Jamie

@PlanetKubbLive Tweeting Final USA Kubb Championship match!

This Sunday as the top two teams in the country take Pitch 1 in Eau Claire Planet Kubb will do a first-ever live play-by-play broadcast of the match using Twitter! You may already be following @PlanetKubb on Twitter to get updates from around the world about Kubb. We have now created a second @PlanetKubbLive account that we’ll be using for this, and possibly future live events. You’ll need to follow each one separately!

So, how will we be tweeting live play-by-play? We will be using the Planet Kubb Notation system. This is the same system we use to record games on the pitch and with videos. We will be transmitting the text of each turn in real-time from the pitch. Read up on the notation on the Planet Kubb Wiki. You’ll see tweets that look like

4. j:5i2r b:2f b:3f j:- j:b c:b c:-

That means it was turn 4. Player “j” is the inkastare and he threw in 5 kubbs and had to rethrow 2. Player “b” hit 2 fields on the first baton, then 3 fields on second baton. Player “j” missed and then hit a baseline. Player “c” hit a baseline and then missed. Find more details on the notation page.

To our knowledge this will be the first live broadcast of the play-by-play of a game on Twitter. The notation, and these tweets, will be intended for a global audience so commentary will be kept low so people can follow the game regardless of language.

New Theme for Ask Planet Kubb

Ask Planet Kubb received a good upgrade moving from Question2Answer 1.5 to 1.6. There are a number of improvements, but mostly minor. The bigger change is that we’ve put a new theme on Ask Planet Kubb that is mobile friendly and has a nicer user experience. If you had tried to use the site before on your phone or tablet it was pretty clunky. Not anymore. I hope you enjoy the new look!

ask-pk-new-theme

Register for 2013 Club Championship Now!

In approximately a month Kubb players from around the country will be converging on Eau Claire, Wisconsin to participate in the 2013 US National Kubb Championships! For the first time ever, we will also be awarding the Nylund Sack Trophy to the Kubb Club that wins the Planet Kubb US Kubb Club Championship! If you missed the details on how this works see the writeup on the points system.

Entering your club in the Club Championship is as easy as sending an email! Send an email to

register@planetkubb.com

and in it indicate the name of your club, the person who will represent the club and the team names of the three Kubb teams that will represent your club in the championship. There is a $45 fee for the club to enter (easily dividable into $15 per team) that is payable in-person at the National Championship (check-in with Garrick or Jamie at the championship). The deadline to register and identify the three teams that are representing your Kubb Club is July 7, 2013.

We can’t wait to see you all on the pitch and to see who will be the first Kubb Club to host the Nylund Sack Trophy! They will display it with pride, until next year, when it will be up for grabs again!

Scoring Details for Planet Kubb US Kubb Club Championship

Several months ago we announced the Planet Kubb US Kubb Club Championship. Just to reiterate the basics of how this will work:

Kubb club captains will register with Planet Kubb to participate in the championship. You must register to be eligible to win.
Kubb club captains will identify three Kubb teams that will collect points for the Kubb club. Kubb clubs must have exactly three teams that represent them.
The Kubb team captains must agree to represent the Kubb club that picked them (club picks the teams, teams confirm the pick).
A Kubb team can only represent one Kubb club.
The Kubb club’s captains and the Kubb team’s captain must be in the same state (Minnesota Clubs represented by Minnesota Teams, Iowa Clubs represented by Iowa Teams). It is fine if there are members of a team that are not in the same sate, as long as the captain is.

So, how will the scoring work? Let’s dive in a bit.

Clubs will accumulate points through the teams that represent them. A club will get one point for each match win, or bye, that a team receives in the championship stage of the tournament. There will be no points rewarded during the round robin, and no points will be awarded in the consolation bracket.

Let’s take an example. The Kubbanoids go 3-0 in the round robin, they get a bye into the round of 32 teams in the championship bracket (+1 point). They win the match in the round of 32 (+1 point, total 2 points). They win again in the round of 16 (+1 point, total 3 points). They lose in the round of 8 ending their dreams. The Kubbanoids will deliver 3 points for their club.

The Kubbaddicts are playing for the same club as the Kubbanoids. They go 1-2 in the round robin and have to play into the championship bracket. They win that match (+1 point, 1 total point) and proceed to the round of 32 where they lose. They bring 1 point to their club, taking the club to a total of 4 points.

Then the final team for the club, the Kubbicks, win it all! They get a bye (+1 point), win in the round of 32 (+1 point), win in round of 16 (+1 point). They blow away the team in the quarterfinals (+1 point), win the semifinals (+1 point) and win the championship (+1 point)! 6 points for their club.

