The sawdust and wood chips will once again be flying on the North Island as Port McNeill prepares to welcome some of the best competitors in the world for the second annual Port McNeill Logger Sports Society Lumberjack Competition to be held during OrcaFest.
TSN will once again be on site filming the excitement for their internationally syndicated Lumberjacks television series.
This year, Port McNeill will host the Canadian national championship events for Open Springboard and Novice Underhand Chop. This is an excellent family-oriented event and a great chance to see nationally-ranked athletes vie for great prizes and bragging rights.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to again showcase our North Island communities and our own home-grown athletes”, reflected Port McNeill Mayor Gerry Furney.
Coun. Shirley Ackland confirmed her attendance at the event after commenting forestry work is a mainstay of our communities and supported her family for many years.
“It is exciting and rewarding to see our local loggers compete and be recognized for their hard work, talents and skills”, she said.
The Port McNeill Logger Sports Society is also very excited to introduce a novice-class competition and is encouraging all North Islanders to come out and join in the contest and for some good natured fun.
No axe? No problem — all necessary logger sports equipment will be provided for novice-class competitors.
For those who need an introduction or a refresher course, veteran logger sports competitor Nick Russell will be host a demonstration night to allow everyone interested a chance to test the equipment and get familiar with the events. Interested participants who want to give it a shot are invited to the Logger Sports event site across from the Port McNeill Community Centre Aug. 10, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Novice-class competitors are encouraged to enter early as space may be limited and entry forms can be found online at: www.vancouverislandnorth.ca/loggersports