Aggies triumph at annual Rick Russell Woodsmen Competition

Passion pays off.

The Annual Rick Russell Memorial Woodsmen Competition is not only the culmination of five grueling months of training and competing for the sport of lumberjack, but has become a marquee event in Dal's Faculty of Agriculture each February for more than three decades. It showcases one of the Ag Campus's most unique and successful campus athletics squads: the woodsmen.

And this year, the woodsmen teams did not disappoint.

Both the women’s and men’s "A" teams secured top honors in the Rick Russell Memorial Woodsmen Competition and from the Canadian Intercollegiate Lumberjacking Association (CILA). The ECHO Challenge (men’s) and men’s CILA MVP titles were also won by Dal's Thomas Henderson.

These wins took dedication, hard work and lots of practice.

Planning and commitment

Four teams at Dal AC — two women’s and two men’s teams — practice and train each day from the second week of the academic year in September until this final home competition. After months of successful competitions in New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario, the woodsmen concluded their season with the much anticipated competition on home turf Saturday, February 6 with the stands of the MacMillan Show Centre packed with supporters.

The competition kicked off with David Gray, dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, and Professor Jin Yue sawing the first "cookie" and the playing of national anthems for both the United States and Canada.

This year, BSc (Agriculture) students Jessie Swinamer and Connor Morse co-chaired the organizing committee under the Department of Athletics.

“Planning for the competition begins in the autumn with securing sponsorship,” explained Swinamer. “Connor and I then followed up with businesses to add personal communication to show how important sponsors are to this event. Sponsors help us pay for the competition wood, security, facility rental, food and trophies, and help make the woodsmen competition a success.”

Teams from eastern and central Canada representing Sir Sandford Fleming (Lindsay, Ont.), Macdonald Campus – McGill University (Montreal) , University of New Brunswick and Maritime College of Forest Technology (Fredericton), along with host teams came together in Truro to compete for top honors, with more than 150 athletes taking part. (Teams from Unity College and Colby College, both in Maine, were scheduled to compete but could not travel Friday due to weather and road conditions.)

For Tom Henderson, captain of the men’s "A" team, competing at home has its advantages.

“All of our friends and families are present, cheering us on, giving us that adrenaline rush as we compete," he said. "At the Rick Russell competition, the best times and most impressive performances happen. It’s the best woodsmen competition all year round.”

Henderson took full advantage of the home competition, leading his team to victory and securing CILA’s MVP for men.

Kathleen Glasgow, a third-year Dal Biology student in Halifax, drove to Truro to take in her first woodsmen competition.

“Everybody in this building is in such great spirits,” said Glasgow. “It’s a fun atmosphere, and this is one of the coolest sports I’ve ever seen!”

Making it happen

Promoting the event and making sure the stands are packed are all part of Swinamer’s and Morse’s responsibilities as co-chairs.

“We have to promote the event as much as possible, through phone, TV, newspaper interviews and social media,” said Swinamer.  “Filling the stands with a good crowd is really important to get the athletes hyped up and to create a great competitive experience.”

This competition is what the teams have worked toward all year.

“We have never stopped training, even during the off season,” explained Henderson, a Plant Science diploma student.  “We get up every morning for a 6 a.m. workout and event training, and have another two-hour practice each evening. It’s what gets us the results we are looking for.”

Events included team sawing, horizontal and vertical chop doubles events and single saws, axe throws, water boils, pole climbs and chainsaw heats.

The competition was a huge success, in large part due to volunteers.

“Finding judges and timers can be a challenging task, as we need 20-30 people who are willing to volunteer their time for the whole day,” explained Swinamer. “This year we have chosen AC woodsmen alumni for judges, as they have a strong working knowledge of the competition and rules. Other volunteers to handle statistics and admission all help to make things run smoothly.”

The Rick Russell Woodsmen Competition is an event the team takes pride in, and comes together to organize. In the days leading up to the competition, Woodsmen coaches Scott Read, Geoff Larkin, Janet Walker, Caitlyn Carroll and the entire team help to set up MacMillan Show Centre.

“The competition takes a lot of work, but in the end it is always worth it to see the stands packed with aggie spirit filling the air,” said Swinamer.

For the campus, this woodsmen competition is a time to honor its namesake, Rick Russell. Russell coached the woodsmen team for 24 years, and upon his passing in 2004 from cancer the event was re-named to remember his passion and dedication to the sport and its athletes — a dedication that lived on through the student competitors this past weekend.