Cardboard Tube Fighting League - History

History

The CTFL was started by Robert Easley in Seattle, Washington. Robert had childhood memories of hitting friends and family with cardboard tubes in mock sword fights. He came up with the idea of starting regular tournaments around the act of cardboard tube fighting. This idea comes from three core beliefs:

  • People need more ways to play and take themselves less seriously.
  • Events can be fun without alcohol.
  • Cardboard sword fighting is fun.

The CTFL conformed to these guidelines. After two months of planning, the first event was held in Seattle at Gas Works Park on July 22, 2007. The tournament had been the "pick of the week" in a local publication called The Stranger. The Stranger is credited as being the driving force behind the early adoption of the CTFL by the public. This led to a number of blog posts and radio interviews. The first event drew over 40 people and was described as "fun" by a majority of those who attended. For the remainder of the summer, events were held in Seattle. During this time, the league started battles: two groups dueling until one team no longer had any usable tubes. By the end of the summer of 2007, the CTFL spread to San Francisco; by the end of the summer of 2008, CTFL spread to Sydney, Australia. Also, Newmindspace put on a 1200 cardboard tube lightsaber jedi battle.

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