Competitive forestry? Yeah, it’s a thing.
CSU students, including four from Warner College of Natural Resources, received individual recognition at the 2018 Association of Western Forestry Clubs Logging Conclave (AWFC) held at California Polytechnic State University this spring.
This annual event is the largest collegiate timber sports competition in the western U.S. Recently, 11 students from CSU’s Logging Sports Team competed against 100 participants from 10 other colleges and universities in numerous events that showcase traditional forestry field skills.
Depending on the skill, competitors were judged by time, distance, strength, accuracy and/or agility. Events included tree climbing, chopping and sawing, ax throwing, obstacle courses and more. Scholarly events included dendrochronology, wood identification, and distance and height measurements. Competitors who received first through sixth place rankings also garnered points for their teams. CSU fielded two teams, with each member competing in several events.
One chance is all you get in several of the events. Senior Jim Reynolds from the Forest and Rangeland Stewardship (FRS) department called them “one and done” events. He placed first in the men’s Stock Powersaw event when he drove a chainsaw halfway down and then back up through a log quickly and accurately, and placed second in the Vertical Hard-Hit event as he powered an ax through a log from each side in nearly the least number of hits.
“It’s been pretty cool to be a forestry major and then go out and do forestry related things as a competitor,” Reynolds said.
Reynold’s FRS classmates Lionzo Escobedo and Mackenzie Burough received fourth and fifth places respectively in the men’s and women’s Stock Powersaw event. Burough joined the team this semester and said she was excited with her results.
“Powersaw is my favorite event,” she said. “It’s definitely for anyone who likes power tools.”
Parker Allen, a freshman in the Human Dimensions of Natural Resources department placed sixth in the Limber Pole. This event required the contestant to make his/her way down a log suspended over a body of water. Each contestant tried to make it down the farthest before losing balance and falling off. Allen’s two runs added up to 39 feet.
“It was my first time there, so I was excited to bring something home,” he said.
With names like throw, saw, chop and climb you can imagine these events require a high level of physicality. The team trains near CSU’s Foothills Campus a few hours a day, three days a week. Reynolds said consistent time and effort helps them build the versatile skills individual members and the team needs to compete in this hallmark competition.
“We try to train in a way that everybody can at least try everything, and not limit anyone to one particular event,” Jim Reynolds said. “We try to let everyone do as much as they want.”
CSU’s Logging Sports Team, affiliated with the Campus Recreation Center, is open to all students. Other CSU students with prominent finishes include: College of Liberal Arts student Ethan Doyle’s second place in the Speed Ax Throw, and College of Health and Human Sciences student William Booth’s second-place finishes in both Horizontal Hard Hit and Obstacle Pole.
CSU is hosting next year’s annual AWFC competition. The Logging Sports team is already taking the initiative to find sponsorship, resources and new teammates to support the full suite of events.
Email csloggingsports@gmail.com for more information about the club.
Educational institutions that participated in AWFC this year include Northern Arizona University, Shasta Community College, UC Berkeley, University of British Columbia, Humboldt State University, University of Nevada Reno, Colorado State University, University of Montana, Montana State University, Flathead Valley Community College, and the University of Idaho.
