If you are like me, you don’t really have an interest in the popular sports. You need something more exciting than a football game or people running up and down a field kicking a soccer ball. Well I have found a sport that is just as exciting to watch as it is to participate in. The Woodsmen Sports, or referred to as the STIHL Timber Sports on the professional circuit, is an underground sport that has been gathering interest as of late.
The Woodsmen Sports can be described as traditional and modern events based off the long history of the lumberjacks formed into a competition. Sawing, chopping, building fires, and throwing axes are some of the events that can be witnessed at a competition. Generally, there are three categories of events; the team events comprised of six people that includes the Jack-and-Jill teams, the singles event, the doubles events, the triples events. The events are time based, with the members of the team operating as a relay race. When each member of the team has gone through the heat, the timer stops and points are awarded based on the overall team performance. There is a cut off time for each event, most commonly ten minutes, before the team is awarded the penalty time. Depending on the host of the competition, orders of the events can vary. Most likely, the order of events are as follows: the singles and doubles perform towards the morning, then the team events are in the middle of the day, with the tipples events bringing the day to a close.
Although the events are based off of the available resources, the most common events at the competitions are what most people think of lumberjack sports. There is the single axe throw; that is where a person has to throw a two-bit axe into a bull’s eye target. In the chainsaw event, a person has to cut the log three times, sometimes up, down, and then up, creating little pieces of the log called cookies. One of the most famous events is perhaps the pole climb. This is where a person has climb up a large tree using spikes attached to their shoes and a rope. The first person to ring a bell at the top of the pole is the winner. Some of the team events include the bow saw, which is similar to cutting down a tree only the log is horizontal instead of vertical. Another team sawing event is the cross cut. That’s the event that uses the long saw and two people, one on each side, has to make a certain number or cuts. Other events include the pulp toss, the log roll, burling, the triathlon, and the pack board to name a few.
What is it about the Woodsmen Sports that make it so interesting and different from other sports? One member of the woodsmen team from Paul Smith’s College, Lisa Hansen, describes it as “…so unlike any other sport. You really have to know about the kind of wood that you are using, how to spot and avoid knots in the wood, how to apply the proper pressure. It is more than just using your body; it is about using your mind as well.” The Woodsmen Sports are a full-body experience. As a spectator, the events seem rather simple to perform. Not so. In order to do well in the events, a competitor needs to have good lower body strength as well as a lot of stamina. The competitor needs to have great determination as well. The general rule is that “if you start it, you have to finish it”. This determination also translates into other areas of life. Not only is Woodsmen a sport, but it is a lifestyle.
But more than the physical demands is the sense of community that the sport creates. With long bus rides to the meets and long practice hours it is hard not to create a second family with your team members. That sense of support also translates to the other teams. Each competitor is treated an equal, with opposing teams cheering each other on. The unspoken rule of thumb is that the last lumberjack gets the loudest cheer. The Woodsmen Sports also are one of the only sports that are truly gender equal. Each person is a valuable member of the machine. Participating in this sport also gives the team members an appreciation for the long history of the sport in how these fun games was once a necessary part of a budding community. “It is amazing to look back and see how people did the chopping and the sawing without our modern equipment” said Jackie June from Paul Smith’s College.
Although sometimes a person gets into the sport simply to pass the time away on campus or to spend time with a roommate who is on the team, some members hope to turn their involvement in the sport into more than just a hobby. One member from the Paul Smith’s College team did just that. Adam LaSalle entered the professional circuit and got to travel to Alaska to compete. The only drawback to this sport is that the equipment can be really expensive. I guess every good thing has got to have a negative.
This amazing sport can be seen at college events in our area. The schools in our area that participate are Paul Smith’s College, Finger Lakes Community Collegelace, Wanakena College, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry or ESF, and Dartmouth College. Although the season is over in the collegiate circuit, this sport is also nationally known. In December, ESPN will be airing the STIHL Timber Sports starting on Sunday the 17th. If you want to find out more about the timber sports you can check out the STIHL website at http://www.stihltimbersports.com/index.html for air times and other information.
