There are a handful of solid Kubb Clubs around the Midwest and several of them have ongoing ladder tournaments. There are several reasons why we haven’t had one in the Twin Cities/Minneapolis:

1. Amongst our group of friends, playing Kubb on a team has always been the way we prefer to play. We like to play as a social activity. Running a team ladder would be difficult.
2. We didn’t think a formal system to prove who was the best Kubb player seemed necessary.
3. Further more, proving who amongst us was the worst Kubb player is not something that would further our goals.

That said, when I heard how our friends in Chaska used their ladder to determine who’d play together in Nationals, and then when I witnessed how strong King Pin was this year in several tournaments, the idea of a ladder started sounding more appealing.

To me, next week seems like perfect time to start a Ladder tournament in Minneapolis and here’s why:

1. The temperature in MN dropped in to the thirties this week and it’ll be harder to convince any sizable group to show up and play kubb with you for the next 5 to 6 months. (I know… it’s depressing.) The ladder will help encourage people to play kubb in the winter which is something we’re obviously interested in.
2. This gives us the option of running a “winter-only” ladder if we decide that the ladder isn’t something we want to be doing all year long.
3. The Chaska 1 v 1 Tourney is this weekend and at least 4 people who’d want to play in this ladder will participate – meaning we can simply use the tournament results to seed the ladder.

I plan to “run” the ongoing Ladder tournament, although I don’t plan to start with a lot of formal rules. A broad explanation of a ladder tournament can be found on wikipedia. If we decide that we need more structure, I’ll look to DMK, who’s ladder is well defined and who’s rules are well tested.  I will make a more formal web page about our ladder with the results soon.

I got out to buy some tags last weekend:

Yes, they are the sort of tag you get when you park your car with a valet at some old restaurant like Nye’s Polonaise Room. Yes, they start at 101. I think that might help keep the top player’s ego in check. Yes, I couldn’t find 105 so I got one a black one with the number 55 on it. The place I bought them is called “Hunt & Gather” for a reason. If you were there with me you’d be proud that I did as well as I did. I also didn’t find 110, but I actually think that should be some sort of awesome prize that I haven’t conceived of yet. This is the sort of ladder I’m going for.

So for those of you who are playing in Chaska this weekend and consider yourself part of our loosely defined club, there’s something in it for you even if you can’t beat the players who I won’t name here. (but if anyone wants to put a little money on it…)

Anyway, I know I’m not the only one around here who’s excited to play in this ladder and to see how it shakes out.

Thanks for your interest,
-Jake