Stirling Hart of Maple Ridge, B.C., is 2018’s World Timbersports Champion. He co-owns a forestry company out of Whistler, but he identifies more as an athlete than a lumberjack.
“Lumberjack sports, it’s where we came from … But, like any good major league sport, it’s evolved over time. So now what you’ve got is still Timbersports. And that brings together the best athletes from 26 countries around the world,” he told Gloria Macarenko, host of Our Vancouver.
Springboard
Timbersports consists of six events: three chopping and three sawing. The champion is the best at all six, but Hart is probably strongest at the springboard.
“You chop a little pocket in the tree. You climb up two boards high. Then you chop a block of wood at the top. It’s the one I actually hold a world record in now,” he said.
“But it’s also the one that gave me this scar,” Hart said, indicating his right cheek, “so I’ve got a love-hate with it.”
Axes like golf clubs
Hart owns 30 to 40 axes.
“It’s like a golf bag,” he said, “The wood is different in each country you go to, so you go into your golf bag and pick the right one for the shot you’re about to take and hope it leads you to victory.”
