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On March 27, 2010, the ÷ÈÓ°Ö±²¥ State College Pioneer Woodsmen’s Club competed in the 5th Annual East Coast Lumberjack Round-Up sponsored by SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse.

The ÷ÈÓ°Ö±²¥ State Pioneer Woodsmen’s Club put on an excellent showing at their first meet. The Jack and Jill team came in first in their division beating out SUNY Cobleskill and Penn State University. The men’s team did well in many of the individual events.

÷ÈÓ°Ö±²¥ State sent two teams to compete in this meet: a men’s team and a Jack and Jill team. Both teams competed in team, singles, and doubles events. Team events consisted of cross-cut relay, bow saw relay, log roll, and pulp toss. Singles events were axe throw, single buck, chainsaw disk stack, fire build, pole climb, and hard hit. Doubles events consisted of cross-cut to hell, horizontal chop, and vertical chop.

The Woodsmen’s Club adviser, Lt. Scott Bingham, ASC University Police, a former member of the Finger Lakes Community College team and a former professional competitor, was unable to attend. Wally Robarge, a professional woodsmen’s competitor, acted as coach for the meet. Jack and Jill team members were Ariane Tanski-captain, Lafayette, surveying engineering technology; Jason McCadden, Auburn, surveying engineering technology; Gabe Darling, Shortsville, machine tool technology; Katrina Doxtader, Little Falls, surveying engineering technology; Tosha Talbot, Saint Johnsville, veterinary technology; Nick Mootz, Cochecton, heavy equipment: truck and diesel technician; and alternate Jaci Stanton, Locke, machine tool technology. Men’s team members were Andy Bush-captain, Silver Springs, machine tool technology; Dylan Heaney, Jamesville, building trades: building construction; Joe Francese, Franklin Square, architectural engineering technology; Nick Wall, Alexander, surveying engineering technology; Wade Harrington, Campbell, machine tool technology; Greg Kruppa, North Collins, construction management engineering technology.

The Pioneer Woodsmen’s Club is a new club this year at ÷ÈÓ°Ö±²¥ State, having been approved in September 2009. Practices began in January. The purpose of the Pioneer Woodsmen’s Club is to educate the College and the local community about the ideas, tools, and techniques of the competitive lumberjack community. These skills shall be fostered through practice and intercollegiate competition, while promoting teamwork among members and fellowship among competitors, in the spirit of the old woodsmen traditions.

Woodsmen’s competitions began as contests in logging camps between loggers as a way of showing off their particular skills. Because loggers were paid according to the number of units produced as opposed to the time worked, the ability to efficiently perform a specific task was very important. The ability to do something quickly and with an amount of showmanship was admired in the logging camps. Today, this tradition is continued on college campuses throughout the United States and Canada, as well as worldwide in competitive circuits.

Intercollegiate competition runs throughout the school year. Many schools hold annual meets. Teams consist of six members and many schools send multiple teams to each meet. There are three divisions; men’s, women’s, and Jack and Jill, three men and three women on a team. Team members are selected to compete in different events based on skill. Men’s and women’s teams compete in the same events with the same equipment.

Competitions may consist of a combination of team, single, double, triple, and canoeing events. Each team member must compete in events in each category. Most events are scored based on time. Each event holds equal weight in the final combined team score. A point system is used for the final tally. For each event, the first-place winner is awarded 100 points with runners-up receiving a percentage of points based on their comparative score.

This year the 64th Annual Spring Meet will be held at Paul Smith’s College, April 23-24. Spring Meet, the largest competition in the Northeast, is a two-day event that is the culmination of the year-long season. Usually about 13 schools compete each year. Due to expanded sponsorship through ESPN, Stihl, Carhartt, Lumberjack Sports International, and the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show, this year’s Spring Meet will be the largest competition in the history of collegiate lumberjack sports. In addition to the 19 traditional events which make up Spring Meet, Stihl will be hosting the Stihl Timbersports Collegiate Challenge, as well as the 1st Annual Ironjack Collegiate Challenge. Each U.S. college or university may enter one male competitor and one female competitor for the Stihl Timbersports Collegiate Challenge. Each college or university may also enter one competitor in the Ironjack Collegiate Challenge. These events will be broadcast on ESPN later in the year. ÷ÈÓ°Ö±²¥ State College will be sending a Men’s and a Jack and Jill team to compete in Spring Meet.