‘It takes a lot of training’
River Denys man to compete in STIHL Timbersports World Championships in Liverpool, England with Team Canada
George Williams first competed in logger sports events during his time at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton.
But the River Denys resident never expected his passion for the activity to take him to national and world tournaments — but that’s just what it has done. Williams will be one of six people to represent Canada at the 2018 STIHL Timbersports World Championships in Liverpool, England, on Friday and Saturday.
He will join Stirling Hart of Vancouver, B.C., Mitch Hewitt of Scotch Creek, B.C., Marcel Dupuis of Memramcook, N.B.,
Ben Cumberland of Keswick Ridge, N.B., and Connor Morse of Kingston, N.S., on the Canadian team.
The 25-year-old Williams will compete in team competitions on Friday including the stock saw, the underhand chop, the single buck, and the standing chop relay.
“Watching guys like Stirling,
Mitch and Marcel grow and be successful in the sport really pushed me to get involved with the STIHL Timbersports series,” said Williams, in an email interview last week.
“It takes a lot of training both with and without an axe. I have also had the opportunity to travel around the world learning from the best athletes from Canada to Australia.”
STIHL timbersports is an international logger sports competition series. The event began in Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, where local loggers would hold competitions to determine who was the strongest man.
Williams, who graduated from the forestry program at UNB in May, has participated in two world championship tournaments.
In 2016, Williams attended the world event in Stuttgart, Germany, and was successful in winning a silver medal with Team Canada. The following year, he captured a bronze medal at the world rookie championship.
Williams admits there are challenges when it comes to competing in timbersports events.
“The most challenging part is the elements that you can’t control, like the block of wood you draw,” said Williams. “You can
train as much as you want, but when you are competing and get hung up in the wood, there’s nothing you can do to control that.”
The world championship will feature competitors from 23 nations. For more information about the world championship, visit www.stihl-timbersports. com.