The mission of The World Knife Throwing League (WKTL) is to promote competition through sportsmanship and fair play. Our leagues/events should be played in a sportsmanship-like manner. Although competition may become intense, we expect our participants to maintain a high degree of sportsmanship up to and after the final throw.
As a participant or spectator in any WKTL tournament or event, you pledge to:
Respect the game, play fairly and follow all rules and policies.
Accept & respect the decisions of WKTL officials.
Demonstrate good sportsmanship before, during, and after games, win or lose.
Be responsible for the sportsmanship of teammates and assist in maintaining a respectful environment for all participants.
Be courteous to opposing Throwers, teams, officials, spectators, monitors, or facilitators and treat all Throwers and officials with respect.
Help to maintain and keep all equipment and conditions at the facility in good condition.
Obey all facility rules, while respecting all equipment, common areas, playing areas, parking areas, and surrounding neighborhoods.
Not to engage in discriminatory behaviour based on, but not limited to race, religion, creed, language, gender identity, or sexual identity.
Refrain from the use of abusive language or profanity. Including but not limited to: contemptuous, discriminatory or denigratory words or actions concerning race, language, religion, gender, or sexual orientation
Not engage in any behavior which would endanger the health, safety, or well being of any Thrower, official, staff member, or spectator.
Not use alcoholic beverages at any location unless permitted by the facility/venue.
Not allow, use or encourage illegal drugs at any location.
Wear/use all required and issued equipment and/or uniforms.
Under no circumstances are live targets allowed. No thrower is to throw a knife at a target while there is a person or live object in between or in front of the thrower.
Any verbal or non-verbal intimidation, threats of physical violence, trash talk, abusive language, profanity, threats, or general disrespect during any league or tournament towards any presiding Certified Judge, WKTL Official, thrower or spectator will not be tolerated and will result in the immediate removal from the league or tournament.
Sportsmanship
Sports are filled with judgment calls and, as a result, disputes may occur from time to time. However, it is important that participants must handle all disputes that may occur in a constructive manner. WKTK has the sole discretion to investigate all evidence available to maintain the integrity of the rules & the sport in any match. Protests for player eligibility or rule misapplications/misinterpretations are time-sensitive and must be made before the next throw. Non-throwers do not have the right to argue or challenge any calls made by the league judge or referee.
All decisions made by on-site WKTL Officials must be respected and obeyed. Any feedback regarding rules, players, officials, or staff members should be brought to the attention of a WKTL via email.
Any behavior deemed unacceptable by WKTL officials, Presiding Judges or Affiliate owners may result in a verbal warning, ejection, suspension, and/or expulsion as outlined below. Repeated Code of Conduct violations by the same Thrower could result in expulsion from WKTL sanctioned events without refunds. All Code of Conduct violations during and outside of matches will result in disciplinary measures.
Disciplinary Procedure
All Code of Conduct violations during and outside of matches will result in disciplinary measures.
Upon an offense requiring disciplinary action, it is recommended that the presiding official issues disciplinary action in this order:
The offending thrower will first receive a verbal warning.
Should similar offenses continue a second time then their most recent match points will be brought to 0 and the match will count as a loss.
Upon a third offense by the same player, then the offending player will be suspended from the season or tournament.
Pending a formal investigation, WKTL reserves the right to suspend the thrower or spectator in question for a minimum of 6 months.
A presiding official is not required to follow disciplinary measures in this order.
Gameplay Rules
Section A: Safety
Covid-19 Update
Local guidelines pertaining to Covid-19 must be adhered to at any WKTL sanctioned event.
WKTL may mandate a mask policy at WKTL operated events.
WKTL still recommends wearing a mask as a precautionary measure and will be monitoring CDC guidelines for future updates.
Knives
Each knife is inspected before each league night to ensure the knife is up to standard.
Broken knives may not be used.
Participants are instructed to grip the knife by the handle and only the handle.
If a knife breaks or if a player would like to switch knives, they must notify the presiding official and are allowed up to 1 minute to switch knives.
Injuries
If an injury occurs, resulting in a Pause In Play, a thrower must be assessed by a judge or onsite medical professional. If the thrower is assessed and able to continue, then the paused match may continue.
