The revving and roaring of chainsaws filled the north end of Chardon Square April 27 and 28, the final two days of the Geauga County Maple Festival.
The revving and roaring of chainsaws filled the north end of Chardon Square April 27 and 28, the final two days of the Geauga County Maple Festival.
“We are all set,” emcee Jim Freeman said. “Go ahead and warm them up.”
Contestants hailing from four states and Canada competed in this year’s Invitational Lumberjack Competition.
“It’s a unique event,” said Jen, event organizer, who competes along with her husband, Ken Freeman. “You see it on TV, but there aren’t too many of these competitions in Ohio.”
Some of the contestants are on the Stihl Timbersports Series.
Everyone competes on Saturday, with the top six qualifiers in each contest moving on to the finals Sunday.
This year $4,800 in prize moneywas awarded along with bottles of Geauga County maple syrup.
The competition is made up of 12 different contests, seven of which are chainsaw, two cross cutting contests, an axe throwing competition and a chopping competition.
Both men and women can participate in all of these events.
Ken participates in all of the events, except Powder Puff.
The Jack and Jill race, which Jen and Ken compete in together, involves one man and one woman on each team competing to see who can saw through their designated piece of wood the fastest.
“We see a lot of the same competitors all summer and fall long,” Jen said. “They, along with ourselves, all travel contests all over.”
Jim said it’s a form of history and a platform to preserving the old ways of doing things.
In the United States, the lumber industry dates back to pre-colonial times, and during its height in the 19th century, logging helped drive the economy in many portions of the country.
Logging competitions, also known as timber sports and lumberjack sports, date back to the late 1800s.
Jim, a former competitor himself, said being a lumberjack takes a lot of practice and also time and money for equipment.
Lumberjack competitor Justin Sprankle serves as battalion command sergeant major for the Ohio Army National Guard Recruiting Command in Columbus.
“I have been competing in lumberjack events for about seven years now,” Sprankle said. “It’s a wonderful hobby filled with great people. We all have full-time jobs, so all the competitors devote themselves to this in their free time.”
He added, “The maple festival is an amazing small town event that makes it fun to compete.”
First-time visitors from Quebec, Canada, Nicholas Gauvreau and Nicolas Ladouceur, said they came because it was a fairly close drive for them and they wanted to have a little vacation at the same time.
“We would like to thank everyone who attended the Geauga County Maple Festival,” Jen added. “We spend a considerable amount of time preparing for it and hope you all enjoyed.”