Club Metropolis has 10 points in the competition.

If at the end of the competition multiple clubs have the same number of points, the club with any single team that has gone the furthest in the tournament will receive the win. In the unlikely scenario that a tie remains, the club who’s teams had the fewest losses will win.

The trophy will be awarded on Sunday at the US Championship. The trophy will be awarded to the club captain and that club will keep the US Kubb Club Championship trophy until the following US Championship when it is up for grabs again!

2,582 Matches in Planet Kubb Wiki

At the beginning of this year we devised a way to record matches in the Planet Kubb Wiki. This wasn’t the detailed game scoring play-by-play work we had before. This was just a much simpler way to capture the matches from tournaments and record the outcomes. In the beginning of this year we didn’t have any of these. As of right now there are 2,582 matches in the wiki! These matches have been added by several people in multiple countries. Amazing! Thank you to all for contributing to this database. We are building the history of what is happening at Kubb tournaments around the world!

Predictions for 2013 US Midwest Kubb Championship (Rockford)

Group A: Dark Side of the Kubbsicles, Sjo-Time, King Pin, and Stormkubbers

The teams in this group are known except for Sjo-Time. None of these teams have played each other before. This should be a fight between Dark Side of the Kubbsicles and King Pin. Dark Side of the Kubbsicles are strong, but they have a lot fewer games than King Pin.

We predict with 80% confidence Dark Side of the Kubbsicles will win Group A.

Group B: Kubbacca, The Deadeye’s, Ophir Gophers, and Kubb Scouts

Kubbacca and Kubb Scouts are known teams. Kubbacca has the strongest record of the two however not strong enough to be certain they will defeat the two unknown teams in this group.

We predict with 50% confidence Kubbacca will win Group B.

Group C: The Ringers, Hardwood Kubbers, KUBbAR, and The Mad Tossers

The Ringers and The Mad Tossers are known in this group, the other teams are new. Also, The Ringers have played The Mad Tossers before in the Clash of Kubb 2012 with The Mad Tossers taking the match. However, there is uncertainty about this match as noted:

“I have excluded this match from statistics due to notes on consolation bracket. Ringers name is crossed out, and I am making an assumption that the match was a forfeit. Please update (if inaccurate) and delete this commentary, uncheck “Exclude in stats” and add win count for teams.”

The Ringers are a strong team, former National Champions, with a long background.

We predict The Ringers will win this group with 100% confidence.

Group D: Wolfpack, Chicks with Sticks, King Kung, and Skelekubbers

Wolfpack and Chicks with Sticks have match history in this group. Wolfpack has a strong and predictable pattern.

We predict Wolfpack will win this group with 100% confidence.

Group E: Team Knockerheads, Kubbtastic, Robert’s Retreads and Kubb Med

Obviously we’ve seen National Champions Team Knockerheads. They top the list of all Kubb teams in the United States. The only action in this group will be for positions other than 1st.

We predict with 100% confidence Team Knockerheads will win Group D.

Group F: Kubb Snipers, Kubbawockeez, Sticks, Blocks, and Beer, and Rhymes With Tube

In this group we’ve got match history from three of the teams. We don’t know anything about Sticks, Blocks, and Beer. Our data suggests that Kubb Snipers will dominate this group. They will need to focus on the Rhymes with Tube match. Notably Kubbawokeez and Rhymes with Tube have played before in Rockford 2012 with Rhymes with Tube taking the match.

We predict with 100% confidence Kubb Snipers will win Group F.

Group G: Gubber Kubbers, Ice Kubbs, Goofy Kubbers 1.2.3, and Jesus, Joseph, and Bloody Mary

In this group we have a reasonably strong team with only a few matches recorded in Ice Kubbs. The Goofy Kubbers are going to come strong though we aren’t completely sure on team makeup. We don’t have specific data for Goofy Kubbers 1.2.3, but we do for Goofy Kubbers. If there is overlap, they will play on par with Ice Kubbs but be more predictable and should carry the match, and with it the group.

We predict with 50% confidence Goofy Kubbers 1.2.3 will win Group G.

Group H: Tad Kubbler, Pitch Slap, Team R.U.K.U.S, and Skipping Stones

Every team in this group have recorded matches. What a treasure trove! Also Pitch Slap has played The Skipping Stones, twice! First at the 2011 US Nationals and again in the 2012 US Nationals (wonder how often that happens?). Both times Pitch Slap carried the match. Tad Kubbler is bringing some new throwers into the game and potentially playing under a different name of Rad Kubbler. If not for this, this group would be easily called for Tad Kubbler. Even with that, Pitch Slap is unlikely to rise to the challenge against them and the other teams shouldn’t offer any serious problems.

