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12-year-old Ava Nolf of Clinton, Connecticut practices throwing an atlatl during the Northeastern Atlatl Championship in Addison, Vt. on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Amanda Swinhart)

ADDISON, Vt. – Celine Thouin learned a lot as a student at Franklin Pierce University, and one of the skills she has held onto the longest is how to use an ancient spear-throwing tool.

She got to share that skill with fellow Vermonters on Saturday. Thouin, 38 and a veteran of the Franklin Pierce atlatl team, was one of a few dozen participants in the Northeast Open Atlatl Championship in Addison, Vermont.

Humans invented the atlatl thousands of years ago for use as a spear-throwing hunting tool. They were used to hunt massive animals s

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