Last tube standing wins cardboard smackdown

Rule No. 1: Don't break your tube.

Rule No. 2: Don't stab your opponent.

Rule No. 3: Especially not in the face.

Two dozen fighters obeyed the tenets of cardboard-tube fighting Sunday, battling for the glory of becoming the champion.

They took to a concrete surface at Seattle's Gas Works Park, wielding their weapons: 3-foot-long cardboard tubes that look like the kind used for gift wrap.

Most fighters employed a two-handed grip; the more assured used one hand. Those who break their tubes do not advance to another round.

Under a gray sky, scores of spectators remained transfixed.

"To the death!" one yelled.

"Remember your training!" another bellowed.

Robert Easley, clipboard in hand, kept track of the duels. He's been tube fighting since he was 4.

During the week, Easley, 27, works with homeless youth at Sanctuary Art Center in Seattle.

He said he organized the Cardboard Tube Fighting League because "everybody's got a story of being young and having a cardboard tube in their hand, pretending it's a sword — and really liking it. It seemed like a great way to get people out and play."

The final duel was between Dani Lankhaar, 15, and Angela Salerno, 30.

Easley handed the fighters cardboard shields.

Salerno prevailed. But Lankhaar still wore a smile.

"I'm a little tired but it was awesome," said Lankhaar, of Queen Anne. "That's the most fun I've had in a long time."

Lankhaar, whose bright-pink hair went well with the light-green tutu over some skinny jeans and a pair of black Converse high-tops, came with her friend, Bill Crane, 18, of Quincy, Grant County.

"I knew I had to go," he said of the tournament.

"It sounded like something that was amazing and it was. This was the only thing we found to do that was entertaining all week."

After her victory, Salerno, of Santa Rosa, Calif., signed one opponent's tube. Then, another fighter, who bid her farewell with a handshake, said, "Congratulations. It was fun jousting with you."

Salerno credited her win to the huevos rancheros she had at brunch and the fact she observed many faceoffs before she had to take anyone on.

"It seemed like people's tubes were breaking when they were striking," she said. "So my strategy was more defense than offense."

Salerno doesn't know if she can return to defend her title, she said, adding that she was in Seattle to visit an old friend.

Because of the weather, Eric Hilton, 26, of Madison Park, decided to bring Salerno to the park instead of going sailing on Lake Washington.

"Unfortunately, my housemate beat me in the first round, which was kind of lame," he said.

Next month, Easley is planning a contest between two large groups of people.

"We'll just run in and hit each other," he said. "It will be a battle of epic proportions."

Judy Chia Hui Hsu: 206-464-3315 or jhsu@seattletimes.com