Fit to cut: Jason Wynyard puts himself back on top with his eighth STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Championship

There are few athletes who can claim supremacy in their sport, and on Sunday, STIHL TIMBERSPORTS lumberjack Jason Wynyard earned that right.

At the Aflac Outdoor Games in Georgia, on the infield of a softball field originally built for the 1996 Summer Olympics, Wynard, of Massey, Auckland, New Zealand, outchopped and outsawed seven of the top lumberjacks in the world to win the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Professional Series presented by Carhartt.

A year ago at the championship, Wynyard was taken to the shed by countryman David Bolstad, which was a new feeling for Wynyard, a 6-foot-4, 297-pound lumberjack. He and Bolstad have been trading the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS championship since 1997 (no one else has won it since then), but it had always been close between them.

The 11-point shellacking by Bolstad shook Wynyard, making him take a second look at the way he'd been approaching the sport.

"Definitely when a guy beats you by so much, it's not a good feeling," Wynyard said as he wrapped a smile around both sides of his face. "I went back after last year and worked really hard. I guess you put the work in and sometimes things come out right for you."

Only 10 minutes earlier, Wynyard was packing up his gear in disappointment. After dominating most the day and taking advantage of a few rare slips by Bolstad, Wynyard went into the last of six events -- the hot saw -- with a four-point lead.

Four points in the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Series means four places. Wynyard just needed to finish third (out of eight) to guarantee a victory, and a fourth would pit him against Bolstad in a saw-off for the championship. But the hot saw is not like the other five events.

In short, a hot saw is a modified chainsaw, but when snowmobile and personal watercraft engines are used, "modified" doesn't seem to cut it. To make matters more unstable, weight -- or lack thereof -- is key in lumberjack competitions, so the saws are stripped down to their most basic components.

When they work, it's an incredible sight -- Matt Bush set the world record in the hot saw by cutting through 19 inches of white pine three times in 5.085 seconds in 2003. But the roughly $10,000 saws are constantly breaking, which is exactly what Wynyard's did the day before the final. It just quit working.

"I can't explain how I felt," said Wynyard, who had spent two years building his saw for this competition. "I've put a lot of work in this year and built this machine of mine, and unfortunately, it crapped out on me yesterday. That really messed with my head last night."

Wynyard ended up borrowing his brother-in-law Dion Lane's saw (Lane lost in the semifinals of the competition) and it just didn't work out. New equipment and a shaky start ended in a disqualification for Wynyard and shot his hopes of a title -- or so he thought.

"I felt pretty sick when he DQ'd," Lane said. "He could have run a much better time and won the thing comfortably with his own saw."

A disqualification in the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS earns no points, which meant Bolstad now needed to finish fourth or better to win the championship for the third straight year. But he didn't. A mistake halfway through his second cut hurt his time and put him sixth, one spot out of a tie.

"I feel really bad for David because he had things in his grasp," Wynyard said. "It would have been nice if I had won it with us both going head-to-head in the hot saw, but that's the nature of this competition.

"I would have felt a lot worse had I come in second place. He's a fantastic competitor and a hard man to get on top of."

Lane, who also trains with Wynyard, didn't let shakiness in the hot saw take away from the real reason Wynyard bounced back from last year's beating -- hard work.

"He trains at least two to four hours a day, five to seven days a week," Lane said. "In my mind, you can put him right up there with the [Michael] Phelps and other champions because he trains just as hard as them, and today you saw the results."

Wynyard said the taste of victory woke something up in him that had been dormant for at least a few years, and it gave him something even Phelps seems to be missing at the moment.

"It really brought back my love of the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS competition," he said. "A couple events really made me feel good and reintroduced me to the love and the passion I have for the sport.

"I'm hungry. I want to go back and improve myself, and I see a lot of room for improvement. I think some of these world records can be taken down. That's my new focus."

 

 

 

Demo helps Jason Wynyard prepare for Easter Show

23/03/2009 8:03:00 AM

Champion Kiwi axeman Jason Wynyard used the Central Districts Field Days as part of his preparations for the Sydney Easter Show next month.

The supreme winner of the 2008 National Maori Sports Awards demonstrated the skills that have won him an astonishing 110 world championship titles during his career.

