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Take Part in World Atlatl Day – Saturday- June 7

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World Atlatl Day is Saturday, June 7. There are a variety of events planned. Try to get to an event listed below or if you aren’t close enough to any of these events, you can set up your own event!

All you need to set up a World Atlatl Day event are a couple of friends with atlatl sets and enough space to cast atlatl darts.

World Atlatl Day (WAD) was created by Linda Brundage of the New York Atlatl Association in 2011. In 2012, members attending the World Atlatl Association’s annual meeting voted to officially recognize the first Saturday in June of each year as World Atlatl Day. A special score sheet and contest rules are available on the World Atlatl Association’s website.

Below are the scheduled events:

June 6-8
WORLD ATLATL Day & Weekend Events
Atlatl-in-Action
389 Simkin Rd. Elmira, New York
ISAC, Mastodon Open and NYAA events (Team, Individual, Hunter, Distance and European). A New York Atlatl Association, Inc. sponsored and insured event.
Contact: Jack (570) 888-8258 rjrowe93@gmail.com or Tom Goble; (607) 215-9405

World Atlatl Weekend
Fri ISAC 5:30. Sat. ISAC, full European,and State completion. 9:30 to 5:00 (bring a lunch and we will enjoy the day) Sunday ISAC at 10:00.
Granneman Field.4 miles west of Ottumwa, Iowa
Primitive camping on site.
Contact Roger at (641) 799-1219 or mrgranneman@pcsia.net
Kevin Dogg (641) 777-5053 or kevin doggverhulst@gmail.con

June 7
World Atlatl Day Events

World Atlatl Day
Sugarloaf Open Space, Walnut Creek, CA
Practice starts at 10 a.m. Contests follow. All equipment is provided, or use your own. Contact Ranger Bruce Weidman at (925) 943-5899 x2665. weidman@walnut-creek.org

World Atlatl Day
Athens Public Library, Home Street, Athens, Ohio 45710
The Ohio Atlatl Association (OAA) will host atlatl accuracy contests – Ohio locals, ISAC, IASAC, World Atlatl Day team contests. 10:00 am – 5:00pm.
Contact Ray Strischek for more information, (ohioatlatl@hotmail.com) (740) 331-4351

World Atlatl Day Competition and ISAC
Glen Oechsner’s Residence. Campbellsport, Wisconsin
Contact Glen: (920) 533-5039

The Pennsylvania Miller Family ISAC and World Atlatl Day
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Location 3168 Horizon Drive, Brockway, Pennsylvania 15824
Equipment and instruction for beginners will be provided
Contact Mike Segalla sega2010@gmail.com (814) 590-2329
George Miller gmmiller@brockwaytv.com (814) 590-6462

World Atlatl Day competition and ISAC
Gary Nolf Residence Westbrook Connecticut 10:00-4:00
Contact Gary gnolf@comcast.net (860) 575-4263

World Atlatl Day Event at Pueblo Grande Museum
4619 E. Washington, Phoenix, Arizona
9 a.m. – Noon
World Atlatl Day contest will happen as people show up.
Contact Albert Abril aabril1@cox.net

World Atlatl Day and Fat Blanket Atlatl Throw & ISAC
Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Open to all, equipment and instruction cheerfully provided. Sponsored by the Wyoming Atlatl and Social Club.
Contact: Russell Richard coyoteclown@aol.com (307) 772-0550 for location and time.

World Atlatl Day (WAD) was initiated by Linda Brundage of the New York Atlatl Association in 2011. In 2012, members attending the World Atlatl Association’s annual meeting voted to officially recognize the first Saturday in June of each year as World Atlatl Day. A special score sheet and contest rules are available on the World Atlatl Association’s website.

If you cannot make it to any of the listed events, set up an event of your own and participate in
World Atlatl Day! Check here for the instructions for World Atlatl Day and the score sheet.

Students from Stevens Point University and teachers from various schools in Wisconsin were involved in an outdoor education workshop taught by Atlalist Lenny Riemersma. The students used Thunderbird Atlatl atlatl kits and darts for the workshop. Notice the Thunderbird Atlatl catalog being held up in the background! Maybe some of the participants will be taking part in World Atlatl Day.
Students from Stevens Point University and teachers from various schools in Wisconsin were involved in an outdoor education workshop taught by Atlalist Lenny Riemersma. The students used Thunderbird Atlatl atlatl kits and darts for the workshop. Notice the Thunderbird Atlatl catalog being held up in the background! Maybe some of the participants will be taking part in World Atlatl Day.

News

What is an Atlatl? $2,000 “AT First” clue on Jeopardy’s Battle of the Decades

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If you missed it here’s the atlatl clue that played on the May 16 final of the Battle of the Decades on Jeopardy on May 16.

