Tulsa teacher 'axing' for support to achieve axe throwing dream

A high school teacher in Tulsa is 'axeing' for support to achieve his dream at the World Axe and Knife Throwing Championships.

The competition is April 2-6 in Appleton, Wisconsin. Stephen Neal, a teacher with Epic Charter Schools, has been practicing for it at Lumberjack Attack inside Geaux Shows twice a week, every week for 2-3 hours each day.

This year is his 6th time qualifying for the championships, but Neal's first opportunity to compete in all five events: hatchet, hatchet duals, big axe, knives, and knife duals. "This year I actually finally qualified for every single event," he continued saying, "Big axe has always kind of been a monkey on my back and this year I really just put in the effort and committed."

Neal said there are several ways to qualify depending on the event. "Some of them are based off of your averages for each season, some of them are based off of how many certain points you get, and there is a ranking system that goes into all that," he added.

Neal said his entry fees alone cost over $780. In the past sponsors would cover that, but this year the network that usually broadcasts the championships decided against it.

"Whenever they found out that ESPN was not going to be involved this year, some sponsors pulled out," said Neal. "Axe throwers and knife throwers had to talk to their sponsors and say 'hey do you still want to do this? Some of them said yes, we already said we would and others said no sorry, we cannot at this point."

That has left Neal and other throwers wondering if they will be able to compete at all. "This year no sponsors, I have more events, and I am traveling halfway across the country, so the expenses this year are really racking up," he said.

Neal has created a GoFundMe page with a $1.5K goal to cover he and his teammates entry fees, travel, food, and lodging costs while in Wisconsin. Geaux Shows is also hosting a comedy show on Friday, February 21st at 8 p.m. Anyone who purchases a ticket to the show by clicking here, 100% of the proceeds will go to Neal's fund. "Every little bit helps and at that point you are helping me do something that I love," he said.

Neal's teammate, Tyler Sturgeon, has also created a GoFundMe page to raise money for the competition. You can donate to his here.