Vennskap News: And The Games Begin!

It’s summertime!
This year has been so strange that nothing can be taken for granted! Outdoor sports are underway and everyone has their favorite. Europeans and Central Americans are in World Competition in their sport called ‘Football’, or, in the US, known as soccer. US spectators are more involved in Our National Pastime..baseball!

Every batter is trying to hit anything the pitcher can throw at them . When too many batters are successful, the pitcher is replaced. Hitting the pitcher’s offering is of highest importance. The pitcher is somewhat like the king of the team while surrounded by his defenders and the opposition has to get to the king.

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As youngsters, perhaps you played “King of the Hill” while trying to dislodge the King from the heights. When playing “Tag”, one might yell “ “King’s X!” and everyone would automatically stop for a breather until “King’s X, over!” Where did we get this stuff? No adult was needed to teach that action! We have ‘Kings’ in our heritage. Our competitive games often include kings. Kings were, of course, extremely important people in our history. Competition for the kingly title caused constant wars and the competition goes on. Wars continue, as do the games.

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There are some relatively unknown competitive games that have been popular in Europe and now becoming practiced in America . Two Scandinavian events are finding great acceptance in our society.

Kubb, a Swedish game ( pronounced 'koob') is fast-growing in popularity, coming from Scandinavia. Kubb is a lawn game where the object is simply to knock over wooden blocks by throwing wooden batons at them.
The king is placed upright in the center of the ‘pitch’, and the ’kubbs’ are placed on the baselines while two teams take turns to knock down the defending warriors, or ‘kubbs’. This game is rapidly gaining popularity and easy to make. The kubbs are 4X4 inch woodblocks while the batons are 3 inch dowels about eight inches in length. The

main character, the King, is a larger kubb with a crown! Find a fifteen yard long field , some teammates and start the attack. Kubb is no-longer an unknown game!
The ultimate object of the game is to knock over the kubbs on the opposing side, and then knock the “king” over, before the opponent does.If a thrower successfully topples the king, his team has won the game. The game is easily learned.

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Tournaments in the U.S. have exploded since 2007, especially in the Midwest. In 2014, the U.S. tournament list includes over 20 tournaments, with the majority of them being held in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois. In 2013, the U.S. Midwest Championship was re-introduced and annual tournaments will travel throughout the Midwest. In 2013, it was located in Rockford, IL, and it will be held in Decorah, IA in 2014 and Madison, WI in 2015.

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Eau Claire team in 2013 Nat.
Semi-final kubb competition

On December 13, 2011, Eau Claire, Wisconsin declared itself to be the Kubb Capital of North America. The city has hosted the U.S. National Kubb Championship since 2007, and is home to “Kubbnation Magazine”, and many kubb clubs and kubb leagues. In addition, kubb sets are in the local schools, with some schools having kubb units in physical education classes. There are also kubb clubs at some schools, including Eau Claire Memorial High School.

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Numerous tournaments are held throughout Europe (Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Czech Republic, Italy and more) and most countries have their own national championship tournament.

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Vennskap Lodge members of The Sons Of Norway in Sheboygan celebrated their annual

Summer Solstice by taking part in a game of kubb. First, instructors had a lively contest just by agreeing on the instructions!

A toppled King and a winning team.

But, someone has to lose!...

Scandinavians enjoy competition, and this game brings out the true nature of our heritage.

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For those wishing a competitive game indoors or in the evening, the game of Kubb can be condensed to a board game given the tongue-twisting name of “Hnefatafl”.

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This Scandinavian game (pronounced hef-ah-TAH-fel) is similar to chess with all pieces moving as rooks. Invaders are trying to get to the other team’s King, but this time, the King has a few tricks up his sleeve, so the invading ‘Huns’ have to be clever.

This game is considered to be over 1,000 years old and might have been played by the Vikings, and maybe even invented by a marauding group planning a raid. The Hun chief might have gathered his men, while drawing a square in the sand saying “Listen up, here’s the plan. You twenty-four guys will split into groups of six on each side to kill that King.

They only have twelve guys, so we got them outnumbered and surrounded already! Their king is in the middle. Surround him. If he gets to any corner, we lose the battle”.

The battle begins and warriors are captured.