If injured during league, a thrower is deemed to be unable to finish the remaining matches, a thrower may make up their matches the following league night with no penalty.
When a match has not been completed and an injury occurs, the make up match will be restarted from throw 1.
If an injury occurs in a tournament and the thrower is deemed unable to compete due to injury, any pending throws will be marked as 0 points and future matches forfeit.
Throwing
Knives shall never be thrown when a participant is picking up their knives from the target area or when a judge is in the lane. This will result in an immediate disqualification (counted as a loss) for that match and may be subject to additional disciplinary action.
Spectators
All all non-throwing participants and spectators must be to the side of the lane or at least 5ft behind throwers.
Section B: Pre-Game Rules
1. Minimum Age
WKTL does not enforce any age requirement or limit. Each affiliated location is allowed to have an age requirement if they so choose. Please contact your local participating league location to inquire about their age rules.
Competitors under the age of 18 may name a representative to speak on their behalf. The representative is only able to challenge calls for the said competitor. Each representative is to be named before the start of the league/tournament. The representative is expected to follow all rules of play as if they were the competitor.
2. Target Quality
Targets should be of sound quality before gameplay starts.
Boards all must be individually secured and not able to slide or lift off from the target during sanctioned events.
Before the start of a match, target boards should be switched out (at the judges discretion with or without a throwers request) if the boards have deteriorated to a point where:
excessive movement or ‘wiggling’ of the knife occur when they land in the damaged area causing or risking good throws to fall out
lines of scoring areas are missing significant gaps
the integrity of the target rings is misshapen to the point that the target rings are greater than ⅛ inch larger or smaller than the original target.
If boards have deteriorated during a match, a thrower may request an evaluation by the Judge. Should the boards be evaluated as excessively deteriorated at any time during a match a Judge may opt to change lanes, if a lane is not available – a change of target boards may occur.
If multiple knives are being thrown, changing of knives or boards can only take place after the set of throws has been completed.
If a lane or board is changed, Throwers will not be granted a practice throw.
No one other than the presiding match judge may alter the boards before, during, or after any match unless authorized by that individual. This includes, but is not limited to pulling out pieces of boards, and chopping or softening the board.
Watering a board is not considered an alteration.
Boards may only be watered by a Thrower before to the start of the match.
Violation of this rule by a thrower results in a 0 for their next throw. If this occurs during or after the last throw of a match, the action will be considered a violation of the Code of Conduct.
Violation of this rule by anyone other than a thrower will be considered a violation of the Code of Conduct.
3. Warm Up Throws
The number of warm-up throws allowed applies to all WKTL sanctioned leagues and tournaments. Players may have up to 5 practice throws before their first match
Players may have 1 practice throw before any subsequent match
Players may have 1 practice throw between match games in the case of a best 2/3 match set.
Throwers are not allowed additional practice in empty lanes between matches for any sanctioned tournaments unless otherwise approved by a Tournament Host or presiding Judge, and made available to all throwers.
During Leagues, practice or warm-up areas may be offered at the discretion of the venue so long as best efforts are made to make it available equally to all throwers. League may allow practice throws before official league start time subject to availability, fairness, and consent of judge(s) on-premises.
A presiding official may, at their sole discretion, determine a different amount of warm-up throws during any sanctioned WKTL event
The presiding official will notify players when their match will commence.
The presiding official will allow practice throws before official league start time subject to availability, fairness, and consent of referee on-premises.
Section C: Gameplay
One knife will be thrown and retrieved until the match, totalling ten throws, is completed.
Matchmaking
All scores must be uploaded into the WKTL App in real time and uploaded to the leaderboard.
If connectivity issues occur, all scores must be uploaded to the WKTL App within 48 hours.
If connectivity issues happen for more than 2 weeks in a given season, please contact WKTL for guidance.
Any individual found manually creating matches that WKTL deems excessive (i.e. playing against the same person more than could be accounted for by the random matchmaking in the app) may be subject to disqualification of their scores in league.
Throwers are limited to 8 single-thrower matches each league season.
If it is necessary to play more than 8 single player matches per season due to extenuating circumstances, WKTL must be contacted in writing via email for approval.
