Julie Vermeer (right), a native of St. Andrews, Antigonish County, competes in the single buck competition during the 27th annual Rick Russell Nova Scotia Agricultural College (NSAC) Woodsmen Competition in Truro. Vermeer won this event and her team captured the women’s title. With the win, the Rams secured the Canadian Intercollegiate Lumberjacking Association (CILA) championship. (Contributed photo)

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Eat their [saw] dust.
That’s the message that Julie Vermeer and her Nova Scotia Agricultural College (NSAC) Rams’ woodsmen teammates delivered in capturing the men’s and women’s team titles during the 27th annual Rick Russell Nova Scotia Agricultural College (NSAC) Woodsmen Competition this weekend in Truro.
“It’s a big event so it was great that our team did so well,” Vermeer, a native of St. Andrews, Antigonish County, said.
Going into the competition, the NSAC Rams’ men’s and women’s “A” teams were undefeated this season, winning the other three competitions during the Canadian Intercollegiate Lumberjacking Association (CILA) season.
“We were really excited for this weekend and ultimately we were both able to win Saturday,” she said in an interview with the Casket Monday morning.
“There was a lot of talk of bringing home an undefeated title and we were really glad to be able to pull it off,” Vermeer added.
With the perfect seasons, both teams secured the CILA championships.
“That’s something that has never happened before for our school,” she noted.
Vermeer, is a third-year NSAC student in the BSc. in environmental science program,
This weekend, Vermeer finished first in the single buck competition.
“It’s one person running the large saw, cutting through a 17-inch diameter round log,” she said in explaining the event.
The fastest time wins, with Vermeer clocking 38 seconds to capture the individual title.
“I won it at three out of four competitions this year,” she said, noting it is hard to compare times because the wood used in the other events was probably only 12 or 13 inches in diameter.
“I was very pleased with my time on the weekend,” Vermeer said.
Her doubles event is the vertical chop, where each partner completes a chop through a stick standing vertically, which simulates chopping down a tree.

‘High-quality’ competition

There are singles, doubles and team events, with each team comprised of six members – with one alternate in case of injury. Each person competes in one of the six events.
The other woodsmen events are pole climb, super Swede (making three complete cuts using a bow saw), axe throw, chainsaw and water boil (making a cup of water boil over on a fire that the competitor has built, as quickly as possible).
“All of these are timed events except for the axe throw which is a points event based on which ring of the target the axe hits,” Vermeer explained.
Along with the vertical chop, doubles events include the quarter split – where each partner has a log with a coloured dot in the centre.
“They must split the log and have four full length pieces of wood that have the dot on the end,” Vermeer said.
With the underhand chop, she said each partner stands on a log and completely chops through it between their feet.
“The team events are completed by each team member in succession,” Vermeer said.
They include team Swede saw, where each team member must make a complete cut using the bow saw.
With the crosscut saw, the team is split into partners and members pull the two handled crosscut saw. Each pair must complete two cuts.
“In log decking, the team is split into pairs and must roll a log down a ramp, hit the stakes at the end and then back up the ramp before the next set of people can go,” Vermeer explained.
With the pulp toss, team members stand at opposite ends of a 16-foot distance for women or a 20-foot distance for men, and they must throw four logs back and forth until the 48 logs have successfully landed between the pins at either end.
“My team won the single buck, water boil, underhand chop and pulp toss. The men’s ‘A’ team won single buck, team Swede saw, log decking, and pulp throw,” Vermeer said of Saturday’s competition.
The Rams had four teams in the 21-team championship, which included representation from Canada and the United States.
“All of the teams did really, really well. We were really glad to have so many high quality teams here,” she said, noting more than 800 fans turned out.

Quite a chop

Vermeer also competed in the Stihl Challenge, which took place over the noon hour. It is made up of three events: single buck, chainsaw and underhand chop.
“It is a competition to win money for your school’s woodsmen program. Each of the Canadian teams selects one male and one female competitor to take part in it,” she said, noting she finished third in the single buck event and first in the underhand event.
“I was disqualified in the chainsaw event because I hit the line which measured the amount of wood I was allowed to use to make the two cuts with the chainsaw – one cut down and one cut up,” she said.
“Even though I was disqualified I was really happy with how well I ran the saw and how fast the cut was. I was also really proud of winning the underhand chop as I am not very experienced in that event.”

Like a ‘family’

Vermeer has been a member of the NSAC woodsmen team for three seasons, which came on the heels of two years with the Antigonish County 4-H team.
She and her team-mates train five days a week for two hours per day, covering two months before and after Christmas. There are also four competitions – two each in the fall and winter.
The final competition of the CILA season is the NSAC one held each February.
“I love the sport. I love the challenge that it presents because, even though I have been doing vertical chop for three years, this year I just figured out how to do it well,” she said.
“Now, I can improve to become even better,” Vermeer added.
She said all woodsmen events are “really, really challenging.”
This year was her first competing in the single buck classification.
“For me to have done as well as I did, I am very proud of myself,” Vermeer noted.
She said the togetherness of the team is another appeal of the sport for her.
“We spend so much time together. We practice together and then we will go out and hang out together, or we will do homework together,” she said, noting senior team members will tutor first-years if they need help.
“It kind of becomes a family away from home,” Vermeer noted.
For information about the Canadian Intercollegiate Lumberjacking Association, visit http://lumberjacking.ca/