#STIHL Timbersports®
STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® heads to Wollongong, NSW
The STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® Series is excited to announce that ‘The Original Extreme Sport‘ will be returning to NSW, this time at the Breakwater Lighthouse, Wollongong. This iconic lighthouse location will be the backdrop for the main event of the Australian Series, with the Rookie and Pro Championships confirmed for Saturday 16th September 2023.
In a day of high-powered, high-octane extreme sports action, our nation’s top athletes in the original extreme sport will be battling it out with razor sharp axes and high-powered saws to be crowned the 2023 Australian Rookie Champion and the 2023 Pro Australian Champion.
The axe-ion will start at Breakwater Lighthouse, Wollongong from 12pm 16th September (AEST) with the Australian Rookie Championship showcasing the sports best up and coming talent in the under 25 division. The top 6 Rookie athletes will battle it out in 5 disciplines: Underhand Chop, Stock Saw, Standing Block Chop, Single Buck and the One Board Tree.
The winner will go on to represent Australia in the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® Individual World Championship in Stuttgart, Germany on the 3rd of November 2023.
The individual athlete also becomes the first member of the Chopperoos team that will participate in the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® Team World Championship to be held on the 2nd of November, the night before the individual competition.
The main event of the day, the Pro Championship, will start from approx. 2pm and the supporting festival will run through until 8pm with food trucks, music and licensed bar. Thanks to the support of the City of Wollongong (wollongong.com.au), don’t forget entry is free!
De Losa THE MAN TO BEAT!
Brad De Losa dominated the 2022 Pro series and is ready to defend his 2022 Australian Pro Champion title at this year’s STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® Pro Championship held in Wollongong, NSW. De Losa came up against some tough competition last year but fought his way to the top, placing 1st on the podium with Jamie Head coming in a close 2nd and Laurence O’Toole in 3rd place.
“I had a successful TIMBERSPORTS® season last year and I would like to walk away with the title again this year. There is nothing better than getting the chance to represent your country on the world stage and this year’s World Championship is in Stuttgart, Germany, which is the home to STIHL and the crowd is nothing I have ever experienced before” Brad said.
Brad has his work cut out for him with the other top-ranking athletes wanting to take the title from him. Jamie Head is one athlete that will be looking to beat De Losa this year after his amazing 2nd place result last year. Head is one of the best Stock Saw competitors in Australia and will be looking to place at the top of that discipline to position himself with a chance to take the overall win for the day.
“After last year’s win I have been training and working on my weaker disciplines so I can come in all guns blazing at this year’s Pro Championship” Jamie says.
The other athletes to watch are Brayden Meyer and Laurence O’Toole who won’t be far behind to swoop in and take that win.
The dark horse of this year’s comp is Jake Dingle. Since coming into the competition in 2020 Jake has climbed the ranking ladder and placed 6th in last year Pro Championship, just missing out on becoming the 5th member of the Chopperoos team. Will he take on the top guys and make the team this year?
WHO WILL BE CROWNED 2023 ROOKIE CHAMPION!
The Rookie Championship is also back this year at Wollongong and will start the day off with some tough and entertaining battles.
Last year’s Rookie Champion Curtis Bennett is the athlete to beat at this year’s STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® Rookie Championship. He has only just returned from representing Australia at the 2022 STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® Rookie World Championship in Rotterdam, Netherlands where he placed 2nd, just missing out on 1st place by 1 point to Szymon Groenwald from Poland.
“I am feeling confident walking into the Rookie Championship this year. I have been training hard and I’m ready to take on the top Rookie athletes here in Australia to get another chance at the world title” Curtis said.
Bennett will take on leading Australian Rookie athletes like Matt Coffey and Tyson Rowe, who are sure to bring their A game to this year’s competition. Lane Chant returns after a year out of the competition and Zac Koulids comes back for a second year to battle the best of the best in the Australian Rookie series. Will Lovell, the dark horse of the Rookies, will look to make a name for himself this year. He had his first taste of the competition last year, competing in the Rookie Qualifiers and placing 2nd to then earn a spot in the 2022 Rookie Championship, where he placed 4th. He is definitely one athlete to watch.
FULL EVENT DETAILS
STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® Australian 2023 Pro and Rookie Championships
• Location: Breakwater Lighthouse, Wollongong, NSW
• Date: Saturday 16th September 2023
• Entry: FREE COMMUNITY EVENT
Full Event Schedule:
• Gates Open: 11:30AM
• Rookie Championship: 12:00PM – 1:30PM
• Pro Championship: 2:00pm – 4:00pm
• Grand Final: 4:00PM – 4:30PM
• Ceremony: 4:30PM
• Food Truck Carnival Open: 12:00PM – 8:00PM
• Gates Close: 8:00PM
How the Pro Championship works.
The Pro Championship is a three round competition comprising of six STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® wood chopping and sawing disciplines.
Round 1:
We start the day with 12 athletes, all who will complete the first three disciplines (Underhand Chop, STIHL Stock Saw and Standing Block Chop), with 12 points awarded to the fastest athlete, and 1 for the slowest.
Round 2:
After the three disciplines, only the top eight athletes will go on to the next two disciplines: the Single Buck, and the crowd favourite, the Springboard. Points will now double with 16 going to the fastest athlete, and 2 to the slowest.
Round 3:
Before the final event, the Hot Saw, we will lose another two athletes, leaving the top six to shoot it out for triple points with their custom-made monster chainsaws!
After round 3, the athlete with the most points is crowned the Pro Australian Champion and wins the honour of representing Australia at the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® World Championship. Five athletes will also form the Chopperoos Team to compete in the Team World Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden on the 28th and 29th of October 2022. They will be up against the best European athletes as well as New Zealand, Canadian and American athletes.
How the Rookie Championship works.
The Rookie Championship includes four of the six STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® wood chopping and sawing disciplines, with wood sizes slightly smaller than the Pro Championship. Athletes compete in all four disciplines and points are awarded based on times. The fastest athlete in each discipline will receive 6 points and the slowest 1 point. At the end of the four disciplines, the winner is the athlete with the highest point’s total. The winner of the Rookie Australian Championship will win the honour of representing Australia at the 2023 Rookie World Championship. The Rookie World Championship is held in Europe each May/June.
How to watch.
There is nothing quite as thrilling as experiencing STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® LIVE! However, if you can’t make it to Wollongong, you can catch all of the axe-ion via the live stream on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/stihltimbersportsAUS or YouTube channels: https://www.youtube.com/c/STIHLTIMBERSPORTSAustralia
Highlights of the action will also air on 7mate later in the year. You can watch the latest episodes of the series on 7mate every Friday at 4:30pm, Saturdays at 12:30pm.
Want more? Catch up with all the action from previous seasons at https://7plus.com.au/stihl-timbersports or view the latest content on socials:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stihltimbersportsAUS
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/STIHLTIMBERSPORTSAustralia
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stihltimbersportsau/
PRO CHAMPIONSHIP CONFIRMED ATHLETES:
Brayden Meyer – QLD, Laurence O’Toole – VIC, Brad De Losa – NSW, Glen Gillam – VIC, Jamie Head – QLD, Kody Steers – TAS, Mitch Argent – QLD, Jake Dingle – QLD, Daniel Gurr – TAS, Matt Gurr – TAS, David Reumer – NSW, Blake Meyer – VIC.
ROOKIE CHAMPIONSHIP CONFIRMED ATHLETES:
Curtis Bennett – NSW, Matt Coffey – VIC, Zac Giouzelis – VIC, Lane Chant – VIC, Tyson Rowe – TAS, Will Lovell – TAS.
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