If a Thrower records more than 8 single Thrower matches in a single season, without the prior approval of WKTL, all single matches after the 8th will be scored an automatic 0.
Gameplay
Each league week allows every participant 4 matches.
Subject to league numbers and attendance, each match is played against different opponents, selected at random, and consists of the following:
Each match consists of 10 throws
Players must switch sides after 5 throws
During the set of 5 throws, a player must throw one knife and retrieve the knife once the knife is stationary and scored by the Judge, including the opposing player’s knife.
After 5 knives have been scored, then both players switch lanes as detailed above in Section C.2.2.
For clarity, players must wait for the opposing player to finish throwing their knives before retrieving their knives from the boards or floor, as long as all knives are stationary
Starting targets will be determined by the random selection initially made by the app.
The winner of the match will be the person with the most points after 10 throws.
If there is a tie after 10 throws, there will be sudden death:
See Section D Scoring: 5.
The match points and win/loss then be recorded and uploaded to the leaderboards.
After 7 weeks, the 8th and final week of each season will be the playoffs and final match to determine the season champion. See Section M: Playoffs section for details.
Each official league run by a knife throwing venue is self-contained and may not be combined with other leagues.
Players may only compete at the venue and league they are registered for. There will be no scores recorded outside of that league or venue for their single registered league.
For example, a player may not compete in week 2 of league at venue A, then compete in week 3 for that same league in venue B.
No item or equipment used to impede or block external sounds may be utilized while throwing
Pauses in play
A presiding official may call a pause in play for any reason deemed necessary (rules review, confirmation, second opinion, etc…)
Should a Pause in Play occur, all match play must cease immediately and will resume at the discretion of the presiding official, where the pause began.
For Example: If one player has thrown but the opposite player has not and there is a Pause in Play called, the match will resume with the opposite player throwing as normal.
Players can challenge a call or ruling which will create a pause in play
During this challenge, gameplay will be paused at that moment in time
Throwing in a wheelchair
For individuals who use wheelchairs, all standard league rules apply except for the foot fault line.
Individuals in wheelchairs must have one wheel behind the 10 ft line for 1st distance and 15ft for 2nd distance when throwing in competition play.
Any wheel on the wheelchair is acceptable as long as one of them is behind the line.
Section D: Scoring
Points
Scoring Area of Knife
The scoring area will be the knife tip and the knife edge but not the handle or past the guard
The tip of the blade must be in the board for the point to count.
Knives must be inside the black scoring line to count for that value:
6 points for any of the three bullseyes.
5 points for the 1st rings surrounding the three bullseyes (same score for the upper, center, and lower).
4 points for the 2nd ring.
3 points for the 3rd ring.
2 points for the 4th ring.
1 point for the 5th ring.
8 points for the Killshot.
If the knife falls before the presiding official scores the knife, the knife is counted as a drop
Killshot Throw
The Killshots are active for any throw during the 10 throw match. Before throwing for the Killshot, the player must make clear to the Judge and opponent they intend on throwing for the Killshot.
This is referred to as “calling the Killshot” and activates it for the full 8 points.
The player cannot change their call once a judge confirms the intent to throw a Killshot.
During a match, both throwers may independently call up to 2 Killshots at any time.
Once a thrower hits a Killshot during the match, that Killshot cannot be attempted again until the opposite Killshot is hit. A hit Killshot(s) does not reset until;
the opposite Killshot is hit
or the game enters into sudden death (OT)
or the game is completed
If a Killshot is attempted but missed, the player may throw for that Killshot again.
If a stalemate is caused by both throwers refusing to call a Killshot, or initiate a throw, the Judge will make a verbal announcement that each thrower has 10 seconds to declare their intent to go for a killshot, after which time the ability to call kill will no longer be available.
If there is a drop, the player may opt to take a 3rd additional Killshot attempt during the regular 10 throw match.
If the thrower has already hit two Killshots, they may select to throw at either Killshot
A drop must be correctly recorded in the app and the match to allow a 3rd Killshot attempt
Example: If a player has taken their 2 Killshot attempts and a drop occurs on the 7th throw, they are eligible for a third Killshot attempt on the 8th throw.