The 1.9m Waikato-born champion, whose wife Karmyn is also a competitive axewoman, took part in underhand chopping events and gave spectators a demonstration of his mighty 320cc hotsaw, a burly chainsaw driven by a Rotex snowmobile engine whose crankshaft was engineered from a billet of solid aluminium.

It has a blade speed of 240km/h and weighs a hefty 31kg.

The machine is part of Wynyard’s professional amoury which includes 60 razor-sharp axes that have helped him slice his away into the world records books.

He favours those made by Masterton company Tuatahi Axes, which cost up to $500 apiece.

Wynyard can chop through a standing 30cm diameter (12-inch) log in less than 13 seconds and won eight world sawing and cutting titles last year.

His appearance at the CD Field Days was part of his role as an ambassador for the Stihl chain saw company.

He is training for the Sydney Easter Show next month and will then compete on the professional Stihl Timbersports Championship circuit in the United States. He won two world titles at the Sydney show last year.

Wynyard is currently training for three or four hours a day to get into top shape for his demanding sport.

He won his first championship title at the age of 17 after his family moved to Northland and is now one of the best-known axemen on the world professional circuit, particularly in Australia and the United States where he has been competing for the past 10 years.

His father Pae was also a world champion.

 

CHAMPION WOODCHOPPER WINS AT 2008 MAORI SPORTS AWARDS

Saturday 13th December 2008.

New Zealand?s world champion axeman Jason Wynyard (Ngapuhi, Ngati Maniapoto) is the supreme winner of the 2008 NATIONAL MAORI SPORTS AWARDS.

Te Tohu Taakaro o Aotearoa Charitable Trust hosted the prestigious black tie ceremony at the Energy Events Centre in Rotorua on Saturday December 13th 2008.

Wynyard beat a world-class field of finalists to take the top prize ? the Albie Pryor Memorial Maori Sportsperson of the Year.

At 1.95m tall and weighing 130kg, he is one of the most powerful and prolific woodchoppers and cutters in the world and has won eight world titles in the past year ? taking his overall tally to more than 110 world titles.

 

Check out the live streaming action!

The STIHL^® TIMBERSPORTS^® Series presented by Carhartt is providing its faithful fans with live, streaming Internet video of the second and final rounds of the Professional Series as well as the Collegiate Championship.

Log on to ESPNOutdoors.com or stihltimbersports.com Friday 27th, Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th of June to catch Jason taking on the worlds top lumberjacks in the Professional Series' second and final rounds at the Aflac Outdoor Games at the South Commons Softball Complex and Stadium in Columbus, Ga.

 

New Zealand lumberjack breezes through.

LEHI, Utah?Lumberjack sports fans expect wood chips to fly at a STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Professional Series event presented by Carhartt. But during Friday's first round of championship qualifiers, face-chapping 36-mph wind gusts felt like they spread chunks of white pine clear across the entire Utah valley. 

Despite the blustery conditions and the swirling saw chips, seven-time STIHL TIMBERSPORTS champion Jason Wynyard of New Zealand had no problem taking the top spot with 40 Carhartt Overall Competition Points, the Carhartt Chopping Award and the STIHL Sawing Award in Pool B.

 

After the nearly unblemished performance by Wynyard on Friday, Australian Justin Beckett finished the day five points behind the leader in second place. In third place, 6'6" Melbourne resident Laurence O'Toole posted 31 points. Edging out fellow Canadian Jean-Pierre Mercier, Gaston Duperre will now make travel plans for the championships in Columbus, Ga. after the 49-year-old's 28-point performance sealed the fourth and last spot in Pool B.

Wynyard's only stumble came during the day's last event. During a demonstration the night before his competition day, he threw a chain on his custom, high-powered saw and damaged several teeth.

"I was up until midnight last night working on that hot saw," Wynyard said after the only event where he did not finish.

The bulky New Zealander did manage to reattach the chain overnight but failed to start the engine in time to score points during Friday's last event. But even without a functioning hot saw, Wynyard still won his pool by two overall points ? a result of earning eight points from the springboard, stock saw, standing block and underhand chop events, and seven points in the stock saw.

 

Sydney Easter Show - two more World Championships!

Jason has recently competed at the Sydney Easter Show doing very well and managing to take out two World Titles.  Jason won the Single Saw  World title and then teamed up with brother inlaw Dion Lane to also win the Double Saw World title. Jason also took out the two elimination chops, underhand and standing.

