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MORRISVILLE, NY—Winter’s harsh elements don’t stop ������Ƶ’s woods sports team.  

Behind the college’s aquaculture center, amid frigid temperatures, snow and ice, they shovel snow off of the practice field and swing axes and fire up chainsaws until dark.

This week is especially busy as they ready for their lumberjack season, which starts with a winter competition on Saturday, March 2. The free contest will be held inside the college’s equine rehabilitation center on Route 20, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

It is the first time the ������Ƶ woods sports team has hosted the sport, which showcases speed and precision with axes, chainsaws and other tools of the trade in traditional lumberjacking challenges. 

������Ƶ woods sports team coach Seth Carsten, a former professional woodsman, is hopeful for this year’s 15-plus-member team, comprised evenly of lumberjack veterans and rookies of varying majors and abilities. 

In the team’s first contest, Morrisville will face-off against six other teams, so far, fielding one all-men’s team and a “Jack and Jill” co-ed team. 

Co-captains and veterans Agnes Olson, of New Berlin, and Jayla White, of Henderson, both natural resources conservation students, are among those who will compete March 2 on the “Jack and Jill” team, consisting of three men and three women. 

Tyler Kulikowski, a Bath native, is among five veteran men on the team. “He is an all-around with specialties in chopping and chainsaw,” Carsten said of the renewable resources Bachelor of Technology powerhouse who helped spearhead the start of the team four years ago. Also returning are Alex Carlo, Kyle Monahan, Will Piche and Joe Walsh. 

The team participates in intercollegiate lumberjacking competitions across the Northeast, traveling to at least three events per semester. 

Because it is not recognized as an official club or sport, ������Ƶ’s woods sports team has relied on donations for their registration fees and equipment. Hosting the event this year will help defray some of their costs. Carsten also makes and repairs some of their tools at home, instead of buying new. 

The college’s wood for practices comes from felling trees through the college’s natural resources conservation and other programs and helps absorb some of the costs other teams face. 

Faculty and campus departments have showed their support, stepping in to help where they can. The college’s residential construction program has helped cut practice logs, while faculty and students in the mechanical engineering department helped build the team’s Peavey tools. 

In the days leading up to the competition, Morrisville’s team will focus on perfecting its timing and technique.  

“When it is all said and done, it’s not all about winning to the team,” Carsten said. “It’s about the showmanship and the meaning behind what they are doing.”

Last year the team stepped into the limelight when former teammate Andrew O’Connell earned a ticket to the national STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® Series Championships, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

Today, he is a traveling lumberjack for the Timberworks Lumberjack Show, sponsored by STIHL, doing exhibitions at fairs, sporting events and various shows.

“My eye is still on getting in the pros and this is good practice for me,” said O’Connell, from Tampa, Florida, where he was exhibiting at the Florida State Fair. 

Teams competing at the ������Ƶ contest March 2, thus far; 

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SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF)

SUNY ESF Ranger School

Paul Smith’s College

Finger Lakes Community College 

SUNY Cobleskill 

University of Vermont

Events include: 

Singles: super swede saw, single buck, axe throw, disk stack, stock saw, pulp (wood) toss for distance

Doubles: crosscut to death, vertical chop, fire build

Triples: horizontal chop, barrel split

Team: crosscut saw, bow saw, team pulp toss, log roll, pack board (weighted pack) relay