November 7, 2007

Sprechen Sie Englisch bitte. That was my favorite sentence while I was in Germany promoting STIHL and ladies in my sport. It took a while to figure things out but after that it was amazing.

The first day I filmed with Oliver (an olympian shot putter) for a big German television show - Galileo. Through out the rest of the week I was in several newspapers and the FHM magazine. The show was a hit, we even got a couple girls to come up on stage and try the single buck. I was invited back so I think now I'm going to take a couple lessons in German and plan another trip next year.

Thank you,

Erin

Lumberjacks will sometimes refer to something such as the wood gods. And, they will tell you that you do not want to make them mad. It’s a superstition over the luck of the draw and a lot of the time it doesn’t go the way you’d like.

The preliminaries went well. I qualified for finals with 1st in the underhand chop, 2nd in Jill and Jill with partner Lyndsey Duan, and 8th in Single buck as well as Jack and Jill with partner Thomas Martin.

On day 2 – the finals, the wood gods must have been upset with me. I broke into my underhand block okay thinking it seemed much harder. When I got into the middle I ran into a giant knot the size of a baseball. For those who don’t know – This is not good. A knot is tremendously hard and can destroy axes along with your time. My axe was bouncing back up at me the way it does in Australia (because the wood is so much harder.) I finished with 3rd which is decent against the big names that were competing along side me.

I came back in the single buck and finished in 4th place. Lyndsey and I slipped down two spots to 4th, but Thomas and I bumped up one to 7th.

It was a great show as always. Thank you to everybody who makes it happen and run so smoothly. I am again looking forward to next year.

To the crowd – all 500+ of you. You rock for sticking it out in the heat, humidity, and rain and with such great enthusiasm and support. Thank you.

After the competition I took a 7hr. drive North to Jenny and Neil Atkinsons lake cabin. Mrs. Jenny very willingly game me some boom running and log rolling lessons. These are some new events I’d like to compete in next year hopefully in the Stihl Timbersports Series and the World Championships. I learned a ton from Jenny including how hard it is, but so much fun I didn’t want to leave. One more day though and I wouldn’t be able to walk, I was getting so sore.

Jenny is now getting ready for the first round at the Stihl Timbersports in Decater, AL. I wish her the best of luck this whole season. If you get a chance to meet or just watch her, take it. She is an amazing athlete and person.

My next stop will be this Saturday the 23rd in Libby, MT. It’s a smaller show but still a lot of fun.

June 05, 2007

Hey lumberjack fans, I just finished up a competition in Kettle Falls, WA. A great small town just about 2 hours north west of Spokane. A field of some 40 competitors including myself got to show their stuff using both new and traditional gear to over 500 people of all ages.

The temperature was in the mid '90s and unfortunately I was suffering with the tail end of the flu bug that was going around. I slipped to 3rd in the single buck and 4th in birling. With my Stihl 660 and an awesome file job by Robert Groce I beat a dozen guys and one other lady in the modified hot saw 140cc and under class taking 5th place.

There was no way I was going to let anybody take my favorite event from me - the underhand. (I took 1st by 23 seconds.)

Last weekend was my third year in a row competing in Boonville, N.Y. at the N.Y. State Championships. This is definitely one of my favorite competitions.

Saturday is the women’s day; we are given 8 events to compete in. Sunday is for the men but we still get to compete in Jack and Jill. Usually when I go to a competition I am lucky to be able to compete in 3 events against women. The rest are against the men.

In 2004 I was teased with a 2nd place plaque for the all-around Jill, last year I slipped down to 3rd, this year I wanted 1st more than ever. With a little extra training and STIHL having my back, it was mine. I ended up tied for first with a great competitor, Peg Engasser. When there is a tie, it goes to the most first places. I placed in all but one event, taking first in the stock saw and (my favorite) the underhand chop. That brought home the trophy for me.

My partner Jill Bush and I placed 8th in the log roll, and 4th in Jill and Jill, which was fabulous having never practiced together before. I also placed 3rd in the axe throw and single buck and 4th in the Standing block and Jack and Jill with partner Mike Slingerland (also with no prior practice together).

This trophy might just be joining the tour with the chopper and myself as it was way too big to make the flight home with me. Check us out at the next show in Louisville, KY. October 6-8. See you there.

August 1, 2006

I gotta tell you I was quite surprised, but very happy when I achieved this record. All I've heard in the past couple of months is how I've lost too much weight and how I'm too small to swing an axe. I've also been getting a lot of folks making fun of me for doing a bit of the modeling thing. It was great that I could go out there and prove that I still have the muscle and technique to remain one of the top female competitors in the world. I do owe part of this record to a very good friend back home, Robert Groce. He has helped me out a lot in my training and obviously does a very fine job getting my gear ready for the competitions.