As a tattoo artist, Kelly Miller has to have a steady hand and a keen eye.
Who knew those skills would help her win the overall title in the axe-throwing contest in the Loggers Show at Bowfest?
As the top point-earner among the women axe throwers, she beat the top man, Mark James, in the hotly contested event. (James, it should be noted, had out-thrown his two axe-wielding sons for the men’s title.)
While the men’s talents in the various competitions were impressive, it was the women competitors who helped make this a must-watch inaugural event.
Going mano-a-mano against some of the brawniest men on the island, the women took no prisoners as competed in the axe throwing, pole climbing, crosscut saw, chainsawing and chocker race events.
“It was awesome,” says organizer Gary Anderson of Metro Blasting, which sponsored the event. With less than a month to prepare everything — including the herculean job of embedding the poles for the pole-climbing event — Anderson also opened up his back yard so the lumberjacks and jills could axe throw like no one was watching in preparation for their Bowfest debut.
In one of those why-didn’t-I-think-of-that-yesterday decisions, the Loggers Games were outside the ticketed area of Bowfest, which meant spectators didn’t have to pay to watch the games. Anderson has donated two large truckloads of firewood to Bowfest organizers who will auction it off to recoup some of the lost revenues.
Photos of the Loggers Show are here.
A video of the crosscut saw and axe-throwing competiton is here.
The results of the 2015 Loggers Games are as follows:
Throw
Women: Kelly Miller, Sonja Kristinssson, Courtnee Anderson
Men: Mark James, Gary Anderson, Robert Clayton
Overall winner: Kelly Miller
Pole Climb
Women: Alicia Hoppenrath, Nathalie Broderick, Katie Mainwaring
Men: Adrien Gratton, Calvin Hagge, Shane Tweten
Crosscut Saw
Women: Jill Kenny and Alicia Hoppenrath; Nathalie Broderick and Sheila Wade; Kelsey MacDonald and Kelly Miller
Men: Clayton and Eric Hunter-James; Robert Clayton and Dave Paulus; Gary Anderson and Todd Pearson
Jack and Jill: Kelly Miller and Calvin Hagge; Courtnee and Gary Anderson; Katie and Tony Mainwaring
Chainsaw
Women: Katie Mainwaring. Sheila Wade
Men: Calvin Hagge, Scott Moore
Choker Race
Women: Joanna Quarry, Sheila Wade
Men: Shane Tweten, Jonny Bacon
