Chopping and sawing wood are more than just activities lumberjacks do in the woods. It is an intense sport, and the Woodsmen team at SUNY-ESF is cutting its way through the competition.

The team at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry sent three students to compete in the Collegiate IRONJACK World Championship, held at the Lumberjack Feud Sports Arena in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., from Jan. 4-6. The three students ­— Evan McFee, Steve Tramposch and Max Wiesner — placed highly on the bracket.

The Woodsmen team is composed of 49 students, but in each event, the team is divided into six people per group, McFee said. The groups compete in four team events, three sets of double events, two triples events and six singles events.

The competitors receive points for each event and the winner is determined based on the team’s composite score, McFee said. The events include birling, in which the student rolls on a log in water; axe throwing; pole climbing; single buck, in which participants use a long saw to cut wood in one swing; and obstacle pole, an obstacle course that incorporates all six events together, he said.

Although the players don’t always compete in all six events, McFee, Tramposch and Wiesner had to compete in all six events individually for the World Championship.

McFee, a senior wildlife science major, came in second, an improvement from his fifth-place finish last year.

Tramposch, who competed in the tournament for the first time, placed eighth. Although he had never competed before, Tramposch said he was excited to give it a try.

Cassie Pinkoski, the team’s coach, said Tramposch, a junior paper engineering major, had to practice and master the climbing and chopping events in a limited amount of time because he had never participated in those competitions before.

McFee said only six schools were invited to compete in the worldwide event this year. At the event, they also perform at a dinner show in front of 500 people. The three students practiced at Lafayette Field Station, located in Syracuse.

Tramposch said after they practiced climbing and chopping, they would usually workout for an hour and a half.

“It was hard because the climbing tree and the chopping wood were completely frozen,” Tramposch said.

Pinkoski, who was on the team as an undergraduate at ESF, said her favorite event was the underhand chop, a competition in which the competitor stands over a block of wood and chops at it.

“It’s the most fun event,” she said. “Women in other regions don’t really do a lot of events — like the underhand chop — that we do in the Northeast.”

McFee and Tramposch both started on the Woodsmen team as freshmen and have stayed ever since. Tramposch said he saw a demonstration when he first came to ESF, and his roommate encouraged him to attend a Woodsmen team practice.

“I played baseball and golf in high school, but didn’t want to play those again,” McFee said. “This just sounded cool.”

Published on January 27, 2014 at 1:12 am