Women's axe throwing league hits bull's-eye in Barrington
'My grandmother would tell me I was strong as a brick outhouse,' says participant
Suzy Atwood wears a silver necklace with two pendants: a target and a map of Nova Scotia with a heart on the South Shore.
Atwood combined those two passions into Wild Axe Women, an axe-throwing league for women in Barrington, N.S.
'Just for fun'
Members have come together one night a week for the last couple of years.
Sometimes they even stay around after dark. They pull their cars up close, turning on the lights as they throw axes at large pieces of wood.
"Seeing the women that participate hit the bull's-eye for the first time, there's nothing that ... really beats that," Atwood told CBC's Information Morning.
The sport is great social event, she said, where women get to take some time for themselves.
"Occasionally we keep score, but it's just for fun," Atwood said.
'Yoga tends to stress me out'
Samantha Brannen said the club is a great way to relax.
"Yoga tends to stress me out, but this actually let's me go," she said.
"I know my position, I know what I have to do and I know how good the results feel."
Sports that involve strength are right up her alley, Brannen said.
"My grandmother would tell me I was strong as a brick outhouse," she said.
'Very comfortable'
League member Nicole Hazelett watched Atwood before she first threw an axe.
"I remember thinking, 'I'm really awkward. This could be very dangerous'," she said with a laugh.
"It took a little while but, you know, you become very comfortable holding the axe and throwing it."
Backyard targets
She even has her own backyard target, as do several of the other women.
Atwood and her boyfriend Darren Hudson, a world champion logroller, had quite a few requests for targets when the club got started.
"A lot of women received axe targets for Christmas presents," Atwood said with a chuckle.
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With files from CBC's Information Morning