Woodsmen’s Club to Host Inaugural “Pioneer Games” on April 9

Lumberjack Competition

Alfred State College’s Woodsmen’s Club will host the inaugural “Pioneer Games” on Saturday, April 9, 2011, on the Alfred State College campus.

In keeping with its mission to educate the College and the local community about the ideals, tools, and techniques of the competitive lumberjack community, the Pioneer Woodsmen’s Club invites the public to the first Annual Pioneer Games between the MacKenzie Complex and the Engineering Building on the Alfred campus. This central location affords competitors and guests proximity to parking and restrooms, and it boasts paved access from both Upper and Lower College Drive.

Woodsmen competitions have their roots in the contests that took place among loggers in logging camps. Because loggers were paid for piece work, the ability to perform a specific task more quickly, meant more money. A degree of showmanship became something to be admired. Today the tradition survives on college campuses across the United States and Canada, as well as on various competitive circuits worldwide.

Unlike many college sports which have some degree of seasonality, members of collegiate woodsmen’s teams compete throughout the academic year. Competitions typically take the form of a "meet," a series of events conducted throughout the day of competition. Events may be run as singles, doubles, triples, or teams at the discretion of the host school. Schools compete in teams of six with the option of sending multiple teams. There are three team divisions; Men’s, Women’s, and Jack and Jill (three men and three women).

The atmosphere at a woodsmen’s meet is a mix between serious competition and the friendly environment of a county fair. Meets are attended by friends and family, who mingle freely with the competitors. A sense of camaraderie exists between the competing teams. Booing is unheard of at woodsmen competitions: competitors cheer loudly for their own team members and for members of other teams. Those competitors who finish last are urged on until the event is completed. As competitors rarely have any experience in woodsmen’s skills before entering college competition, novice competitors are actively recruited from students with no previous wood chopping experience.

Events planned for the 2011 Pioneer Games include

Singles Contests:

• Axe Throw - Throwing a double-headed axe at a target
• Single Buck - One person on a two-man saw makes one cut through large round log.
• Disk Stack - Cutting as many disks with a chainsaw as possible on a vertical log without letting them fall off the stack
• Fly Cast - Casting with a fly rod to three distances for accuracy
• Hard Hit - An individual horizontal chop where the fewest amount of hits wins
• Super Swede - One person with a bow saw cutting a series of disks for time

Doubles Contests:

• Cross-cut to Hell - Two people cut a number of disks with a two-man saw
• Fire Build - Build a fire and boil water from a piece of cedar, an axe, and three matches
• Vertical Chop - Log is set vertically, one person chops through half, the other person finishes the cut

Triples Contests:

• Barrel Split – Relay: each person splits a log into pieces small enough to pass through a hole in a barrel
• Horizontal Chop – Relay: each person chops a log in half between their legs

Team Contests:

• Cross-cut - Run in a paired relay, each pair uses a two-man saw to make cuts
• Bow saw - Run in a relay, each person makes a cut with a bow saw and then passes off
• Pulp Toss - Run in a relay, team takes turns throwing logs between pits
• Log Roll - Run in a paired relay, each pair rolls the log through a course

The day begins with a captains’ meeting at 7:30 a.m.; contests run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. An awards ceremony will be held at 6 p.m.

The Club’s long term goal is to host the Annual Spring Meet Conclave, the largest collegiate competition in the Northeast, within the next six years. A two-day event, it is held at a different college campus each year. This year’s Spring Meet, the 66^th Annual, will be held at SUNY Cobleskill. Typically, about 13 colleges from the Northeastern United States and Canada compete at this meet, the culmination of the year-long season. Spring Meet is sponsored by ESPN, Stihl, Carhartt, and Lumberjack Sports International.

The club, founded just one year ago, has increased its membership by 325% and has already participated and done well in the meets in which it has competed: Placed in Men’s, Women’s and Jack & Jill divisions, FLCC Meet, September 2010; team member Gabe Darling was seen on ESPNU representing ASC when he won third place at the Stihl Timbersports Collegiate Challenge in April 2010.

The First Annual Pioneer Games Committee is a joint effort between student leaders and members of the Woodsmen’s Club; this year’s co-chairs (student leaders who are not club members): Ray Robinson and Kristina Del Prince; committee members: Joe Francese; Paul Glover; Andy Bush; Jon Delano; Dylan Heaney; Joe Solometo; and George Dewald.

Team members include

• Diana Burley, Warsaw
• Andy Bush, Silver Springs
• Thomas Cunningham, Grand Island
• Gabriel Darling, Shortsville
• Jon Delano, Kingston
• George DeWald, (risk manager), Springville
• Katrina Doxtader, Little Falls
• Mike Driscoll, Skaneateles
• Tiara Feinberg, Cohoes
• Joseph Francese, (public relations), Franklin Square
• Dan Giblin, Binghamton
• Paul Glover, Portville
• Wade Harrington, Campbell
• Dylan Heaney, Jamesville
• Amanda Hoiles, Shortsville
• Eric Hurlburt, Buffalo
• Dan Kehr, Lawtons
• Katie Kennard, Prattsburgh
• Gregory Kruppa, (vice president), North Collins
• Kevin Kruppa, North Collins
• Dan Kubiak, Lancaster
• Christopher Locke, (officer in training), LeRoy
• Ali Maher, Geneva
• Jason McCadden, (equipment manager), Auburn
• Nick Mootz, Cochecton
• Erik Nelson, Dexter
• Chris Savosh, New Paltz
• Joe Solometo, Horseheads
• Grant Soper, Arkport
• Jaci Stanton, Locke
• Natasha Talbot, (treasurer), Saint Johnsville
• Ariane Tanski, (president), Alfred
• Nick Wall, (secretary), Alexander
• Michelle Wojciechowski, Roxbury