The Franklin Pierce University atlatl team is featured in a full-page article in Parade Magazine this week. Parade can be found in Sunday newspapers throughout the U.S. or online (see the link below). Franklin Pierce is located in New Hampshire.
The team, called the Hurling Ravens, was started in 2004 by Anthropology Professor Bob Goodby. The New Hampshire team, like the Grinnell College Raging Cow team in Iowa (started by Professor John Whittaker), is one of the few college atlatl teams in the country. The article mentions an atlatl team from the University of Vermont and we know the Raging Cows team from Grinnell and another from Luther College are just a few of the college teams which compete informally.
Thunderbird Atlatl sees the Franklin Pierce team each year at the annual Chimney Point Atlatl Contest in Vergennes, Vt. Along with the atlatls and darts the team members have built, we are pleased they use some of our equipment. We look forward to working more high school and college teams around the country. Congratulations to the Hurling Ravens on a nice article. The article was written by Jim Fennell of the New Hampshire Union Leader.
Thunderbird Atlatl will be at Letchworth State Park, Saturday, May 29, for an event organized by the New York State Atlatl Association and Doug Bassett centered around the park’s Learn to Catch a Fish event!
The atlatl event will run from Friday to Sunday and will feature ISACs, team, individual, hunter and European events. NYAA fully insured event. There is no fishing license required at a stocked trout pond, free picnic & door prizes, “Spear-fishing” Carp Target Derby and a variety of learning stations. “Red, White and Blue Balloon Rally” with massed balloon flights at 6:30pm Fri-Sun and 6am Sat-Mon, weather permitting. Nearby camping, cabins and lodging available. Call Douglas Bassett (585) 493-3625 for information. It should be a fun weekend!
There is an entrance fee to Letchworth State Park. Enjoy the weekend!
Check the World Atlatl Association’s event calendar for atlatl events this weekend! In the Northeast, the weather is perfect and it looks like a great weekend to be out!
Thunderbird Atlatl is looking forward to a summer of events and we look forward to seeing many of you on the road.
If you have any great atlatl pictures or stories, send them our way and we’ll try to post them on this website.
If you have any questions, give us a call at 800-836-4520 or our cell phone at 607-743-4379. In the photo below, young atlatlists try their skills at the annual atlatl contest at the Chimney Point Historical Site in Vergennes, Vt.
The show will be aired again Tuesday, May 18, at 9 p.m. on Spike TV. It is also available online. A promo for the show on Spike Channel says: “Aztec Jaguar, the ruthless ritual warrior of North America battles the Zande Warrior, a blood-thirsty killer of Central Africa. In a fight to the finish, these two pre-gunpowder tribal fighters will face off using Razor-sharp obsidian swords, jagged-edged spears and flying blades of death.”
Atlatl discussion boards pretty much agree that the show’s use of only a couple of darts in the battle is unrealistic and modern day atlatlists agree they would carry more than a couple of darts into battle. Watch the show and let us and Spike TV know what you think!
Below Thunderbird Atlatl’s Nanticoke Atlatl. This is the type of atlatl used in portions of the program.
It’s been a flurry of activity around the Thunderbird Atlatl shop these past few weeks. Spring (not counting the snow this past weekend in the Northeast!) is definitely here and atlatlists of all abilities, shapes and sizes are out there refining their skills or just having a great time trying to hit something!
As always, we have a great time meeting you at shows and classes, via email Some of our traditional atlatls and darts!and on the telephone! You can also find Thunderbird Atlatl on Facebook and follow us on Twitter! We’ll try to keep you updated as best we can! We’re setting up our spring, summer and fall schedule and will try to get that information up on line soon.
We are also updating our online catalog and should have that going by the end of the month. Meanwhile, you can check out our new hard copy catalog by downloading the PDF catalog to the left of this blog under the menu. If you would like a hard copy, just give us a call at 800-836-4520 (cell phone: 607-743-4379) or email us at contact@thunderbirdatlatl.com
You can order through the online catalog here or give us a call and we’ll take your order over the telephone. Looking forward to a busy year of workshops, shows and seeing old friends and making new friends!
