STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Series coming to Oregon State Fair

The Oregon State Fair in Salem will host the U.S. championships of the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Series this August, with competitions that test top lumberjacks in chopping, sawing and speed climbing.

The series’ quarterfinals, semifinals, U.S. professional championship and collegiate championship will run during the fair’s opening weekend: Friday, Aug. 27, through Sunday, Aug. 29.

Athletes from other countries will also compete in the professional competitions, which include lumberjacks wielding souped-up chainsaws, hand saws and axes, and climbing 60-foot poles. Another event features women darting across bobbing logs in a 70-foot-long pool.

STIHL, an outdoor powertool maker, bills the competition as the “premier lumberjack sporting event in the world.” It’s the 25th season of the TIMBERSPORTS series, which has expanded to 19 countries and is televised on ESPN2.

The event has never been held in Oregon, said Drew Mahalic, CEO of the Oregon Sports Authority, which helped bring the championships to the state fair. “We’re hoping it finds a home here because it just makes so much sense for it to be in Oregon.”

— OregonLive.com, February 28, 2010