Polite Dissent

If driving a car, fishing, or leading a cheer can be considered a sport then why not cutting down a tree? And there you have the quitessence of timbersports.

The Stihl Timbersports Seriesis the mainstay of lumberjack competitions. There are a number of regional events — usually held at state fairs — and then a final showdown at the end of the summer. There are six events incluidng the Underhand Chop, the Stock Saw, the Springboard, the Single Buck, the Standing Block Chop and my favorite, the Hot Saw. In this last event, competitors use souped up chainsways (usually powered with a snowmobile motor) to quickly saw three complete cuts through a log.

The ESPN Great Outdoor Games has a series of timbersports events as well. They include everything the Stihl series has, but adds log rolling competitions, speed climbing, relay events, and female lumberjacks. Truly a sight to behold.

Both series can be caught on ESPN or ESPN2.