It is an extreme sport in which you have to demonstrate strength and precision. Athletes compete in several disciplines. With an axe, a saw and a chainsaw. Completely unknown in France, it is very popular in North America and Oceania. And it is in Toulouse that the 2024 world championships are taking place.
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It is a sport that is still little known in France. Sport logging is a group of strength sports with a strong tradition. The roots of this discipline, which has been practiced for more than 150 years, are found in Australia and New Zealand, from where it spread to Canada and the United States. It can be compared to Basque games. France is hosting the world championships for the first time.
To the sounds of chainsaws, axes and saws, 120 athletes (they are not lumberjacks!) from all over the world will compete until Saturday November 9, at the zenith in Toulouse. Teams must practice one or more logging techniques.
To “lumber cut” well, you must combine both the speed of execution and the precision with which the movements are carried out. The speed events pit several competitors against each other whose objective is to cut a piece of log into a log as quickly as possible with a given tool and according to a prescribed technique: from a simple ax to the most sophisticated chainsaw, as here with the French team:
The competition takes place according to the knockout system. During each duel, two teams made up of four athletes must compete in four disciplines.
Even though lumberjacking is a spectator sport, athletes undergo intensive training because they must demonstrate power.
These championships, organized by a major tool brand, attract thousands of spectators each year. In Toulouse, the organizer expects 10,000 people.
It’s spectacular and friendly. It's very nice to watch. You can even come as a family. It’s almost a return to rural values.
Alexandre Thorn, organizer of the world championships and president of STHIL France
It's the most action-packed and biggest competition of the season. And for the French team it's a world championship at home!
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