Рубка дров: спорт силачей и остроты топора

Sport involving axe and saw skills

Woodchopping (also spelled wood chopping or wood chopping), called woodchop for short, is a sport that has been around for hundreds of years in several cultures. In woodchopping competitions, skilled contestants attempt to be the first to cut or saw through a log or other block of wood. It is often held at state fairs and agricultural shows. Participants (especially men) are often referred to as axemen.

The modern sport of woodchopping is said to have had its genesis in 1870 in Ulverstone, Tasmania, as the result of a £25 ($50) bet between two axemen as to who could first fell a tree. An alternative origin story comes from 16th century Basque Country, in which a man ran a marathon and chopped ten logs to be allowed to propose to his future wife. The world's first woodchopping championship was held in 1891, at Bell's Parade, Latrobe, Tasmania. This event was celebrated and commemorated with the selection of the site to be the home of the Australian Axemen's Hall of Fame and Timberworks.

Many woodchopping events are handicap events, where the axemen start at different times, depending on how fast they are expected to chop through the log. In New Zealand and parts of Australia, each axeman's individual handicap is recorded in performance books which are graded on how many events they win and how many events they enter. Championship events are scratch events with no handicap, and typically use larger diameter logs (375 mm). Handicap events may use logs of 250 mm to 350 mm, depending on the skill of the competitors. All competitors have the same size log; the handicap is based purely on time.

This event is done by an individual cutting a scarf in one side. Once the first side has been completed the individual starts cutting another scarf on the opposite side, slightly higher than the first, generally about two inches higher but can vary with each axeman's individual preference.

In this event, the axeman stands on the top of the log and uses a downwards motion to chop the log in two as fast as possible. This is done by cutting a scarf in the front side and then turning around on the block and completing it from the other side. These scarfs are generally offset from each other, the degree of offset depending on the size of the log and the axeman's preference. then makes a large scarf in the front of the log – unlike on the ground where it is usually half and half. The axeman then turns around on the top board and chops through the block using downwards blows only. This event lasts 50 to 80 seconds, much less than the jigger board.

This event is often the crowd's favourite , and certainly the loudest. It uses a large homemade methanol run chainsaw. The saws used by top competitors are typically snowmobile engines cut in half and are far heavier than regular chainsaws. The start for this event is exactly the same as the stock saw except the log is bigger and the axeman has to do three cuts: the first in a downwards motion, the second upwards, and the third down. This event is the fastest by far, lasting between five and seven seconds.

The rules of the sport vary from country to country.

The sport is called aizkolaritza in Basque from aizkolari 'woodchopper'. The sport is very popular and competitions are common at most festivals.

New Zealand is a leading country in the sport of woodchopping, having had the world's top two competitors, Jason Wynyard and David Bolstad, who between them won 19 of the 21 Stihl Timbersport Series titles between 1997 and 2017. Competitions are generally held at A & P shows, but there are also shows dedicated to woodchopping. and UK Loggers (UKL). Teams included the Cumbria Axemen, who appeared at the Westmorland County Show from 1999 to 2021 before disbanding.