Stratford brothers are top choppers
Stratford brothers Shane and Jack Jordan are among a team of five Kiwi wood choppers heading to the world champs next month.
The brothers will compete alongside Kyle Lemon, Kahu Woolley and Bobby Dowling at the 2019 Stihl Timbersports World Championship in Prague on November 1-2 for their chance at the team world title.
The format is a knock-out duel, where the fastest team of each round will advance closer to the title.
Each team competes head-to-head in four disciplines including handling axes, chainsaws and a two-metre-long cross-cut saw.
The brothers are no strangers to competition with Shane competing in six different disciplines to take the top overall score at the New Zealand Championship, held at Fieldays in Hamilton earlier this year.
Shane, 32, has an impressive 17 years in the sport and has previous success winning the Standing Block Championship title two years in a row at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.
Jack, 22, recently won the New Zealand Rookies Championship at the Fieldays event and has been competing in the sport for 11 years and has four national and two Australian underhand titles to his name.
Both are keen to see their team steal a win at the world champs and take the title from their neighbours across the Tasman who have won it six times. Last year the Australian team set a new world record at the event, which was held in Liverpool.
In an emailed statement, team manager Stace Hall said the country had a strong track record on the world stage and agreed it would be good to get one back on the Aussies. ‘‘I hope we need an extra bag on the plane to bring home the championship trophy.’’