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Break out the ear covers and protective eye-wear – a gang of lumber-loving warriors is coming your way.
Throughout the next six weeks, 28 lumber sports athletes will battle it out in the Stihl Timbersports qualifying competitions and attempt to chop down their competition for the final rounds and the grand prize. The athletes hail from all over the United States and Canada and are coming in from as far as Austraila and New Zealand to vie for the 2003 Timbersports championship title, a new Dodge RAM pick-up and a share of the $250,000 purse.
Stihl has sponsored and produced the competition since 1985 and this year’s first regional qualifier will be held Aug. 7-10 at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta, N.J. All 28 contenders will participate in preliminary contests on that Thursday and Friday, and sports network ESPN will capture the action on Saturday and Sunday for broadcast later this year.
“If you’re a Timbersports fan in the tri-state area, here’s your big change to see yourself in the crowd of this popular TV sports program,” says Roger Phelps, director of the Timbersports Series. “There will also be daily giveaways of Stihl equipment and some other surprises, so we encourage everyone to come to the New Jersey State Fair and see what Timbersports is all about.
Phelps is equally enthusiastic about the final regional qualifying event that will be held Aug. 20 – 23 at the Allen County Fairgrounds in Lima, Ohio. ESPN will also film events at this qualifying round. Additionally, the Ohio event will feature the top up-and-coming logging sports athletes from U.S. colleges and universities in the inaugural Stihl Timbersports Collegiate Invitational Championship. This is the first time in Timbersports’ 18-year history that amateurs have been invited to participate, and is also the first time college athletes will compete for the title “National Collegiate Champion” of logging sports.
The pros, however, will head to Chippewa Falls, Wis., to determine who will go home as the Timbersports champion. The final 12 lumberjacks will head to Northern Wisconsin State Fairgrounds on Sept. 13 with the deciding events held on Sept. 14.
“Spectators will witness first-hand, the brute strength and skilled precision of these trained professional axemen competing at breakneck speeds,” Phelps says. “Fans will have something to tell all those ‘arm chair athletes’ down at their favorite watering hole next time they claim, ‘Bet I could do that.’”
Admission to the qualifying rounds at both the Sussex County and Allen County is free with admission to the fair. Advance tickets for the finals are available through the Chippewa Valley Web site . VIP tickets for front-row seating and a special gift are $20, adult tickets are $15, children ages 5 to 16 are $5, and children under 5 are free.
For more Timbersports information visit the Timbersports Web site or for Fairground information visit the Chippewa Valley of Wisconsin , the New Jersey State Fair Web site, or the Allen County Fair Web site.
The author is Assistant Editor of Lawn & Landscape magazine and can be reached at lspiers@lawnandlandscape.com.