If the player does not indicate that they are making a Killshot attempt, the Judge will assume it will be a standard throw (a non-Killshot attempt)
If the Killshot is called but the player’s knife does not hit the Killshot, then no points are awarded.
Sudden Death
If there is a tie after 10 throws in a single match, the match enters into sudden death.
Sudden Death consists of a single knife thrown and scored.
ONLY Killshots are allowed during all sudden death throws.
Players will remain at their respective targets for sudden death throws (no switching of targets required).
Players must throw from the 15ft line for all sudden death throws.
Players may throw for either Killshot but can not score on the same Killshot twice in a row. Players must alternate Killshots.
Once the Judge confirms that the lane is open both players must throw within 10 seconds of each other.
Should both players have their knife drop or they both hit the Killshot resulting in a tie, with confirmation by the judge, the players will retrieve the first knife and make an additional single knife throw.
If a second throw is needed, players may not score on the same attempted Killshot twice in a row. Players must alternate Killshots.
If both players miss the Killshot during Sudden Death, a measuring tape or accurate measuring device will be used to measure the distance from the closest valid scoring area of the knife head to the closest edge of the Killshot. The player with the shortest distance will be awarded the match.
If Player 1 has a knife that has dropped and Player 2 misses the Killshot but is on the board, Player 2 will be awarded the match.
If a player touches their knife before a measurement is made, the match is awarded to the opposing player.
Points are not counted or tallied during sudden death.
Tallying Scores
When all knives are resting in their final place, before retrieval, they will be scored.
The points from the knives will be determined by where the closest scoring area of each knife head meets the surface of the wood that the knife head is embedded into.
All scores must be verified by a presiding official or Judge. If a presiding official is also competing in the league then their scores must be verified by another third party.
No thrower regardless of position in the venue or WKTL may submit scores for themselves without verification from a third party.
If a thrower touches any part of the knife before the presiding official announces the score, the thrower’s points are marked as 0.
If the score is too close to make an accurate call, the presiding official will give the higher points.
If a thrower attempts to touch any part of their opponent’s knives at any time during a match without permission they will be suspended from the match.
Technicalities
A break (breaking) is defined as when the scoring area of a knife is embedded in the wood and the marked surface of the target area is visible on both sides.
If the knife breaks multiple sections of the target simultaneously, then the player is awarded the points for the higher valued section.
Knives must be inside the scoring line to count for that value
Touching the scoring line will not give you the point value; the knife must be inside the higher scoring area to receive those points
For example: Touching the black line of the 5 ring is scored as a 4. Breaking the 5 ring (unmarked wood on both sides) counts as a five.
If the knife hits only the outer line of the bullseye located at the top or bottom, in the 2 & 3 point section of the board, the score will be awarded as shown in the diagram above.
The Killshot must have a red outline using a ballpoint pen which will count as a scoring area, but any blue that bleeds outside of the red outline will not. To gain points for the Killshot, the knife must break red or blue inside of the red outline.
The outline surrounding Killshots is a valid scoring area.
The inner bullseyes must have a black outline using a ballpoint pen which will count as a scoring area, but any red that bleeds outside of the black outline will not. To gain points for the inner bullseyes, the knife must break red or black inside of the black outline.
The outline surrounding bullseyes is a valid scoring area.
Section E: Throwing
Knife Throwing Distance
Players must throw from two distances during a match.
1st distance: The first 5 throws of a match will be thrown at 10 ft.
The 1st distance may not exceed 15 ft.
At 1st distance, these rotations are allowed:
No Spin
1 or more rotations
2nd distance: The second set of 5 throws will be thrown at 15ft
At 2nd distance, only these rotations are allowed:
2 or more rotations
Once all knives have been thrown, throwers must stay behind the 10ft fault line until all knives are scored.
Faults
In the case of a fault occurring, the throw will be marked as a fault in the app, resulting in a score of 0 for that throw.
A fault occurs when any of the following conditions are met, before both players scores are verbally expressed by the judge:
a throwers foot crosses the respective fault line.
any other part of the thrower’s body touches any part of the lane, equipment, or building, past the respective fault line and towards the target.
