Timbersports makes return to Utah

It is a sport best known for repeated showings during early morning hours on ESPN. What is less known about the STIHL Timbersports series is that it brings together the best lumberjacks from across the world.

Here is a closer look at a few of these athletes who will be competing in disciplines ranging from sawing to boom running when the timbersports series returns to Lehi for a second straight year to kick off its 2009 season on Friday and Saturday:

Chopping/sawing

One element continues to define the STIHL Timbersports series for Arden Cogar, Jr., since he began competing in it more than two decades ago.

Cogar has seen the skill level required to stay at an elite level grow by leaps and bounds. No longer can a lumberjack be strong in one discipline and call it good. To even have a chance at claiming a championship now, a chopper/sawyer must be strong in six different events — hot saw, single buck, springboard chop, standing block chop, stock saw and underhand chop.

"It has really gotten away from specialists — in other words, people who are really good at a few things," Cogar said. "You have to be good at everything in order to advance."

For Cogar, attaining all-around excellence requires an extensive balancing act. He routinely finds himself fitting in his training and preparation for the series around his day job as an attorney in West Virginia.

But deep roots in the sport keep him going. Cogar is one link in four generations of Timbersports competitors. Both his grandfather and his father were loggers by profession. And now he has a chance to act as a mentor to his young cousin, Matt Cogar, who will be competing as a series rookie this year.

When he comes to competing at Lehi, Cogar expects to hold his own. He has a history of doing well in the series — finishing fourth overall as recently as two years ago. Building on that will require a strong start this weekend.

"It's a feast or famine sort of situation," Cogar said. "You have to put forth your best foot. There is no second day if you don't. There is no second chance if you don't perform well."

To reach the top, he must go through world champions such as New Zealanders David Bolstad and Jason Wynyard to get there. Bolstad and Wynyard have combined to win the last 12 STIHL Timbersports championships and hold world records in each of the six disciplines except hot saw.

Boom running