IATF Knife Throwing Rules & Guidelines

General Match Overview

Players will need three knives to play.

Two targets are needed to play.

Regular matches consist of three rounds of six throws, with a fourth tie breaker round only if necessary.

Rounds

A round consists of six throws, in two “flights” of three throws.

A flight consists of three throws between which knives are not retrieved from the target (or ground, or elsewhere).

• note: it is possible that subsequent throws can affect the position of earlier throws
• note: scores are officially recorded only after all three knives in the flight are thrown and have come to rest either in the target, on the ground, or elsewhere

Throws

• Players will start from a planted position behind the regular minimum throwing distance line (see Regular Minimum Throwing Distance Line below)
• Players may start farther from the target than the regular minimum throwing distance line
• Players may take a step or steps during their throw, provided they remain behind the regular minimum throwing distance line at all times
• Players will throw knifes holding the handle, not the blade

Regular Rounds

The sequence of events for a regular round are as follows:

• the players will complete throwing the first flight of three knives
• the scores will be recorded for the three knives in Flight 1 (see Scoring below)
• the players will retrieve their knives
• the players will throw two knives in the second flight, then pause
• the interim score after five throws will determined from the score of the first flight, plus the point-in-time scores of the first two knives of the second flight
• the players will come to an agreement on their intention on the final throw, aiming at the bullseye or Clutch, or electing to wait
  • the players need not aim for the same target element on their final throw, but each should know the other’s intended target before either player throws
  • the player with the lower score can elect to wait for the other player to throw their final knife before declaring their aim
  • if the players are tied in the round, but one player trails in the match overall, the trailing player can elect to wait for the other player to throw their final knife before declaring their aim
  • if the players are tied in both the round and the match overall, they will throw at the same time
  • in the event that an agreement cannot be reached between the players, the scorekeeper or referee will instruct the players to throw for bullseye
• the players throw their final knife
• the scores will be recorded for each knife in Flight 2
  • note: it is possible that the third throw in the flight affects the score of the first two throws. i.e. the third throw dislodges one of the first two knives
  • the scores recorded are based on the resting positions of the knives after all three throws in the flight
• the player with the higher score has won the round
• ties are possible

Playoff Rounds

The sequence of events for a playoff round are as follows:

• the players will complete throwing the first flight of three knives
• the scores will be recorded for the three knives in Flight 1 (see Scoring below)
• the players will retrieve their knives
• the players will throw two knives in the second flight, then pause
• the interim score after five throws will determined from the score of the first flight, plus the point-in-time scores of the first two knives of the second flight
• the players will come to an agreement on their intention on the final throw, aiming at the bullseye or Clutch, or electing to wait
  • the players need not aim for the same target element on their final throw, but each should know the other’s intended target before either player throws
  • the player with the lower score can elect to wait for the other player to throw their final knife before declaring their aim
  • if the players are tied in the round, but one player trails in the match overall, the trailing player can elect to wait for the other player to throw their final knife before declaring their aim
  • if the players are tied in both the round and the match overall, they will throw at the same time
  • in the event that an agreement cannot be reached between the players, the scorekeeper or referee will instruct the players to throw for bullseye
• the players throw their final knife
• the scores will be recorded for each knife in Flight 2
  • note: it is possible that the third throw in the flight affects the score of the first two throws. i.e. the third throw dislodges one of the first two knives
  • the scores recorded are based on the resting positions of the knives after all three throws in the flight
• the player with the higher score has won the round
• ties are resolved within the round using the tie breaker rules described below

Matches

Regular Matches

Matches consist of three regular rounds of six throws, with a fourth tie breaker round only if necessary.

The player winning the most rounds in a match is the match winner.

The sequence of events for a match are as follows:

• the players will determine on which of the two targets they will begin
  • if there is a disagreement, i.e. both players wish to begin on the same target, then a suitable randomized process should be used to determine their starting targets. Examples include Rock-Paper-Scissors or coin toss
• the players will complete Round 1
• the players will switch targets
  • reminder: Round 1 is complete after six throws, i.e. two flights of three throws, they do not switch between flights. This may take some getting used to for some throwers familiar with IATF axe throwing
• the players will complete Round 2
• the players will switch targets
• the players will complete Round 3
• if one player has won more rounds than the other, the match is complete and that player has won the match
• if players have won and tied an equal number of rounds, a tie breaker round will be played (see Tie Breaker Rounds below)

Playoff Matches

Matches consist of a set of up to five or up to seven playoff rounds.