No throw will be taken without a verbal or gesture signal of an Open Lane from the presiding judge and confirmed by all throwers.
If no signal is given or confirmation received, and a throw is made by a thrower, then that throw will count as a fault.
Each player must perform their throws in sync with the opposing player.
For example, if a Player A throws the first knife, they must wait until the opposing player has thrown their first knife before throwing the second.
The player that throws more than one knife before the opposing player is able will have that throw counted as a fault.
Individual throws must be taken within 10 seconds of each other.
If a thrower throws after 10 seconds of the other thrower’s knife coming to rest, this will result in a Throw Fault.
If throwing multiple knives in a set:
A fault will result in the highest scoring knife in a set scored as a fault.
If second fault occurs in the same set, the offending players second highest scored as a fault ect.
Throwers are notified of faults after the offending throw.
Knife Throwing Technique
Knives may not be thrown by holding the blade first. All throws must be performed holding the handle.
One foot must be touching the floor while knives are thrown.
No other style of throw is permitted.
All throws must be toward the target that the player is facing
Players are allowed to switch knives during any throw in the game.
Section F: Attendance
Late Players an/or Early Departures
Venues will provide a minimum 15 minute grace period for players to arrive, after the official league start time.
If a thrower arrives later than the time allowed as established by the venue, each game that they miss will be awarded to their opponent, and the opponent will still throw the match for a score. The missing thrower will receive a 0 for each throw in the match(s).
If a player leaves before all their league night matches are completed, it is at the venue’s discretion to:
allow the player to make up the game the next league night they are in attendance
award their opponent the win, and the thrower that left receives a 0 for each throw. The opponent will still throw the match for a score.
Tournament / Playoff Exceptions
Players are required to arrive and check in by the start of regulation play.
If a player is not present when their match begins, a 10 minute grace period will be offered.
If the player does not show up, they will forfeit their match and the player that is present will be awarded the win.
Absences
Throwers are allowed to make up any amount of missed matches during regular league nights, but all matches must be made up by week 7. Matches that are not completed at the end of week 7 will not be recorded as played.
Any matches that are pre-thrown, or made up, must be completed during the regular league night. Matches can not be pre-thrown, or made up, outside of the regular league day/time.
All matches that are made up, or pre-thrown, will be subject to the single thrower and manual matching rules defined herein.
Section G: Misconduct
Purposeful Distractions are defined as, but not limited to: Excessive celebration, taunting, using abusive, threatening, or insulting language, trash-talking, stepping in the lane during a throw, excessive noises, offensive gestures to opponents, or any purposeful distractions with the intent to distract a player during a league match or tournament round will not be permitted during games.
First Offense:
The first purposeful distraction from an opposing player will result in a zero score for that throw, for the player causing the distraction
The first purposeful distraction from a spectating league member or tournament participant will result in a zero in the first throw of their next match
The first purposeful distraction from a spectator not participating in the event will result in the immediate removal from the facility
Second Offense:
The second purposeful distraction from an opposing player will result in a forfeit for that match. Zero scores will be entered for the full match.
The second purposeful distraction from a spectating league member or tournament participant will result in a forfeit from their subsequent match. Zero scores will be entered for the full match.
Third Offence:
The third purposeful distraction from an opposing player will result in a forfeit of the season for league play or forfeit from the tournament. The player will not be allowed to throw or spectate for the remainder of the season or the remainder of the tournament.
The third purposeful distraction from a spectating league member will result in a forfeit of the season or tournament. The league member or tournament participant will not be allowed to spectate or participate for the remainder of the season or tournament.
Match Fixing & Sandbagging in League Play or Tournaments:
If any player is found to fix a match to achieve a desired outcome, during league play or tournaments, then that player will be banned from all WKTL tournaments & leagues. The player may appeal the ban, one year after the offense, pending review by the Commissioner.
Procedures and Specifications
Section H: Lanes
Each throwing area is designated as a throwing lane.
A regulation lane for competition must contain 2 targets.
Fences or walls block this area from the rest of the facility to keep throwers and knives all contained in a safe environment.
Only the two participating throwers and the knife throwing Judge are allowed inside the lane at one time. This includes ensuring the area behind the throwers is clear of any other person up to 5′.
