World class woodchoppers coming to Tyrol for a thrilling head to head battle
STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® Champions Trophy will make woodchips fly
Not for the faint-hearted: the world's best STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® athletes will smash four trunks into firewood in less then one minute with their razor-sharp axes and saws. This year the one on one battle will return to the historic village where the first Champions Trophy took place: St. Johann in Tyrol. May 26 will see a showdown of the eight best woodchoppers competing in a thrilling relay-style race.
„Hands on the wood" is the mantra on May 26 when the eight best STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® athletes in the world will face one another on the beautiful Harschbichlalm right above St. Johann. The STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® Champions Trophy is the toughest competition in the series and a promising 2016 competition season opening. Competitors have to complete four events in one go which adds an endurance element to the competition. It's a head to head knockout race: once you lose, you are out!
Who is going to take home the ring?
One of the favorites for this year's title is seven-time World Champion and STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® legend Jason Wynyard from New Zealand. Last year's Champions Trophy winner from down under - Brad Delosa - will only be watching this time: he was ousted by young gun Brayden Meyer who is the current Australian Champion. Meyer will compete for the first time in this competition bringing a new breeze to the sport. The 20-year-old is a class of his own in the chopping events: he started wood chopping as a child and has been competing for more than 10 years now. Other first time competitors and strong opponents are Marcel Dupuis from Canada and French athlete Pierre Puybaret as well as Champions Trophy experienced athletes like Christophe Geissler (Switzerland), Martin Komarek (Czech Republic), Dirk Braun (Germany) and local hero Armin Kugler (Austria).
Village with a history
Tyrol and especially St. Johann have been a recurring home to the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® competition in the last years. The scenic Harschbichlalm will be a beautiful outdoors backdrop for the toughest and most spectacular wood chopping duel in the world. The Rookie World Championship will take place the day before: on May 25 the eight best Rookies in the World will compete against each other on the same stage. For those who will me the event live a livestream will be available at: www.stihl-timbersports.de/livestream.html.
Spectacular disciplines to thrill spectators
The STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® Series is a competition series in lumberjack sport, which has a long tradition. The history of the first contests dates back to 1870. The first Wood chopping World Championships took place in Tasmania in 1891. From overseas, logging sport took off around the world. Even today, nearly all the disciplines - three with the axe and three with the saw - replicate traditional forestry activities. All the disciplines revolve around the athlete and his handling of the sports equipment and the wood. In the individual competition for the World Championship in Poznan and in the fifteen or so national championships held around the world between May and October the athletes had to complete six disciplines one after the other – Springboard, Stock Saw, Standing Block Chop, Single Buck, Underhand Chop and Hot Saw. The Springboard and Hot Saw disciplines are not included in the Champions Trophy. The elite division of lumberjack sports attracts up to 10,000 spectators to the live events, with millions of fans worldwide regularly following the competitions on TV.