Razor sharp skills prove Pulborough lecturer an extreme sports champ

A college lecturer who teaches students about forestry and arboriculture has an understandable fascination for wood.
Sarah Page
By Sarah Page
Published 19th Apr 2023, 14:45 BST
Updated 19th Apr 2023, 15:46 BST
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In fact, Joe Groom, from Pulborough, loves no better way to spend his spare time than chopping up trees.

But it’s not just firewood that Joe takes his chainsaw and axe to – he is a champion at lumberjack sports.

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And thirty-three-year-old Joe, who lectures on forestry at Brinsbury College, is to take part in the Stihl British Timbersports Championships being held in Malvern, Worcestershire, in June.

Pulborough college lecturer Joe Groom in action in a timbersports eventPulborough college lecturer Joe Groom in action in a timbersports event
Pulborough college lecturer Joe Groom in action in a timbersports event

The sport is considered one of the world’s first extreme sports which dates back more than a hundred years when lumberjacks began competing with each other in wood chopping and sawing in their spare time.

Joe first took it up in 2015 as a rookie and has since moved up to the pro league. “I’m very competitive,” he said. “I like to win.”

The sport itself involves different disciplines using razor-sharp axes and chainsaws to chop and saw large logs within time limits. Some events can last just seconds.

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Contestants wear protective gear – including chain mail socks to protect their feet should their axe swing too low.

Protective gear worn by competitors in the extreme sport include chain mail socks to prevent injuries to the lower legProtective gear worn by competitors in the extreme sport include chain mail socks to prevent injuries to the lower leg
Protective gear worn by competitors in the extreme sport include chain mail socks to prevent injuries to the lower leg

"The skill is to control them,” says Joe, who has managed to escape any injuries. “The worst I’ve done is maybe cut my trousers when I wasn’t concentrating.”

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The Stihl British Timbersports Championships at the Royal Three Counties Showground in Malvern take place on June 17 and 18 and will be the 10th anniversary of the event in the UK.

See https://www.stihl-timbersports.com/en

Related topics:WorcestershireSussex