10 ft minimum/clear ceiling height (within the throwing lane) is recommended for safety reasons.
It is recommended for a lane to be a minimum of 12ft in width with the targets evenly distributed.
It is recommended for a lane to be a minimum of 18ft in length to accommodate for a 15ft fault line and safe space to throw.
It is recommended that fault lines be 3 inches wide and that the fault be measured from the target to the back of the line; if throwers step into/past the line, it is a fault.
This is guidance from WKTL and is the sole discretion of the venue to create fault lines as they wish.
Section I: Targets
The Target
Each Target should be made of 3 layers of wood.
The first layer should cover the wall in OSB or plywood.
The second layer is called the Backboards and should be made of wood.
There should be horizontal 2x10s, that are 4′ feet long, drilled into the wall, and packed tightly together to cover the full space for the outer Targets. (This usually takes 6 – 8 boards) This will be the backboard where you will then drill your target boards against.
The third and outermost layer is called the Target boards. These are also made of 4′ feet long 2×10 lumber. The targets consist of two components: 1) the targets 2) the headers and footers.
End Grain wood is permitted for WKTL targets
Approximate Measurements for the 2×10 boards:
U.S: Thickness:1-1/2 in • Width 9-1/4 in • Length 4 ft.
Metric: Thickness 38mm • Width 235 mm Length 1.22m
A variance of these measurements is allowed. WKTL does not enforce the exact thickness or width of boards, rather, the proper and accurate size of target specifications.
They should be arranged just like the example picture below.
Headers and Footers
Above and below the targets, venues will install headers and footers. This will help protect the top and bottom areas of the target while allowing for the branding of your company.
Header: drill one 4′ foot long 2×10 piece of wood horizontally on top of the target against the backboard.
Footer: drill one 4′ foot long 2×10 piece of wood horizontally on the bottom of the target against the backboard.
The footer also provides the benefit of allowing you to change boards quicker and easier.
The top of the footer should be 36 inches off the ground.
The end product is a backboard that is 4′ feet x 6′ and another layer of wood that fully covers the back at 4′ feet x 6′ as well.
Target Design
Each WKTL affiliated location shall purchase an official target protractor/stencil.
The small hole on the left will have a screw that will be drilled through it into the center of the middle board. (Approximately 24 inches in the center of the board. That will make 60 inches from the floor).
A black, 20mm marker will then be used to draw the remaining circles.
Holes are 22mm thick to allow for a marker to fit that has 1/2″ thick felt.
Lines are to be 20mm thick.
The bullseyes are to be colored in red and outlined with a black, waterproof pen.
The entire bullseye area (inner red circle and unmarked 5 ring) must be 3.5” inches in diameter inside the center ring. The center of the middle inner bullseye must be 24” inches (60.96 cm) from the bottom of the board. This should make the center of the middle bullseye 60″ from the floor.
The inner bullseyes (inner red circles) should be 1.5” in diameter, outlined with a black, waterproof pen.
The upper bullseye is measured 10” above the center of the middle bullseye.
The lower bullseye is measured 10” below the center of the middle bullseye.
All three bullseyes require their own 5 point circle – to be drawn before any other rings.
The Killshot (2 blue circles) are 1.5” inches in diameter and positioned inside the 1 point ring.
The bottom of the Killshot is positioned approximately 35.25 inches from the bottom of the board and 2.5 inches from the outer side of the board ensuring they are centered inside the 1 point outer ring.
Killshots are to be outlined using a red waterproof ballpoint pen that clearly denotes the Killshot, eliminating overspray or bleeding caused by markers. The red outline of the ballpoint pen will count as a scoring area, but any blue that bleeds outside of the red outline will not.
All targets must be level (no slanting of the targets is allowed).
Targets will have no marking other than the lines, bullseyes, and Killshots
“#WKTL” or #WATL is required to be listed prominently on either the header or footer boards
For knife throwing tournaments, #WKTL will be shown
WKTL requires proper lighting insofar as boards can be seen clearly from behind the throwers.
Projected Targets are not WKTL compliant. Only boards with physical markings are permitted.
