Timber Sports not a sport?

[JeffHK454]

On a local radio station there was a discussion about non-sports. There was the usual bowling and golf but then the host made the statement that "these timber sports are nothing more than men playing with chainsaws". He went on to say that these events require no athletic ability or skill.

I don't think you can be more wrong ! I tried to call in and comment but had no luck.

How tuff are competitions like the Stihl Timber-Sports series on your body?

Jeff

 

[Chopwood]

The timber sports series is not extremely tough on your body, only six events. from what I've seen (firsthand), the Stihl Timbersports Series is mostly mental. All of them can do the events well. There are hundreds of other contests all over that have many more. I am going to on this weekend that has eleven. Some shows are more physically strenuous than others. I'm 6-4 270lbs and I'm sore after most shows. No, I'm not old or fat. I compete in 25-30 contests a year, travelling 15,000 miles a year to go to them. Tell weekend softball guy that isn't hard work.

 

[JeffHK454]

I've seen ESPN/Wide World of Sports coverage of the Stihl stuff and it looks tough, all those guys look to be big powerful and athletic. Other than the stock saw comp I don't think I could do any of the events in twice the time!

Jeff

 

[Mr.]

You might be good if you can do it in twice the time. Been practicing and would love to get to twice the time.

Fred

 

[Mike Barcaskey]

by definition, they are games, as are football, baseball and such

two opposing sides, rules to play by and score is kept... it is a game

true sports are activities that are undertaken by a person against something
hunting, fishing, mountaineering, boating, sailing, sking, hiking, scuba diving

 

[romeo]

Change Radio Stations

Where the heck do I start with this guy?? Pole climbers, bucksawyers, choppers, log rollers are awsome athletes. Leaving that aside, steer a 70 lb nitro burning bike saw through a dead start and three cuts and tell me thats not an athlete. I'd love to invite those guys to compete in our next GTG. Ill bet they do great since you dont have to be an athlete to compete.

 

[JeffHK454]

You might be good if you can do it in twice the time. Been practicing and would love to get to twice the time.

Fred

Your probably correct on that one Mr.!

Game , sport , whatever , that fact that this clown on the radio insinuated that it took no ability,stamina or skill was off the mark!


Jeff

 

[romeo]

You might be good if you can do it in twice the time. Been practicing and would love to get to twice the time.

Fred

Ive got some events I can do in less than twice the time. At our local shows that is called first place.

 

[JeffHK454]

Ive got some events I can do in less than twice the time. At our local shows that is called first place.

Would you say that the difference between you and the best pros out there is size and strength or is it that they have perfected there techniques?

 

[romeo]

Their is a combonation of all factors involved. Fast thinking and well controlled power seems to be the greatest factors. Then there is the show-boat factor, some folks are quicker and some slower when you add crowds.

Hotsaws looked easy until I owned one. I would bet this radio guy wouldnt have the b@!!$ to squeze the throttle on mine, yet alone pick it up and make a cut.

 

[Mr.]

I would bet this radio guy wouldnt have the b@!!$ to squeze the throttle on mine, yet alone pick it up and make a cut.

Too true, but he played highschool football he must be a sports expert.LOL

Fred

 

[Freakingstang]

Their is a combonation of all factors involved. Fast thinking and well controlled power seems to be the greatest factors. Then there is the show-boat factor, some folks are quicker and some slower when you add crowds.

In the little playing i have done with my saws, I am very inconsistant with differant saws. I don't have the right push and pull, I either push too hard, or not enough, and usually pull to hard on the up cuts. More practice, I know. lol

 

[l2edneck]

Hotsaws looked easy until I owned one. I would bet this radio guy wouldnt have the b@!!$ to squeze the throttle on mine, yet alone pick it up and make a cut.

No Worries he prolly couldnt even stand on stage wit it or physically alone pick it up

 

[Marco]

Well, is a radio announcer a real job?

 

[Lawn Masters]

Not a sport? racing hotsaws takes lots of skill in the mind, a fair amount of physical excercise to be able to handle the saw, plus you have to know how to actually control that high performance beast without hurting yourself.

odds are the radio guy never touched a chainsaw in his life. theres a good bit to it, IMO, saw racing isnt a sport, its an art form.

 

[NWCS]

saw racing takes a lot to get good at, i have been practicing for over a year now and im edging my place up. my nerves still get the best of me infront of a crowd. anybody that saw my cut-out at Sequim can see that pretty easily. if i would have thought to point out the knot i tried to avoid to the judges and cut on the other side of it i would have had a paying 3rd place finish.. but my nerves said "they want small cookies! just make the cut!" and that cost me. Rotax Robert and others were very helpful with pointers after the race. all the saw racers i have gone against have been amazingly supportive and good people. it takes a LOT of tactic, good equipment, frame of mind. picking a cut is alot like picking your line on the nascar track.. bad line will cost you! good line just could win you that race.

 

[romeo]

I won the 5ci stock saw in Eagar Arizona this weekend (6.81 seconds) and placed 2nd and 3rd in a few buck saw events, Its a good thing I didn't have to be an athlete to compete.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

Is it a sport? Of course it is. Stock car racing is a sport. Formula 1 racing is a sport. Motocross is a sport. Rally racing is a sport. Superbike racing is a sport. All are physically demanding, too.

Are these ATHLETIC events?

No, just the fact that it's physically demanding doesn't make it an athletic event. Race car drivers are not athletes. Runners are athletes. Football players are athletes. Motocross racers are not athletes. Swimmers are athletes. Decathletes are athletes.

Running a race saw? I'm sure it takes some strength and skill, just like motocrossing. But it's not an athletic event. It CERTAINLY is a sport.


Crosscut sawing? Chopping events? I could see calling those athletic events, same as discus or shotput throwing.

The difference is that in one group, the physical ability is the PRIMARY thing, in the other, it is very much secondary. Necessary, yes, but still secondary.


And of course, the "beauty contest" so-called sports like figure skating, snowboarding, and synchronized swimming all require physical ability, but still, are neither athletic events or sports, and have no business being called either!

 

[computeruser]

On a local radio station there was a discussion about non-sports. There was the usual bowling and golf but then the host made the statement that "these timber sports are nothing more than men playing with chainsaws". He went on to say that these events require no athletic ability or skill.

Sounds like a useful discussion to spend time on. Bet it was on the radio station's morning show, right?

Anyway, my inclination is to say that a sport can be defined as any activity where people perform a task against others where the outcome - who "won," came in second, etc. - can be objectively judged. The "beauty contest" activities may also be sports, too, depending on how strictly one interperets the notion of something being "objectively judged."

In all the timbersports I've seen, just like the worlds strongest man contests and the Scottish heavy athletics, competitors win or lose based on their time to complete a task, the amount of weight manipulated or distance traveled or thrown. All of these fit my definition of a sport, and so they are.

 

[JeffHK454]

It was mostly meant to agitate the golf, softball and bowling crowd but It kind of bothered me.

I have never competed in any timber sports events but have ran a saw for a bunch of hours and swung an axe a time or two and to say it not physically demanding is crazy.