The clue was worth $2000 for the correct answer which the eventual one million dollar winner got right away! This was Jeopardy’s Battle of the Decades finals competition highlighting the top contestants from the past three decades.

Screenshot of the Atlatl Clue. The presenter is holding our Catatonk Atlatl and a Dart. In the video clue, Bob is casting a dart with our Wyalusing Atlatl
Screenshot of the atlatl clue. The presenter is holding our Catatonk Atlatl and a Dart. In the video clue, Bob is casting a dart with our Wyalusing Atlatl

The show’s presenter demonstated how the atlatl was used with our Catatonk atlatl and one of our darts. In the background video clue, Bob Berg of Thunderbird Atlatl is shown casting a dart with our Waylusing atlatl. The entire show can be seen here on You Tube The atlatl clue starts at about 13:58.

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Premium Bamboo Darts Crafted in the Thunderbird Atlatl Shop

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Our individually made premium bamboo darts are state of the art and the best you can get, with our money back, no questions asked guarantee, just like all the rest of Thunderbird Atlatl products.

I start with bamboo that I select myself from cultivated stands of Japanese Arrow Cane often called Yadake, grown in Georgia, USA. Each shaft is carefully selected, sun dried, then fire straightened and trimmed. The outer skin is scraped off, the node area is filed smooth, and then the shafts are reheated and straightened once again. After that the shafts are sanded then polished. The finished shaft is a golden brown with a lustrous copal varnish finish that is applied to the finely polished shafts. I make the copal varnish myself using traditional techniques and materials. I use many of the same techniques used in making Kyudo arrows.

The Japanese bamboo used in making these darts is one of the finest natural dart materials that we have worked with. The way I fasten the conical copper points directly onto the ends of the shaft without an intervening fore shaft has proven to be the most effective method, both for accuracy and durability. We have found through experimentation that darts that are designed with a joint, where the fore shaft and main shaft come together, have an inherent weakness. We have experienced that darts with fore shafts generally fail at the joint. We have chosen to avoid fore shafts in favor of accuracy and durability.

At the spur end of the dart shaft is a fiber binding that creates an attractive and durable dimple that is finished in pigmented copal varnish. The fletching is wrapped with fine silk thread and glued. I finish by trimming the feathers with sharp scissors to create a very fine dart. –Bob Berg

Atlatl Bamboo Darts ready for fletching at the Thunderbird Atlatl shop. Check out the finish.
Atlatl Bamboo Darts ready for fletching at the Thunderbird Atlatl shop. Check out the finish.

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So much to experience and learn…Great Lakes Traditional Arts Gathering July 2014

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Thunderbird Atlatl will be returning to the Great Lakes Traditional Art Gathering on Drummond Island, Michigan July 9 to 13.

Bob Berg will be teaching about natural resin adhesives and atlatl dart making. Cheryll Berg will be on hand to help out. The atlatl courses will also include an Atlatls on Water target course. On the adhesives side, Bob will focus on birch tar, traditional resins and dop hafting.

Bob’s classes are only a few of the amazing schedule of classes offered during the program. Other topics include historic technology and crafts, textiles and fiber arts; metal arts; language, oral traditions, music and dance; hunting and fishing; maritime traditions; natural history and sustainability; foods and cooking; shelter arts; bushcraft; symposiums and programs for children.

Instructors include Erik Vosteen, Dave Shananquet, Daisy Kostus, George Martin, Jennie Brown, Peter McCreedy, Barry Keegan, Mike Miller, Craig Perdue, Sam Thayer, Waaseyaa’sin Christine Sy, Roger LaBine, Rachel Mifsud, Ben Piersma, Larry Horrigan, Ferdy Goode, Amy Schmidt, Tim Carr, Carly Shananaquet, Bob Love, Chris Hornby, Hugh Covert, George Hedgepeth, Georgia Donovan, Keith Knecht, Jan Zender, Rochelle Dale and others.

Click on the link above to find out more details out about the event and information about registering. It’s definitely worth a trip to Drummond Island in Michigan’s beautiful Upper Peninsula to spend a few days learning about the traditions that have brought us all forward to today.

These photos show Thunderbird Atlatl’s atlatl fishing excursion (after a full day of preparation!) last year at the Great Lakes Traditional Arts Gathering.

Night Fishing at Drummond Island with birch bark torches at the Great Lakes Traditional Arts Gathering.
Night Fishing at Drummond Island with birch bark torches at the Great Lakes Traditional Arts Gathering.
Fishing with harpoons in Lake Huron, Michigan, just off of Drummond Island. No fish were harmed in the production of this photo.
Fishing with harpoons in Lake Huron, Michigan, just off of Drummond Island. No fish were harmed in the production of this photo.

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