Freshman forestry major David Gouveia saws with sophomore Caroline Hernandez, an environmental sciences major, during the logging sports practice March 5. The Timberjacks compete next week in the 71st annual Association of Western Forestry Club's Logging Sports Conclave. Matt Beaty / The Lumberjack

NAU’s mascot is Louie the Lumberjack, but the only team on campus that throws axes and chops wood is not sponsored by the school.

The NAU logging sports team is a subsidiary of the Forestry Club and boasts a membership of 15 students.
After a multi-decade hiatus, the Jacks rebounded and won several prizes in the past couple of annual competitions. This team of lumberjacks practices three times a week every spring for a competition that is held once a year. Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colo., will be hosting and participating in this year’s 71st annual Association of Western Forestry Club’s Logging Sports Conclave from March 15 to 19. There will be more than a dozen collegiate woodsmen teams on hand.

Mike Gould, a senior forestry major and member of the team, said some rivals intimidate him.

Matt Beaty / the Lumberjack

“The women are bigger than I am,” Gould said. “They are all Paul Bunyans.”

Gould is a former captain of the team and said he wants NAU to become a main competitor in the conclave. He and other dedicated students, led by forestry professor Denver Hospodarsky, resurrected the timber sports team three years ago.

Sophomore forestry major Joy Brown, who placed fourth in the axe-throwing competition in the 2009 conclave, said she is a member because she likes being outdoors.

“It’s really addicting at times, even though it doesn’t seem like it,” Brown said.

The team typically meets on Woody Mountain Road, where they can freely throw axes and possess sharp saws. They throw sharpened axes at a target on a chunk of wood 20 feet away and slice through tree trunks using a crosscut saw.

Funding is one of the drawbacks that affects the team. The Timberjacks are not sponsored by NAU but have support from their local sponsor, Arizona Power and Lawn. The team must also cope with limited resources.

“Wood is a very scarce resource for us, and it limits practice,” Gould said.

Axes and saws required for this sport are expensive and can easily get rusty or ruined. Most equipment is donated or won at competitions, but the team is actively fundraising. They sell firewood in the winter, rent their skills out for hire and are selling T-shirts.

Sean Bothman, a senior geology major and team captain, said he is thoroughly enthralled with logging sports.

“I like the athletic part of it rooted in the outdoors in a more unadulterated way than athletic sports,” Bothman said.