End Grain Targets
End Grain Targets
End grain targets are allowed providing they meet all target design measurements and specifications as shown in Section I: Target Design
Section J: Knives
Throwing knives must be at least 13.5 inches and may be no longer than 16 inches.
This is to be measured from the tip of the knife to the opposite end of the knife in a straight line.
All knives must have guards that are at least 4” inches in width
This helps ensure that knives are not able to ricochet off the target and through the fencing at existing facilities. No exceptions.
The cheek of the knife may be a maximum of 3.5 inches wide.
There may only be one tip of the knife
No throwing stars or multiple tipped knives
Max Handle Length can be no more than 7in from the bottom of the handle to the guard.
The maximum weight of a knife must be no more than 1.65 lbs
Only WKTL knives are approved for use in official league play
Knife modifications are accepted as long as all modifications meet the outlined specifications throughout Section J.
Modifications may Include:
Filing and weight adjustments
Cosmetic alterations
ie. etching, engraving, coloring, etc…
Handle alterations
Shape modification and the addition of handle wraps and/or padding.
All additions to knife handles must be securely attached to the knife.
Knives may be inspected at any time to ensure they meet WKTL Specifications
If knives fail to meet WKTL Specifications, the knife will be considered non-compliant with WKTL standards and not allowed for league or tournament use
Broken Knives
If the Judge determines that a thrower’s knife has broken during a match. The thrower must provide a replacement knife to be verified and approved by the Judge.
If they do not provide another non-broken knife within 90 seconds, the current throw will count as 0 points.
If a thrower has a broken knife, they may continue with any remaining throws which will be scored by the Judge.
Section K: Judges
A Certified Judge must always be present while members are throwing during league play.
Judges must verify all scores taken for official league play.
The judge may approach the participants and enter a throwers 5′ radius to provide instruction.
After a call is made by the lane judge, judge or throwers may request a second opinion from the residing Head Judge or, if a Head Judge is unavailable, another certified judge.
The second opinion is the final call and can not be disputed further.
If the knife in question is touched by any thrower before the decision is made, the thrower who touched the knife will receive a 0 for that throw.
While a second opinion is being discussed, throwers must return behind the fault line.
If the knife in question is touched by either thrower before the judge’s decision is being made, the player will receive the lower score.
While a second opinion is being discussed, throwers must return behind the fault line until the score is called, unless otherwise directed by the judge.
Judges will not be, or become, under the influence of any alcohol or substance during any time they may reasonably beexpected to judge matches. If it is suspected that a judge is under the influence, then they must be removed from judging immediately and may be subject to removal of their certification.
Certified Judges:
At least 1 Certified Judge is required to be present for WKTL Leagues or Local Tournaments
There must be at least 1 Certified Judge for every lane scored for Tournaments offering WKTC Bids, Televised Tournaments, including the World Championship
Certified Judges are allowed to participate as throwers but may never score their own matches.
Judges may not preside over matches where there is a conflict of interest. This would include judging: family members, duals partners, significant others etc)
Judges are responsible for disclosing any conflicts of interest to players before a match
We encourage the Head Judge to note and avoid potential conflicts
Players can request another Judge if a conflict of interest is present.
Judges will not take advice, second opinions, or consultation from any throwers or spectators.
Any throwers found to be persuading or advising an official judge will receive a Code of Conduct violation.
If another judge or thrower believes that a judge is not following current rules and regulations or is making incorrect calls, they must report it directly to a Head Judge or persons in charge of running the tournament immediately.
A WKTL Sanctioned League must have a minimum of 4 different players.
The entire season lasts 8 weeks including playoffs.
Sanctioned League
A Sanctioned League is the knife throwing league hosted at a participating WKTL affiliated venue that follows the rules and regulations of the World knife Throwing League.
If Sanctioned League requirements are not met, the league will be considered a Recreational League.
WKTL must be notified at least 2 weeks in advance, before the end of the season, of delays to the end of a season due to acts beyond the reasonable control of the venue.
Multiple Sanctioned Leagues
A WKTL affiliated venues may host more than one sanctioned league per season.
Each additional league a venue hosts must include 2 throwers that are participating in another league at the same location (not including Marathon League Throwers).
