The World Axe and Knife Throwing Championships are coming to downtown Appleton. Here's what to know.

APPLETON - A world championship is coming to the Fox Cities, where several winners will be crowned after a weekend of hurling blades.

Starting Friday and continuing through Sunday, downtown Appleton will host two competitions: the World Axe Throwing Championships and the World Knife Throwing Championship. Hundreds of throwers from across the country and around the world will vie for over $50,000 in total prizes.

Here's what you need to know about the event:

Where and when are the World Axe and Knife Throwing Championships?

The competition will be held at the Fox Cities Exhibition Center at 355 W. Lawrence St. from Friday through Sunday.

The competition starts at 9 a.m. Friday with knife throwing. Duals are noon the same day. On Saturday, hatchet throwing begins at 9 a.m. and big axe at 2 p.m. The finals for all competitions will take place at noon Sunday.

A complete schedule and map is available at the competition portal through worldaxethrowingleague.com.

More:World Axe and Knife Throwing Championships to be held in downtown Appleton in early December

How many competitors are expected?

Almost 600 competitors from 38 states and several countries will participate in the four events: knife throwing, hatchet throwing, duals (more than one person throwing an axe) and big axe throwing.

The competitors earned their spots in the world championships through league-sanctioned events.

There are 26 throwers from Wisconsin, including Joe Devine and Alex Everson from the Green Bay area.

Can spectators watch the competitions?

The events Friday and Saturday are free and open to the public from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.The finals for all four disciplines are a ticketed event at noon Sunday. Tickets cost $25 and can be purchased at the doors, which open at 10 a.m. Sunday.

How do the axe throwing and knife throwing competitions work?

The competitions will be held in a series of head-to-head games in bracketed tournaments. Throwers attempt to hit a regulation target from a set distance with their axes or knives. The throwers score points depending on where their blades hit the target, with the option to call a "killshot" before the throw to try to score more points.

What else is there to do at the tournament?

If you don't want to check out one of the 48 throwing lanes at the Exhibition Center, you can also get a bite to eat, hang out at the bar and browse vendors without leaving the building. And, of course, the rest of downtown Appleton is just outside the door.

Why is this competition in Appleton?

The city of Appleton won the bid to host the tournament because the competition had strong "community support and community buy-in," as well as easy access to airports and hotels, said Matt Ten Haken, director of sports marketing for the Fox Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Several organizations, like the Hilton Appleton Paper Valley hotel and Appleton Downtown Inc., have been "great partners" in helping make the competition happen, Ten Haken said.

And Wisconsin is "a good state for axe throwing," with a lot of throwers and venues, said Joe Van Abel from Appleton Axe. He plans to make part of Appleton Axe a practice venue for throwers during the championships.

"(The competition) is good for the community. It's good for local businesses. The bars are going to see a lot of people staying in town," Van Abel said.

Will the competition be streamed or televised?

Friday and Saturday's competitions will have scores available at worldaxethrowingleague.com.

The competition finals will be recorded and broadcast on one of the ESPN Networks at a later date and time, according to the World Axe Throwing League website.

Rebecca Loroff is a breaking and trending news reporter for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. Contact her at 920-907-7801 or rloroff@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: World Axe and Knife Throwing Championships in Appleton this weekend