Axes & Adrenaline: Timber Sports at the Iowa State Fair

[Hayley] Outside Pioneer Hall, it's time for the manual Timber Sports Contest, a showdown worthy of Paul Bunyan himself. Lumberjacks and Jills will compete in seven categories of wood chopping and sawing, each aiming to prove they're a cut above the rest. Let's see who's carving out a win today.

[Emcee] Ready, set, go.

[Hayley] And what are we here today for?

[Lucas Monson, Boone] We're here for the Heritage Timber Sports event.

[Hayley] And tell me a little bit about that. As a first timer that knows absolutely nothing, give me a little rundown.

[Lucas] We always start with the axe. The chopping, most dangerous, most skill. It's about precision, strength and speed. Cut it once, you don't have to cut it again. Hopefully you don't cut yourself. From there, there's three specific styles of bow saws. Buck saws, crosscut saws. Crosscut saws are the five or six foot long ones. Bow saws are the smaller ones more people are familiar with. Buck saws are more of a traditional style, with the tensioner located at the top of the blade.

[Hayley] What are your tips and tricks for first timers if they want to get involved with this for the first time?

[Erin Hefner, Urbandale] Just go right in there and try it. And as far as the saw, hold on loosely but don't let go. If you hold too tight, you lose control.

[Hayley] I like that. That's good.

[Erin] The bow saw is the lightest and then they get bigger and heavier, being steady, keeping the bow straight, pulling as opposed to pushing. Literally, if you hold on too tight, the blade wobbles and goes all over the place.

[Emcee] First place goes to Erin. Congratulations.

[Hayley] Now, as a first timer who's never done it before, what tips or tricks do you have for me?

[Lucas] Start slow, stay consistent, and then you can build up speed from there. There'll be plenty of us up there cheering you on.

(Hayley sawing a log using a bow saw.)

[Onlookers] Go. Yep. Keep it moving. Breathe.

[Hayley] And what do you enjoy about competing in this competition?

[Erin] I like how we have all the camaraderie. Everybody encourages one another to borrow or use each other's equipment. It's very encouraging and positive.

[Hayley] And what do you enjoy about it? Why do you keep coming back for more every year?

[Lucas] It's like a family reunion, like we all see each other. We're talking this year about finally exchanging contact information so we know who's coming back when.

[Hayley] Why do you two compete?

[Landra Rundlett, Swisher] Well, we started competing after Dakota did the beard contest a couple years ago and we've just been doing it ever since. It's really fun. You compete with the same people so you get to see them once a year and just have some camaraderie and some fun, friendly competition.

[Dakota] We've been doing it for four years. We make a good team, and that's why we got married last year.

[Hayley] And how did you two meet?

[Landra] We actually met by talking about the state fair. So I told Dakota that we could be the king and queen of Pioneer Hall. And here we are with all our ribbons.

[Hayley] We had a super fun day today at the Timber Sports. If you haven't tried it or haven't watched, I highly recommend going next year. And it's always a great day at the Iowa State Fair when you go home with a ribbon, even if it's 7th place.