Jason's wife Karmyn rounded off the show with the womans Single Saw Championship and was named Ladies Champion of Champion which was a superb result!

 

Champions of Champions at Brunswick Heads NSW.

Both Jason and Karmyn Wynyard sweep their respective fields at a recent meeting in Brunswick Heads in NSW Australia. 

Jason won the single saw championship, standing championship and combined with karmyn to take out the & Jack n Jill championship. 

Jason is now planning his next trip to Australia to prepare for the Sydney Royal Show, often refered to as the 'Wimbledon' of timbersports..  Prior to that Jason will be competing in New Zealand at the Rotorua A & P show.

 

Woodchopping: Back in the swing

Friday June 08, 2007
By Suzanne McFadden

Jason and Karmyn Wynyard, world champions on either end of a crosscut saw, have no trouble remembering how long they've been married. It's simple, 10 years.

But trying to figure out how many years running they've been on the world woodchopping circuit is a little more complicated. They don't measure it by the calendar, but count it in trucks - as in, how many big ole American pick-ups Jason Wynyard has won as world champion in the sport of lumberjacks.

Since he's been competing in the United States every winter, the burly axeman from West Auckland has won seven trucks; fellow Kiwi David Bolstad has collected three, and American Harry Burnsworth one. So, they calculate, it's been 11 years on the road.

Wynyard is now back in the Midwest, trying to pick up another colossal truck. This weekend is the first stage of the Stihl Timbersports series, two months of chop, saw and buzz to find the ultimate woodsman.

Thirty-two of the world's best are selected for the first round, among them three New Zealanders - Wynyard, his brother-in-law Dion Lane and Bolstad.

Wynyard is there alone for once - Karmyn and their two sons, Tai, 9, and Tautoko, 2, are at home in Auckland after Tai injured his foot (nothing to do with sharp blades). It means the Wynyards will have to surrender their Jack and Jill title - the world's fastest man and woman on a crosscut saw.

If Wynyard can defend his series title in the United States next month, it will be against the odds. He's had the rough end of the saw this year - a lung infection, axeman's back, very little training and not a lot of wood to chip into.

Yet the steely-eyed but gently-spoken Wynyard has kept his resolve, determined to bring home yet another world title - to go with the 84 he's already claimed. It's not just a matter of pride - it's about financial survival.

Professional competitions are Wynyard's job and why he travels overseas most of the year. Prizemoney at home and recognition are meagre, even for a man who right now holds 21 world records.

"Going to the States is a pretty big gamble - if you don't win the truck, you run at a loss," he says. The cash option for first prize is US$18,000 ($23,800).

"We struggle to make a living from it, and we're just lucky Karmyn has her job" (with Air New Zealand cargo).

"It's not a glamorous life by any means, and if I had any sense, I'd probably do something else. But there's something in my body that just won't let it go."

Last year was a good one for Wynyard, winning the Timbersports series before being crowned world champion in Germany. This year started with a bang, when both he and Karmyn won their respective champion of champions titles at the Royal Easter Show in Sydney - woodchopping's Wimbledon.

When he flew to Paris a fortnight later to coach the cream of French axeman, Wynyard picked up a lung infection which cleared only the week before he left for the United States.

He's managed his least training in 12 years, but he knows he has the natural ability and pure strength to carry him through.

A perfectionist with a blade, 33-year-old Wynyard is loath to rely on his inherited talents (his father Pye Wynyard was world champion).

"I try to improve myself all the time - change things with my swing, improve my foot position to squeeze out a bit more power. The way I see it, you can never chop the perfect log," he says.

"I'm trying to be more arrogant, too. Other competitors, especially the Aussies, try to put me crook, try to get in my head and tell me I'm doing it all wrong. I've been led down some bad paths with my technique.

"Now I'm at a stage where I know what a good swing is."

While he strives to teach himself better techniques, he struggles to teach his headstrong wife the same.

A former basketballer who took up a university scholarship in Alaska, Karmyn is naturally gifted with saw and axe.

"I'm so proud of what she achieves, but she just doesn't train," Wynyard says.

She agrees: "I probably should do more. But if he wasn't in the sport, I wouldn't do any. I used to go along to support Jason, and when I saw other women competing, I thought I could give it a go."

They never train together for the Jack and Jill - they have too many arguments.

Together, they can slice through a 48cm round of pine in 6.1s - faster than most men.