STIHL TIMBERSPORTS is a series of wood-chopping and sawing competitions that originated in Australia and New Zealand and has since spread globally. Competitors take part in a variety of events, including wood chopping, cross-cut sawing, and chainsaw events, which test their speed, skill, and strength.
The TIMBERSPORTS series includes several levels of competition, including professional, rookie, and collegiate levels. The Collegiate Series is specifically for college and university students. In the Collegiate Series, students from participating schools compete against one another in a subset of the traditional TIMBERSPORTS events.
STIHL may have ended the Collegiate Series, as it has not been held since 2019. The company also removed the Collegiate Series section from its website.
TIMBERSPORTS Collegiate Finals
Previously, the winner from each regional collegiate championship then competed in the U.S. collegiate championship. The U.S. collegiate champion earns a spot in the professional ranks and has the chance to compete in the U.S. professional championship.
Participating in the Collegiate Series not only gives students the chance to showcase their skills and represent their schools but also serves as a stepping stone to the professional level of competition in the TIMBERSPORTS series. The events provide an exciting blend of athleticism, precision, and tradition, drawing fans from all over.
STIHL described the series like this:
Since its inception in 2003, the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Collegiate Series has grown in leaps and bounds. Every year the increase in participating schools illustrates its popularity and success.
The Series currently boasts 62 schools that compete, a big jump from just six schools in 2005. Participating schools select their best lumberjack to go head-to-head in four professional disciplines of single buck, standing block chop, stock saw and underhand chop.
The lumberjack with the most points after all four disciplines earns a spot in the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Collegiate Championship. The five qualifier champions and one wildcard pick compete in the Collegiate Championship to determine the ultimate collegiate victor of the sport.
The collegiate titleholder then earns an automatic entrance in the following year’s STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Professional Series.
The Collegiate Series has grown into five regional qualifying events, which are similar to collegiate athletic conferences, the Mid-Atlantic, Mid-Western, Northeast, Southern and Western qualifier and one championship.
College TIMBERSPORTS
We can’t find any press releases about the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Collegiate Series ending, so cannot confirm whether or not the college and university-specific events will return.
Other events, such as the Canadian Championships are going ahead as usual. The end of the Collegiate events may be down to the events of 2020 and the ongoing effects.
