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It鈥檚 crunch time
Titles on the line as Woodsmen host annual competition

It鈥檚 all come down to this.

After yet another strong season on the Canadian Intercollegiate Lumberjacking Association (CILA) circuit, the Dalhousie Agricultural Campus Woodsmen top the points standings as they enter the season鈥檚 final event on home turf 鈥撀爐he 31st annual Rick Russell Woodsmen Competition 鈥� Feb. 6 at MacMillan Show Centre. Action gets underway at 8 a.m. Admission is $5 per person and children under 12 get in free.

The Woodsmen would like nothing more than to clinch a title in front of a house full of their fans. However, they know nothing will be handed to them.

鈥淚 think the best way to describe it is 鈥榗autiously optimistic鈥�,鈥� Connor Morse, a member of the Men鈥檚 A team, said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to jinx anything but we鈥檙e just going to do our best and hopefully our men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 teams can win the championship.鈥�

The competition features 13 men鈥檚 teams and 10 women鈥檚 teams competing in 15 events including chopping and sawing disciplines, a water boil, axe throwing and pole climbing among others. Also, unique to the Rick Russell is dry land log birling, an event which sees two competitors stand on a log while making it roll in an effort to knock each other off.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a really good show and there鈥檚 something for everyone,鈥� Morse, a 19-year-old Agricultural Business student, said.

The Men鈥檚 A and Women鈥檚 A squads hold slim leads over the University of New Brunswick and the Maritime College of Forest Technology atop the championship points standings. The men won earlier this season at Sir Sandford Fleming College while the women have finished on the podium in each of the calendar鈥檚 three meetings thus far.

鈥淲e just have to try to get points in each event,鈥� Jessica Swinamer, the women鈥檚 A team captain and an Agricultural Business major, said about the Rick Russell. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 disqualify in any events because some points are better than none.鈥�

Of course, it doesn鈥檛 hurt to have a stadium full of home fans to cheer you along. The Rick Russell is an event the Woodsmen look forward to each season. The competition typically attracts an enthusiastic audience of both students and other supporters from the public.

鈥淚t makes a huge difference,鈥� Morse said. 鈥淚t definitely gets everyone fired up and ready to go.鈥�

It鈥檚 also the only competition on the calendar held indoors and with it falling at the end of the season, it typically features the best times and most fierce competition.

Aside from performing in their back yard, the Woodsmen can also find extra motivation to push for a title by looking at last year鈥檚 final standings. The Dal AC men finished in the runner-up spot to UNB while the women were edged by just 92 points by McGill University鈥檚 Mcdonald Campus.

鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be close,鈥� Morse said about the points race. 鈥淲e just have to do our best in each event and hope it will be enough.鈥