Dragons NRL Stars Attempt STIHL Timbersports Ahead Of Australian Championships In Wollongong
In anticipation of this weekend's STIHL Timbersports Australian Championships in Wollongong, check out these Timbersports races between Blake Lawrie, Zac Lomax, and Dan Russell.
This coming weekend, Wollongong will play host to the Australia Pro and Rookie Championships, which will attract some of the most talented athletes competing in STIHL Timbersports from all around the country.
The athletes will participate in the high-octane sport, which consists of a series of exhilarating wood chopping and sawing events, in the hopes of being declared the 2023 Australia Rookie or Pro Champion.
At the inaugural event that took place today, Dragons talents Zac Lomax, Blake Lawrie, and Dan Russell competed in the Single Buck discipline.
It is reasonable to assume that all participants developed a newfound respect for the sport after giving it a go, with Lomax adding, "I'll stick to the footy field I think." The results of the competition can be seen in the video that is located above. In the end, Lawrie was the winner of the three competitors.
The Pro Division will involve a competition between the best 12 athletes in Australia, with the winner earning a trip to the individual World Championship in Stuttgart, Germany, where they will compete against 26 other countries on behalf of Australia. The Pro Division will be held at the Australian Institute of Sport.
The sportsmen are competing in Stuttgart in hopes of making the Australian relay squad, the Chopperoos.
Australia's dominance in this sport is exemplified by the Chopperoos, who won their third consecutive title in Sweden and a record-setting seventh title overall in 2018.
David Reumer, 26, is a contender because he won the Rookie Championship in 2019. He looks formidable at 6 feet 2 inches tall and 115 kilograms.
Since you're competing against the finest in Australia, Reumer says you need to put in a lot of extra training time outside of work.
"At this point in time, I'd have to say that my least favorite event is the tree [springboard], whereas the underhand chop is now my favorite discipline. Because we are huge guys, we prefer to keep our feet on the ground.
A victory over the competition this weekend and a trip to Europe would be fantastic.
This next weekend, Curtis 'Bubba' Bennett will be one of the six competitors competing for the Rookie Championship.
The 23-year-old athlete has a height of 6 feet, 3 inches and a weight of 135 kilograms. He entered the sport with the intention of following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Len Bennett, who won the title of world champion in 1975.
This next weekend, 'Bubba' has a great opportunity to continue this legacy by winning the title of Australian Rookie Champion.
"Winning is definitely the goal this weekend," Bennett said. "If you come in with the mindset that you're not going to win, you automatically put yourself out of it."
"Like Dan, I like the underhand chop; I have a love-hate relationship with the single saw but have come to appreciate it; the tree is not my forte, however.
At the Championship, competitors will demonstrate their skills in six distinct aspects of the sport, including the Springboard, which is always a fan favorite, as well as the Standing Block Chop, the STIHL Stock Saw, the Underhand Chop, the Single Buck, and the Hot Saw.
The champion from the previous season, Brad De Losa, will attempt to retain his title, but he will face stiff opposition from the likes of Laurence O'Toole, a fellow Chopperoo and the winner of the Australian Trophy in 2023.
On Saturday, September 16, at 12 p.m., the competition will be held at the Breakwater Lighthouse in Wollongong.