended up 3-1-1-1. They had a tie leading in front of them against the King Seekers in their 4th game were it not for just an incredible last turn by the Seekers that included a crazy triple and a baseline clear on their last toss of the match. It was one of the best turns of the entire tournament and sadly, it went against the Batavia boys. But Taste the Biscuit met their goal of finishing in the top 8, by taking that final spot in the Championship Bracket.

Something Clever also won their 6th and final game of the qualifying match against Pitch Perfect, one of the Kubboom teams, and finished the morning at 4-2 with their only losses coming to the top seeded Kubbix Rubes (JP and Marshall) and eventual 2nd place finisher, Mr. Kubboom (Pat and Steve). Much like their brethren from Energy City, the goal was top 8 and Something Clever headed into the afternoon as the 6th seed.

Unfortunately, the chase for hardware came to an end for both teams in the opening round of the Championship Bracket. Taste the Biscuit lost to the red hot Kubbix Rubes for the 2nd time on the day (they beat Something Clever too), but they cooled them off as the Kubbix Rubes lost the next match and ended up finishing in 3rd place overall. The story was much the same for Something Clever. Eventual 4th place finisher, Kubbake (Wayne and Ray) took care of the boys in two straight games. Doug had an early penalty in game 1 that Brett was no help in clearing and it ended up standing until the king was toppled. Game 2 was much closer until one too many porches were left. When it was all said and done, both teams finished T5 in a field of 31 teams.

Congratulations to the Lumber Liquidators (Ben & Julian Petrillo) on their back-to-back West Coast titles! And again, many thanks to our wonderful hosts, the LA Kubb Club. Regardless of Mark's whereabouts in 2025, you can bet Energy City Kubb will be well represented in the 2025 West Coast Championship!

Energy City Kubb's own Something Clever (Brett Bauer & Doug Fetterman) won the Silver bracket in last month's North Carolina Kubb Championship. The North Carolina Championship was hosted by Queen City Kubb (https://www.queencitykubb.com/index.html) and not only was it the second tournament of the year that featured Energy City Kubb members, but it was also the second of the six tournaments on the Atlantic Kubb Tour. The tournament took place on March 23rd in Davidson, NC.

Not too many folks showed up for friendlies on some arid pitches on Friday night due to rain in the forecast and boy did the rains come! Shoes were ruined and there was a lot of slipping and sliding in some extremely muddy conditions that lasted throughout the entire day on Saturday. The rain stuck around in the morning, but eventually the sun did peak through and by the end of the tournament, it was quite nice out.

Something Clever came out quick, beating My Pitches in 4 turns despite forgetting to use their short porch on their 3rd turn. Game 2 ended in a tie against the eventual champions, Kraken Beer (Dan Corey/Mike Horengic) as there were some great clears, but no one could quite get it going on 8 meters, which sadly became a theme to the day for Brett. Something Clever had plenty of ups and downs over the next four matches and ended the day 3-2-1, which was good enough for 5th place in qualifications.

The first Gold bracket matchup was a battle. Something Clever went up against Das Kubb (Mike Davids/Nick Bartlett) and the teams exchanged blows for nearly an hour. Das Kubb left a porch, but Brett went 1 for 3 in trying to clear the baseline. Das Kubb went on to win game 1 and eventually game 2 to advance and ultimately take 3rd place in the tournament. Losing dropped Something Clever into the Silver Bracket.

In their two Silver bracket matches, Something Clever found their groove and beat the Piss Missiles (Brian West/Bryant Cook) in a single game and the Functioning Kubbaholics (Ryan Huber/Shawn Bittinger) 2-0 in the Silver bracket championship.

Many thanks to Queen City Kubb for being great hosts and best of luck to all the teams competing for the Atlantic Kubb Tour title. Check out the remaining schedule here - https://www.atlantickubbtour.com/home.html.