We predict with 100% confidence Tad Kubbler will win Group with H. We further predict Pitch Slap will take 2nd.

Group I: Kubb’d, iKubb, Team Kubboom, and Dalsland KUBBheads

In this group we have data for everyone except KUBBheads. Kubb’d should carry this group but will need to bring their top game. iKubb and Team Kubboom could present challenges, but ultimately Kubb’d should prevail. Team Kubboom is likely to take 2nd in this group over iKubb.

We predict with 100% confidence Kubb’d will win Group I.

Happy Birthday Planet Kubb

As part of the Planet Kubb 1st birthday we asked a couple of “Kubbers” if they would write a guest post for us. In between publishing the new Kubbnation magazine and getting the 2013 US National Kubb Championship going Eric Anderson was kind enough to send us this post.

Hello Planet Kubb,

First of all, happy birthday/anniversary. What a first year for Planet Kubb. To think that Ask Planet Kubb, all the data for teams, players, and matches didn’t exist one year ago is amazing. If most people are like myself, I have already taken it for granted. Thanks for all of your hard work. I really appreciate it.

I would like to tell you about a few little girls here in Eau Claire, WI. As you know, your Planet Kubb Network website options are super easy to use. For the past year plus, my oldest daughter Maja has said that she wants to have her own kubb team in the future, and that her team name will be Kubbicorns. I know, not the toughest name out there, but then again, her favorite team is not mine, but the Kubbisicles. Anyway, a couple months ago, I asked her if she would like her own website for the Kubbicorns. As you know, I made a Planet Kubb website for my dad’s birthday last October for our team Crooked Lake Trolls. We played together a few times in tournaments, and I thought it would be nice for him to be able to see our team website. I also have one for another team I play on Sweden’s Sons. People can read about our team, we can update and blog news, it is really great.

Ok, back to the few little girls here in Eau Claire. My daughter asked a couple other girls here in the neighborhood if they would like to be on the Kubbicorns. Well, Anna, Elsa, and Clare have said yes. Keep in mind they are all in third grade, except for one who is in fifth. Also, my youngest daughter Cecilia is now thinking of team name for her future team, and she is in kindergarten. So, one night I asked Maja to draw up what she envisioned being her team shield, and she did it, with a lot of bright colors. From there, her and I sat down together to make her a Kubbicorns website on the Planet Kubb website. Less than two hours later, BAM, the Kubbicorns are up and live for the world to see.

The next day, I sent out the link to the parents of Anna, Elsa, and Clare. Total happiness when the girls saw the website, and from their parents as well. That is their team, and their team has their own website. They all go to the same school and after school, we have had more than one high-five regarding the Kubbicorns and a lot of smiles. I do believe that kubb unites people and creates peace on Earth. Their school is an international peace site, and we have been to the school several times to introduce kubb. Now we can add Planet Kubb to the mix as being in the connection of, “kubb unites people and creates peace on Earth” at Flynn Elementary School.

Thanks to Planet Kubb, people can talk all they want about stats, who the best players are, how much this sport will grow, etc., but please know that thanks to Planet Kubb, four little girls (and more in the future) in the Kubb Capital of North America can talk about their kubb website at school with big smiles on their faces. That is what kubb can do.

Thanks Planet Kubb. Happy Birthday, and here is to many more.

Eric Anderson
Director
U.S. National Kubb Championship
Eau Claire, WI

Happy Birthday Ramblings from a Kubb Junkie

As part of the Planet Kubb 1st birthday we asked a couple of “Kubbers” if they would write a guest post for us. Today’s post is from Dano, who has been particularly active on Ask Planet Kubb from the beginning and is someone that I sincerely hope I get to meet on the pitch at some point soon!

Around three years ago a group of friends had started an organization called the Kubb Collective, based in New York State’s beautiful Finger Lakes region. They held monthly blind draw tournaments with a $10 buy in. The winners got to donate the money to their favorite charity. I immediately fell in love with the game. I liked the low tech aspect of Kubb and the camaraderie. Being a person who loves athletics, and can’t run around anymore due to bad ankles, it satisfied my thirst for competition. I wanted to get better. I started searching the web for anything Kubb related. I’m willing to bet that I have seen every Kubb video produced, starting with “Hagar the Viking”. Those monthly tournaments became a big part of my life and I looked forward to them while working on my game two or three times a week. Then the Collective disbanded for reasons that probably warrant a post of its own. I was bummed. I was just starting to get good, what now?