Once a player has won the majority of the rounds, the match is complete and that player is the match winner.

The sequence of events for a match are as follows:

• the players will determine on which of the two targets they will begin
  • if there is a disagreement, i.e. both players wish to begin on the same target, then a suitable randomized process should be used to determine their starting targets. Examples include Rock-Paper-Scissors or coin toss
• the players will complete Round 1
• the players will switch targets
• the players will complete Round 2
• the players will switch targets
• the players continue playing rounds and switching targets between rounds until one player has won the majority of the rounds

Tie Breaker Rounds

Tie breaker rounds consist of at least one flight of throws from behind the tie breaker minimum throwing distance line.

• Players will start from a planted position behind the tie breaker minimum throwing distance line (see Tie Breaker Minimum Throwing Distance Line below)
• Players may start farther from the target than the tie breaker minimum throwing distance line
• Players may take a step or steps during their throw, provided they remain behind the tie breaker minimum throwing distance line at all times

The sequence of events for a tie breaker are as follows:

• if both targets are designed to throw at the required distance, players will throw at the same time
• if only one of the two targets can accommodate the required distance, the players will come to an agreement on who will throw first
  • if there is a disagreement, i.e. both players wish to throw first, then a suitable randomized process should be used to determine their order. Examples include Rock-Paper-Scissors or coin toss
• players will throw a flight of three knives
• once all three knives have been thrown the scores will be recorded for each knife based on their resting position
• the player with the higher score has won the tie breaker round
• in the event of a tie, players will each throw another flight of three knives
• players will repeat this process until one player has the higher score

Throwing For Clutch

During a tie breaker, players can elect to throw for Clutch only on their third throw of a flight.

Target Board Elements

Placement of Bullseye

The center of the bullseye sits 63” (1,600 mm) from the floor and centered horizontally on the target surface. These elements are centered on this point:

• A filled green circle, 2” (51 mm) in diameter
• A black ring. 7” (178 mm) in diameter
• A red ring, 17” (432 mm) in diameter

Placement of Clutches

Two Clutches, filled green circles 2” (51 mm) in diameter, are set above the rings

• the Clutches are centered on points 79.5” (2,019 mm) from the floor, and
• offset 10” (254 mm) to the left and right from the midpoint of the target (a point 16.5” (419 mm) directly above the bullseye center)
• inside the green Clutches, centered on the Clutch center, a white rectangle 1.5” (38 mm) in height and 1” (25 mm) in width is inscribed

Shared Target Elements with IATF Axe Throwing

The knife target board uses some elements in common with IATF axe throwing:

• the black ring
• the red ring
• Premier Clutches

The blue ring used in IATF axe throwing is not used in IATF knife throwing.

Scoring

All knives are measured at the plane of the surface of the board.

General Scoring

Throws at the bullseye are awarded the highest value that applies, as follows:

• if the blade is in contact with the center green circle, score 5 points
• if the blade is in contact with, or completely within, the black ring, score 3 points
• if the blade is in contact with, or completely within, the red ring, score 1 point
• all other throws, including knives landed outside the red ring and dropped knives, are worth 0 points

Throws at the Clutch are awarded the highest value that applies, as follows:

• if the blade is completely within the white rectangle, score 7 points
• if the blade is in contact with both the top and bottom line of the white rectangle, effectively splitting the white rectangle, score 7 points
• if the blade is in contact the green Clutch, score 5 points
• all other throws, including dropped knives are worth 0 points

Tie Breaker Scoring

Scoring for tie breakers follows the same scoring as General Scoring, with this exception:

• players must make a good faith effort to throw and land all three of the knives in their flight
• a fault penalty of negative four (-4) points will be recorded should a player
  • refuse to throw any of their three knives, or
  • intentionally throw a knife at the ground, or
  • otherwise avoid a good faith effort to throw and land all three of the knives in their flight
• this penalty exists to prevent a player who has surpassed their opponent’s flight score, but still has knives to throw, from being unsportsmanlike and/or creating a safety concern by intentionally throwing their remaining knives onto the floor or aggressively at the target, intending that they drop
• this penalty does not apply to knives thrown in good faith that do not land in the target

Agreement on Scores

Knives must not be removed from the target until both players agree on the scores and they have been relayed to the scorekeeper.

