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World class woodchoppers will be carving it up at the Puhoi Pub and Axemen’s Annual Woodchopping Carnival on Saturday, January 11, from 8.30am to 5pm.
Held in the grounds of the Puhoi Pub, it attracts some of the country’s sharpest axemen and is the largest timbersport event on the Northland calendar, with around 3000 people attending in 2024.
President of Puhoi Axemen Club Kaleb McDonnell says they’re expecting a similar turnout this time around and are even better prepared.
“It’s always a good day. We’ve now got a grandstand and there will be plenty of shade for spectators this year,” he says.
Undoubtedly the highlight for many will be New Zealand axeman Jack Jordan, who’ll be making a triumphant return to Puhoi having won the Stihl Timbersports World Trophy in Italy for the third year in a row.
To claim the title, Jordan beat his own world record, setting a woodchopping time of 52.53 seconds.
“He’s definitely a crowd favourite,” McDonnell says.
There will also be plenty of other world class woodchoppers competing across a range of disciplines designed to test their skill, endurance and strength.
“We have the hot saws back, which are the big, modified chainsaws out of Dirt Bike Engines.
“We had them last year for the first time and we thought we’d do it again because the crowd are into it – the hot saws are loud and get a bit of attention,” McDonnell says.
In tree felling, there’s the two-board while the marathon three-board returns after a hiatus.
“There’s pretty good prize money for the three board – $500 per place,” he says.
Axemen competing in the underhand will have their work cut out for them standing on a 16-inch block, “which is pretty big”.
However, McDonnell says what he is looking forward to most is competing in the standing block chop.
“That’s been my strongest event. I’ve been going really well at shows in Stratford and Whangarei, so I’ll be ready to go when January rolls around.”
