Bosses are encouraging executives to bury the hatchet over office gripes by organising axe-throwing contests for team-building jaunts.
The traditional corporate activities like building rafts or climbing walls have been replaced by a new pursuit that was started in Canada’s wilderness by lumberjacks.
Event organisers claim that axe-throwing’s surge in popularity – one venue has seen demand quadruple in the past year – may be due to executives wanting to release the pent-up frustrations that festered during the lockdowns.
Within 15 minutes participants are able to throw eight-inch long hatchets (or angel axes) safely. The target is three feet away and the success of the participants depends more on their technique than their brute strength.
Managers encourage their employees to put aside office grudges with axe-throwing contests that promote team building.
The best performers with smaller hatchets can eventually move up to Norse double-headed Norse 16in axes. They are launched from 4 yards, and spin 2 or 3 times before getting in contact with the target.
Matthew Griffin, owner of Cardiff-based Lumberjack Axe Throwing, said: ‘We have seen a massive increase in popularity since the lockdowns. We were used to seeing 40 people per week. Now we see 700 each month.
‘It’s a very inclusive sport and, on the corporate side, we have had staff members who are shy and quiet and they have excelled at axe throwing and really grown in confidence.
‘We’ve also had a couple of bosses who were not happy to lose to staff, who definitely loved being able to win by chucking axes.
‘You get all sorts of frustrations being worked out – and perhaps more so since Covid.’
Anna Stephenson is the owner of The Great Barn which hosts corporate events near Aynho, Oxfordshire. She said that axe-throwing was popular because offices had tired of building rafts and clay-pigeon shooting.
She said: ‘It’s an exciting sport, but if you are overly aggressive and hurling it, it doesn’t work. So it’s a great leveller for staff.’