Why Chris is hoping to be a hard axe to follow
Newbury tree surgeon to compete in British Timbersports Championships
A NEWBURY tree surgeon will be hoping to cut through the competition during next month’s British Rookie Stihl Timbersports Championships.
The national championships, now in its third year in the UK, sees lumberjacks, loggers and tree surgeons from across the country compete in what is described as the major league of lumberjack sports.
Chris Mills, of Newtown Road, who has worked as a tree surgeon for some 12 years, will be competing for the first time.
The 28-year-old, who has now moved into management and spends most of his time behind a desk, will have to cut, chop and saw through a series of gruelling challenges to be crowned British champion at the event on Sunday, August 2.
Mr Mills told the : “I’m looking forward to it. I’ve been practising a couple of times a week at training camps organised by Stihl, and it’s been great.
“A lot of the lads who I’ll be competing against have been at the camps too, and you start to realise what you miss out on when you're behind a desk... the thrill of working at height and being outside everyday, as well as the banter.”
The event, sponsored by powertool manufacturer Stihl, features six disciplines designed to test the contestants’ handling of an axe or chainsaw, and their skill with wood.
Mr Mills, who stands 6ft 6in tall and weighs 146kg, studied game and wildlife management before moving into forestry and agriculture and said he had considered competing in the championships in previous years but was unable to owing to a lack of time.
However, the keen sportsman said that, despite not working with axes or saws on a daily basis, he is still confident of putting in a good performance, particularly in his favourite event, the Single Buck, in which athletes race to saw through a 46cm diameter log.
He said: “I play a lot of rugby and cricket and it was just finding the time, but this year I thought I’m going to go for it.
“I’m looking forward to all of the events really, but Single Buck is probably the event I enjoy the most mainly because not many other people enjoy doing it.
“It’s quite a tough event, because it combines power and strength, so I’m hoping to do well in that one.”
The British Rookie Stihl Timbersports Championships will take place on August 2 at Harewood House, Yorkshire.