StFX student Ally Briscoe has big plans this summer.
The third year marketing student in the Gerald Schwartz School of Business will be travelling to the Netherlands in June to represent Canada at the world STIHL TIMBERSPORTS International Women Cup 2023 taking place in Rotterdam June 10th.
Ms. Briscoe was crowned the Canadian women’s champion in 2022, winning the title in national competition held in PEI.
She set a Canadian record with a 12.01 second cut in the single buck, her best event, and Ms. Briscoe says her goal at the upcoming world competition is to be in the 11 second range in this event.
“I hope to beat the Canadian record and to set an official world record,” she says.
The women’s competition at the world championship consists of four events: the single buck, the underhand chop, the standing block chop, and the stock saw.
TIMBERSPORTS, which features wood chopping and sawing, originated from how forestry happened before power tools, Ms. Briscoe says, when loggers held local competitions to see who was best at the job.
Ms. Briscoe grew up around the sport. Her dad competed on the collegiate circuit and later transitioned into the pro circuit.
“I enjoy it a lot,” she says, recalling how her family travelled to many shows with her dad. Often there would be kids’ events, and she’d be eager to compete.
Winning her first Canadian title last year felt good, she says. It was particularly special as her dad, who’s trained her for the past decade, was in attendance as well as a number of friends.
While the sport is competitive, she says it also has a friendly environment. “Most consider it a big family.”
One of the things she is most looking forward to when she travels to the Netherlands to compete is the pre-competition training camp that happens and the chance to meet new people from around the world in the sport and to learn and share new techniques.