It was Kubb limbo, playing the occasional friendly game at picnics and such, but it was not enough. The casual player had no desire to discuss the finer points of the game, and my family would respond with an eye roll and a good natured groan when I tried to strike up a conversation about Kubb. I stopped practicing and began to move on, but I had been bitten by the Kubb bug and thought about it all the time. I headed back to the web looking for forums on Kubb. The ones I did find had little or no activity. Then one day Planet Kubb came up! Holy cow this was it. I found blogs, video, discussions and more; all in one place. It was one stop shopping! Where else can you discuss the finer points of the game with “The Father of USA Kubb”, Champions from the Midwest circuit, and Kubb enthusiast from all over the US and the world? Thank you Planet Kubb for welcoming me in the true sprit of the game.

In honor of the one year anniversary of Planet Kubb I’d like to highlight my favorite moments. First the USA Kubb interviews. They were fun, informative and I learned a lot from the US players and their European counterparts. My favorite quote is from Lode of Team Signalgaton “I’m really good when I’m drunk” that brought a smile to my face for sure. I’m looking forward to more interviews in the coming year. I also enjoyed the charts, graphs, and player stats. They made me think, and gave me a way to measure my progress against the best players in the country. Another highlight was a call from Eric to explain the “And One” theory, an ancient secret philosophy that has been passed down thru time from Soren, to Eric and now, to me. (ed: we are waiting for a Planet Kubb wiki page on this!) Thanks Eric!! The video of the Dallas tournament blew me away. I had to watch it three times in a row to make sure I saw what I thought I saw. On that day a good player became a great one. Recently I returned home from a weekend trip to the Adirondacks and I rushed to the computer to see what happened at the Loppet Tourney. It was all there on Planet Kubb. I enjoyed all the blog posts from the different teams and clubs (this, this, this, this, this, this and this), and I almost felt like I’d been there, thanks!

What really impresses me about the Planet Kubb community is that even though the competition between teams is intense, you are still willing to share tips and strategy. That is something special! Someday I hope to make the trip out west to compete and to meet you all in person. I’m looking forward to another great year. Thanks Planet Kubb for providing my Kubb fix!

Dano / Dan Pritchard

Happy Birthday Planet Kubb!

Planet Kubb was started one year ago today as a scrappy looking feed of RSS feeds aggregated from around the Internet. In quick order we’ve added the most active Kubb Q&A community on the web at Ask Planet Kubb, the largest and most active wiki with Kubb tournaments, teams, matches, games, players and club as well as extensive Kubb resources at Planet Kubb Wiki and now a growing and thriving blogging community on the Planet Kubb Network. What a year it has been! (For more background read Introducing Planet Kubb from the 2013 Kubbnation Magazine.)

All of the above wouldn’t be possible without all of you! It’s one thing to setup some websites, and quite another to develop an active and thriving community around them. We have the beginnings of that community on Planet Kubb! A recent example of that community was just highlighted with the addition of over 1,000 matches to the Planet Kubb Wiki with contributors from multiple states and clubs!

Thank you again for being part of that community and I can’t wait to see what the second year brings!

PS: We’ve got a couple of guest blog posts commemorating the first birthday of Planet Kubb coming tomorrow and the day after. Stay tuned!

Upload and Tag Kubb Photos on the Planet Kubb Wiki!

You may have seen that this month there is a lot of refactoring going on in the Planet Kubb Wiki. I won’t go into the details here, but you can see the ongoing dialog about it on the Winter 2013 Cleanup page on the wiki. There is some really great work going on to tie teams, clubs, events, players, matches and games together in a way that is more advanced than ever before.

Now we are also making it easy to tie in photos as well! I’m so excited about it I couldn’t wait to share this with everyone. You know how you can tag friends on Facebook in photos? You can now tag photos on the wiki with the event, club, team and players represented in the photo and the wiki will then pull those photos wherever appropriate. This is a great way to share and connect your pictures from events. This diagram shows how the connections work.

Now when you visit the Minnesota Kubb Loppet Tournament 2013 page, the Fox Valley Kubb page, the Kubb Snipers or Wolfpack page or any of the players: Chad Parsons, Chad Bevers, Joe Pendleton, Aaron Mckie and Nate Olson you will see that photo is connected to them!

Detailed directions on how to add your photos are on the uploading and tagging photos page. You will need an account on the Planet Kubb Wiki to do this of course.

Also, if you just want to browse fun Kubb pictures the most recent 180 photos are on the photos page of the wiki.