Throwers may participate in as many sanctioned leagues as they wish, but only one league will be considered for World Championship eligibility.
Throwers participating in multiple sanctioned leagues must use the same profile and Player ID to compete in all leagues.
Marathon Leagues
Marathon Leagues may be held anytime during a WKTL League Season.
Venues may host a maximum of two Marathon Leagues in any given season.
A Marathon League is an officially sanctioned WKTL league as long as it meets the following requirements:
A Marathon League is a league that is held, in its entirety, over 24 hours
The must be labelled using the following naming convention: “[Venue Name] [League Night] Marathon League” when creating the League in the WKTL app
The additional sanctioned marathon leagues follow the same rules regarding multiple league participation as detailed in Section L: Multiple Sanctioned Leagues.
All rules regarding regular season play, playoffs and qualifying apply.
Section M: Playoffs
During the League Playoff (Week 8) tournament all league members will have the opportunity to participate in a double elimination bracket.
Venues will have the opportunity to choose a single game, or best 2/3 format for Week 8 tournaments.
Seeding is done based on the total match wins from weeks 1 through 7.
In the case of a tie for match wins the seeding will be based on the total points gained during weeks 1-7 between the two tied players.
All competitors eligible for playoffs will be put into two sets of brackets, the winner’s bracket and underdog bracket (A and B brackets for short) after the first round. The first-round winners proceed into the A bracket and the losers proceed into the B bracket. The A bracket is conducted in the same manner as a single-elimination tournament, except that the losers of each round “drop down” into the B bracket.
The final Championship round is between the winner of the A bracket and the winner of the B bracket consisting of best of 3 matches. Allowing for one practice throw between each match.
The Winner: will be the person who wins 2 out of the 3 matches first.
The A winner must lose twice for the B winner to win the Championship.
This means that if the B winner beats the A winner in a best of 3 matches, they must play another best of 3 matches for the B winner to win the Championship.
For WKTL sanctioned tournaments, bracket tiebreakers will be determined by the average bullseye hit percentage in the tournament.
For example, in a tournament, if players A & B are tied in 5th and 6th place, the Player with the highest average bullseye percentage hit will be in 5th place and the subsequent player will be in 6th place.
The World Knife Throwing Championship
Section N: Qualifying
The 2022 World Knife Throwing Championship will be comprised of 64 competitors:
1 2021 WKTC Champion
10 Top Leaderboard Throwers Per Season
6 Bids from the US Open
12 Bids from Open Qualifiers
5 Bids will be award to WKTL tournaments throughout the year
The number of bids may change based on 2022 participation.
Bids stemming from leaderboard points are based on a single season
Scores for participants who have already earned a bid will not be considered to qualify for bids.
Leaderboard bids will be passed to the next qualified thrower.
Leaderboard ties will be decided by:
a throwers number of bullseyes hit in the season
If there is still a tie, by a throwers number of hit Killshots in the season
If any of the top 6 qualifiers US Open Bid Winners have already earned a bid through the 2022 season, the placement will not be passed down to subsequent participants.
For WKTL sanctioned tournaments, bracket tie breakers will be determined by the average bullseye hit percentage in the tournament.
For example, in a tournament, if players A & B are tied in 5th and 6th place, the Player with the highest average bullseye percentage hit will be in 5th place and the subsequent player will be in 6th place.
Any remaining bid placements that can not allocated will be added into the open qualifiers.
Section O: Open Qualifiers
Qualifying throws take place in person at a WKTL venue to qualify players for a Televised Tournaments.
Open Qualifiers will consist of 50 throws
Mandatory Killshot on every 5th and 10th throw
Standard league play of open Killshots does not apply
10 overtime Killshot throws (used as tie-breakers)
Only scores submitted using the official scoring app will be accepted.
Venues set a time to hold their Open Qualifier before the stated deadline
Local venues must have a WKTL Certified Judge score Qualifying Throws.
Any participant found to be scoring themselves will immediately be disqualified from the qualifying competition and be removed from all lottery availability for the remainder of the year
Venue Cup
By July 31st, WKTL will provide an update regarding the Venue Cup.
