Squamish celebrates 5oth Anniversary of Loggers Sports
This event took place this past weekend. Here is an article about the event and its history that was in the Sea to Sky News at http://www.stsnews.ca/home.html
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In the past half-century there have been far too many people involved in Loggers Sports to include in one newspaper article but on the eve of Loggers Sports 50th Anniversary Sea to Sky News talked with one of its founders Al McIntosh and one of its best ambassadors to audiences around the world Bryan Couture.
Al McIntosh retired from emceeing the show two years ago but he was asked to come back for one last time for the 50th Anniversary, and so most appropriately he’ll be out at the grounds for the Sunday show once again.
“I guess you could say I’ve been at it for long time, I’m the only one on the committee that’s been here since it started in ‘57. We actually did a little show in 1956 among ourselves, just local guys having fun, but one thing led to another and in 1957 Loggers Sports began,” said McIntosh.
STS NEWS: What was it like back then?
McIntosh: Well we were at the other grounds near the blind channel and we were there for 25 years. In ‘57 the highway hadn’t gone through yet and the train just been put through, so it was still mostly local. The log rolling was done in the Mamquam Blind Channel and we had to walk spectators over to it.
STS NEWS: What events did you compete in back then?
McIntosh: I started in the choker race and power saw. I didn’t climb trees, although I did do it for a living later on and I always liked doing it. Thor and Harold Halverson invented the obstacle pole dunking, in the old days we used to leave the limbs on and they’d have to cut the end off, we’d have six trees but we’d only have six competitors, but as we added more competitors we had to change that.
STS NEWS: What’s changed among the competitors?
McIntosh: We started out with 140 foot trees that was the highest tree climb in the world, then they standardized it at a 100 feet and now that they’re harder to get it’s at 80 feet.
In the early days the climbers would spin around the pole on the way down, now they just cut loose and go straight down catching themselves maybe four times coming down. One of our local climbers can go up and down in about 35 seconds. Also there was this guy from Alaska moved the spurs from the side to the toe so he could almost run up the pole, on the face instead of the side. It’s unbelievable how they’ve changed stuff through the years, even the saws, the double bucksaws are almost as fast as chainsaws now. I’ve watched it all from the start, and I’m very happy to be coming back.
STS NEWS: What was the inspiration for Loggers Sports?
McIntosh: Well in the old days you couldn’t really get out of Squamish all that easily so we had to make our own entertainment. Now it’s the biggest two-day logging show in the world. I’ve been to a great many of them and there’s not one that has the grounds or facilities that even comes close to this. Competitors from all over the world, probably 150 will be here come Sunday competing for $50,000 in prize money this year.
STS NEWS: Where do the competitors mainly come from?
McIntosh: They come from Denmark, Norway, Germany, Holland, England, New Zealand and Australia are top competitors these days. It’s quite a cross section and we usually try to put a flag up for each country. Also there are a couple of lady events as well, in some cases against the men in the novice events. We have a woman’s double buck and a triple event for ladies; the choker race, axe throw and double buck or single buck, whoever gets the most points wins the triple.
STS NEWS: And the spectators, they’re not just locals anymore?
McIntosh: No, definitely not just locals anymore, a lot of people come from the Lower Mainland and of course the US. I know some people from Arizona who are coming up to watch the show this year. But you see it at the show; you say, ‘where’re you from?’ and they say New Zealand or Holland.
STS NEWS: How much of an impact has Loggers Sports had on other events and competitions?
McIntosh: The choker race started in Squamish, world championships, and Canadian championships started here. Gary Henderson and myself started the axe throwing; all these events are used all over the world now.
STS NEWS: Who are the best Loggers?
Couture: For tree climbing there’s a guy out of Grant’s Pass, Oregon Brian Borteau and Wade Stewart out of Canada. For log rolling and climbing it’s a lot of east coast guys like Darren Hudson and world champion Phil Scott from Nova Scotia. The choppers are mainly guys from New Zealand like Jason Winger and David Bolstead or from Australia, Mitch Hewitt, Dale Ryan; those are guys that travel the world competing all the time.
STS NEWS: You (Bryan Couture) travel a lot as well where do you like to go?
Couture: I like staying in Canada more these days because there’s a lot of history here, especially Western Canada. Even Eastern Canada doesn’t have lumberjack shows like this and the quality of Loggers Sports here is the same show we take on the road, same quality.
STS NEWS: What’s the secret to being a good chainsaw carver?
Couture: The secret to being a top chainsaw carver is speed, accuracy, having all your fingers (McIntosh – “don’t clown about that, that’s important”), knowing the chainsaw and how to file it properly so it cuts smooth. Being accurate with all your cuts, I like to meet all my cuts dead on even though they’re on angles and being exact, I’m pretty fussy about my chairs – that takes a lot of practice.
STS NEWS: How much is a lot?
Couture: I’m pretty fortunate I do lumberjack shows across Canada and around the world so I get to do lots of chairs. At a convention or show I probably carve 30-40 chairs over a weekend that’s easy practice so you can get really good at it, a lot of guys just get to do it when their competing – so their not finessed, I’ve been doing it now for 25 years at Loggers Sports plus competitions and travelling.
