Elite Woodchoppers Prepare to Go Axe-to-axe at Stihl Timbers

Elite Woodchoppers prepare to go Axe-to-axe At Stihl Timbersports®
Australian Trophy & Australian Women’s Championship

Australia’s top professional Stihl Timbersports® athletes will be back in action with the roar of a live crowd next month, fighting with razor-sharp axes and high-powered chainsaws for the coveted Australian Trophy & Australian Women’s Championship as the thrilling competition returns to the St Kilda foreshore on Saturday, 8 May.

For the first time, the Stihl Timbersports® Australian Women’s Championship, showcasing the country’s top female athletes in the Original Extreme Sport, will take centre stage alongside the hotly anticipated Australian Trophy for men.

Amanda Beams will be looking to defend her 2019 Australian Championship title against five of the country’s top female Timbersports athletes. Queensland trio Renee Retschalg, Jodie Beutel and Katrina Head, Victoria’s Adele Deverell and Tasmania’s Kris Brown are all looking to steal the top spot in 2021 across the three-round competition that consists of Underhand Chop, STIHL Stocksaw and the Single Buck disciplines.

Amanda Beams said: “It’s fantastic to be back this year and especially to be competing in front of a live crowd. It takes a lot of hard work and training to be up on the Timbersports stage, and after a particularly challenging year I’m ready to battle it out for what will hopefully be my second consecutive Championship title.”

Event Director Lee Gooch is excited to see the nation’s top women sharing the spotlight with their male counterparts. He said: “We’re thrilled to bring this year’s Australian Women’s Championship forward to coincide with the Australian Trophy after the 2020 event was cancelled due to the pandemic. Last year’s Australian Trophy crowd in St Kilda was amazing, with over 5,000 passionate people in attendance making plenty of noise, so we’re adding the Women’s Championship event to
give fans even more axe-ion!”

The Stihl Timbersports® Trophy format is the sport’s most physically demanding competition and this year’s Australian Trophy will feature all of the 14 highest-ranking male Stihl Timbersports® athletes from around the country, going head-to-head in a series of knockout match-ups. In each match-up, athletes will have to complete four demanding disciplines back-to-back: Stock Saw, Underhand Chop, Single Buck and Standing Block Chop. The fastest athlete from each match-up will progress to the next round, culminating in a grand final between the last two remaining competitors.

Stihl Timbersports® athlete Laurence O’Toole secured the 2020 Australian Trophy Grand Final, backing up his Australian Trophy Champion title for the second year running. The worsening pandemic meant the World Trophy competition that was scheduled to take place in Austria last May was cancelled, meaning O’Toole did not get the chance to add another world title to his long list of achievements.

Laurence O’Toole said: “There was a great atmosphere in St Kilda last year, and I’m looking forward to getting back down there again and hopefully defending my Australian Trophy title in front of a big crowd.”

“The Trophy format is one I really enjoy. It’s a challenge, both physically and mentally, and one slip up or lapse in concentration in this knock-out format and you’re going home. I’m sure [2019 World Champion] Brayden Meyer, [three-time World Trophy winner] Brad De Losa and [two-time Australian Trophy winner] Mitch Argent will be looking to stop my winning streak,” O’Toole continued.

Proudly supported by the Bayside Council, the free, family-friendly event will also feature food trucks, a bar and live music, making it the perfect way to spend your Saturday.

For more information visit STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® website.

Schedule:
1130 - Gates Open
1200 -1300 - Australian Trophy Time Trial
1300 - 1400 - Women’s Championship
1430 - 1630 - Australian Trophy Main Event
1630 - 2000 - Food Truck Carnival Continues
2000 - Gates Close