| Age: 30 | Started Playing: May 4, 2010 |
| Birthday: June 12 | Favorite Trick: Cushion taps, spacewalk super flamingo, ghost juggles |
| Hometown: Guthrie, Kentucky | Hobbies: Hiking, photography, making coffee, running, lifting weights, road trips, collecting Kentucky vintage, and studying Japanese |
Chad Covington is a professional kendama player, event organizer, and lifelong advocate for kendama culture. As the co-founder and co-owner of Sol Kendamas established in 2014 and new owner of Kendama Co in 2025, Chad has been instrumental in shaping the modern kendama community across the United States. He is best known for building community through hosting kendama events, his creative vision in producing kendamas in collaboration with other notable kendama brands, and his grassroots teaching style when it comes to sharing kendama with others.
Since 2012, Chad has hosted Battle at the Border (BATB), North America's longest-running kendama event. Through BATB and frequent demos at regional Japan Festivals, Chad creates opportunities for players to meet, connect, and push kendama forward. He has been a teacher for kendama at the Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival, Memphis Japan Festival, and Japan Fest in Atlanta, Georgia and Jackson, Mississippi.
Chad’s teaching philosophy is simple: bring a kendama everywhere, share personal stories about how kendama impacted your life, help beginners land their first spike, document progress online, host local jams, and support brands that actively teach and grow the sport.
Outside of kendama, Chad enjoys hiking, photography, making coffee, running, lifting weights, road trips, collecting Kentucky vintage, and studying Japanese. He worked as a barista at Chocolate Holler in Lexington, Kentucky for around 2 years, and graduated from the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture in 2018.
Chad’s mission with kendama is to spread positivity and fun. By hosting BATB annually and teaching at festivals, his primary goals are simple: help people meet, have fun, and create more within kendama.
2013
🥇 1st Place — Sweets Stringless Competition: Edit, Pro Division (Online)
🥈 2nd Place — Terra Two Year Contest: Edit, Pro Division (Online)
2014
🥈 2nd Place — Spo-Town Throwdown: Team Open (Spokane, Washington)
2015
🥈 2nd Place — Dama Dreams 2: Freestyle (New Philadelphia, Ohio)
2016
🥈 2nd Place — Park Dama 3: Freestyle (New Philadelphia, Ohio)
2018
🥇 1st Place — UYYC Kendama: Freestyle (Kansas City, Missouri)
2019
🥇 1st Place — UYYC Kendama: Freestyle (St. Louis, Missouri)
🥉 3rd Place — Dama in the D6: Freestyle (Wyandotte, Michigan)
2023
🥈 2nd Place — Sakura Classic Nashville: Open (Nashville, Tennessee)
🥉 3rd Place — Sakura Classic Nashville: Advanced Speed Ladder (Nashville, Tennessee)
Awards:
🏆Sol Kendamas Pop Culture Impact Award — The BIRLIES at NAKO 2024 (Minneapolis, Minnesota)