On-site scorekeepers or referees will be the arbiters in the event of a disagreement on scores between the players.

League Season Structure

Qualifying IATF League Seasons

A qualifying IATF league season consists of:

• a round-robin consisting of 20-28 regular matches between the rostered players in the league
• a double-elimination playoff consisting of playoff matches
• a minimum roster of five (5) players

Qualifying seasons are included in players’ permanent statistics and may contribute to qualification for other IATF events and tournaments.

• Players must compete (not forfeit) in a minimum of 12 matches in the regular season in order for the season to contribute to qualification

Round-Robin

The round-robin can be scheduled over a period of weeks, or take place on the same day.

In the round-robin, players will be credited with 2 match points for a match win and 1 match point for a match loss in a tie breaker.

Playoff

To determine the seeding order of the double-elimination playoff, the players are ordered by their total match points from the round-robin in descending order. i.e. the player with the most match points will be seeded first, the second most, seeded second, etc. Ties in match points are broken by average match score.

If there are more than 16 players in the league season, only the top 16 players will compete in the playoff.

The playoff will be scheduled to follow the round-robin.

Recreational League Seasons

Recreational league seasons typically consist of:

• a round-robin consisting regular matches between the rostered players in the league
• a single- or double-elimination playoff consisting of playoff matches

Recreational seasons have no restrictions on the number of players or number of scheduled matches.

Recreational league seasons do not count toward players’ permanent statistics or qualification for other IATF events.

Tournament Play

Tournaments will typically consist of playoff matches.

Tournaments employing a round-robin or group-play stage may employ regular matches during that stage.

Floor Lines

Regular Minimum Throwing Distance Line

A white minimum throwing distance line is painted on the floor 120” (3,048 mm) from the surface of the target (as though it were extended to the floor).

• The line is painted across the whole width of the throwing lane
• The line is 4” (102 mm) thick, extending toward the target
• The target edge of the line is 116” (2,946 mm) from the surface of the target
• For facilities operating IATF axe throwing, this white line will meet the red axe throwing fault line

Tie Breaker Minimum Throwing Distance Line

A black minimum throwing distance line is painted on the floor 180” (4,572 mm) from the surface of the target (as though it were extended to the floor).

• The line is 52" (1,321 mm) wide, centered on the midline of the throwing lane
• The line is 10” (254 mm) thick, extending toward the target
• The target edge of the line is 170” (4,318 mm) from the surface of the target
• For facilities operating IATF axe throwing, this is the black axe throwing line

Note: IATF knife throwing does not use the red or blue lines

Yellow Perimeter Line

The Yellow Perimeter line is a visual separation between throwers and spectators.

The distance of the yellow line may vary by a few inches venue to venue, as it is not related to the mechanics of throwing, but is an important representation of where the throwing area begins.

Anyone not competing in, or officiating, the current match is not to cross the yellow line.

Knife Specifications

Number of Knives

Players will need three knives to play.

Reference Diagrams

Weight

Weight is defined as the total weight of the knife, including the blade and handle.

A good rule of thumb for weight is about an ounce per inch, or about 11 grams per centimeter.

Length

The length is defined from the tip of the blade to the butt of the handle.

Width

The width of the knife is measured at the widest part of the knife perpendicular to its length.

The widest part of the knife part can be the guard or the blade.

This is a safety requirement to prevent knives from travelling through typical barriers between targets.

Sharpness

Knives need not be sharp for them to land in the target.

Knives must not be sharp enough to cause accidental injury.

As a means of testing the sharpness, knives should not be able to the easily cut the edge of a sheet of paper.

Referee's Final Decision

The final decision on whether a knife can be used for gameplay will be made by the on-site referees at each competition.

Other Equipment

File

A suitably coarse metal file must be kept near the throwing area and made available to players upon request to remedy burrs, chips, or otherwise sharp or unsafe routine wear on the throwing knives.

First Aid Kit

A standard first aid kit must be kept near the throwing area to ensure that minor cuts or scrapes can be promptly treated.