When you’re going to do a chainsaw carving you don’t know it’s a chair until it’s turned up. But when I do turn it up I always say this is the best seat in the house when you come to see Loggers Sports.
STS NEWS: What makes a good chopper?
Couture: The axe, a very sharp axe, your technique, your strength and knowledge of different types of wood. Our wood is soft wood and the guys from Australia and New Zealand call it butter, they chop hard woods and that gives them an advantage obviously. Plus they chop a lot of different types of wood and are very knowledgeable on that. Here we chop alder, cottonwood, back east and on the prairies we chop poplar. In the US it’s pretty much the same.
STS NEWS: What about the time Michael Palin (he of the lumberjack song fame) visited Loggers Sports?
McIntosh: He was a great sport, he tried every thing we asked him to and then he fell in the log rolling pool so I had to lend him my pants, and about a month later they came back to me in the mail. He didn’t sing the entire lumberjack song when he was here, he sort of kibitzed around it but we sang it to him.
We’ve had other dignitaries as well, they include all sorts of politicians and a few football players like Lefty Hendrickson – who’ll be here this year, he was born in Squamish and he was just put on the wall of fame with the BC Lions. There’s been all sorts of people from all walks of life that snowboarder fellow…uh Ross Regabliati and lots of others.
We always start the show off with a bang, have a visiting dignitary shoot the top of a tree off, and we have a big name this year. I can’t tell you who it is but it’s not a politician, I think people will get a kick out of it.
STS NEWS: You mentioned Lefty Hendrickson, who are some of the other old timers coming back for the Loggers Sports 50th?
McIntosh: A lot will be here who were from the early days. I’m hoping the Halverson boys (Harold, Thor and Norm) will come and Ron Hartell from New Zealand, who was seven times world champion, Also local guys like Jim Whittaker; Bruce Carson unfortunately won’t be here this year, he used to be one of our top choppers there were a few guys like that who were the backbone of Loggers Sports in getting it started. Gordy Hart him and his son Greg were a one two punch at Loggers Sports for many years.
So a lot of the old timers have been invited and we know a lot of them are coming. We’re looking forward to that because there will be a private get together for the old timers after the show, sort of a reunion after the Sunday show.
STS NEWS: Is it true it rains every year as some people say?
McIntosh: I would say about 50/50 but not both days, and only once did it pour the whole weekend, but I was amazed how many people stayed in the stands under umbrellas and watched the show because the guys still had to do their deal. The heat has actually been a bigger problem on a few occasions, because they have to wear all their gear and they’re in a lot of events but the show goes on.
STS NEWS: What are some of the jobs you’ve had over the years for Loggers Sports?
McIntosh: 32 years ago Bryan came to me and said he wanted to be involved in the show and since then he’s been a lot of positions.
Couture: Within the committee we go through president, vice president just not treasurer, we don’t handle that, we just make the money for them.
McIntosh: When I retired John Hurford took over and Bryan’s been grounds chairman he makes sure everything’s right with that and that’s a lot of hard work.
STS NEWS: And after all these years what are you best memories?
Couture: For me winning an event, being Canadian champ that’s a heck of a thrill and I’ve been very fortunate to win a few Canadian championships, in double hand bucking with Ian Morretti, I think we won it two years in a row actually. I’ve won lots of other events at the local level but for a lot of guys it’s just being out here competing and they still love the sport. And it’s a family too, if someone gets hurt or passes away everyone knows about it. We had a friend, Jack Brownjohn one of our best axe throwers was injured in a mining accident up in Williams Lake last month and everyone’s emailing him and calling him.
McIntosh: There’s a lot of camaraderie that’s a big part of this sport.
Couture: We’ve done a lot of commercials and TV. We did the Kellogg’s Raisin Bran commercial; Sturdy Dan McGee goes up his 49th tree. Also the movie The Legend of Natty Gann.
McIntosh: I had a speaking part in that movie, one of my lines was, “We’re finished on this mountain right?” Twenty years later I still get residuals from that.
Couture: I guess one of the highlights I remember is going with all the guys in a caravan from event to event. About 15 of us, Al would be emcee, the clowns lived here, all the top competitors lived here, log rollers, tree climbers, choppers, and we would keep in touch on our CBs as we went to the next show. It was so perfect and afterwards on our way home we’d circle the RVs and have a potluck dinner together, it was awesome, we don’t have times like that anymore.
McIntosh: Sittin’ in the stands watching trees fall - it’s a thrill to watch, and you can’t match background scenery looking up at Garibaldi and the other mountains, I’ve enjoyed it all through the years. But I guess the best memory for me was when they surprised me about eight years ago. They made this big banner and in the middle of the show they interrupted me and someone grabbed the mic out of my hands, I can’t remember who it was, and next thing I know they’re putting that banner up in the trees. I tell you what when I saw what it said – Al McIntosh Loggers Sports Grounds – it was a long time before I could speak, it choked me up that day I can tell you. That’s quite an honour to have a park named after you, it’s not too many people who get that.I will have to watch The Legend of Natty Gann.
