A downpour couldn’t dampen the sawdust or the thrills on Sunday, Sept. 14, as hundreds packed the Transfer Beach amphitheatre for Ladysmith Loggers’ Sports. It was a fast, funny showcase of B.C.’s traditional skills that doubled as a fundraiser for Cops for Cancer’s Tour de Rock.
The show mixed competition with clowning in what can best be described as logging meets the Harlem Globetrotters. First-time emcee Chelsea Russell — who also trains in the sport with her father, Nick — kept the energy high and the running gags tight while shepherding a 22-event program that moved at a clip despite the rain.
Challenges such as the choker race, underhand chop, springboard chop and log burling had the crowd cheering despite a downpour.
Nick Russell beat Dave McLeod in the standing block chop and the old-fashioned hand-saw race, while McLeod grabbed wins later including the springboard chop.
During the hand-bucking competition, the pair staged a good-natured rematch using increasingly bigger saws. At one point, the saws were replaced by specialty rigs, including a home-built motorbike engine-powered “franken-saw,” to the crowd’s delight.
Wyatt Brosher topped the tree climb against Tristan Mercer, scaling the 79-foot-tall spar pole before he dropped to a soft landing in the sawdust hill below. But Mercer came back during the axe throw, winning by a single point with a bull’s-eye. Later, during the log burling competition, Mercer took an enthusiastic dunk in the pond, egged on by chants from the kids in the front row.
A rapid-fire chainsaw carving event turned slapstick when Mercer, who set out to carve a bunny, said he may have “cut a hare too deep” and the saw became stuck. Next thing he knew, the bunny lost its head.
The highlight of the afternoon came when high-pole specialist Dave McLeod climbed the giant spar pole in a comedic act that had the audience covering their eyes and peeking through their fingers.
“What are you doing up there?” emcee Chelsea Russell called out to McLeod.
“Freaking out!” he answered.
McLeod worked the crowd, dropping his protective gear piece by piece until he was standing on top of the pole with no safety. Then he juggled. While the crowd squealed, he asked to take a photo of the audience to send to his mom. As gasps and screams filled the air, McLeod stepped off the pole into the air before zipping off a line stretched over the amphitheatre and landing safely.
Local bragging rights were on the line in the Best in the Bush relay, where four-person teams from Ladysmith Fire/Rescue, North Oyster Fire Rescue, Ladysmith Kinsmen and the Tour de Rock riders tackled axe throwing, bucking and an obstacle dash. Ladysmith Fire/Rescue ultimately claimed the win and hoisted the hardware.
In a display of one of politics’ most underutilized skills, Ladysmith Mayor Deena Beeston faced Ladysmith–Oceanside MLA Stephanie Higginson in an axe-throwing contest. Once they got the hang of it, the two hurled their axes as if the target had blown past the three-minute mic limit. In the end, Beeston won but clearly neither woman is to be messed with.
The afternoon ended with a splash when the Tour de Rock team faced off against the loggers in a tug-of-war over the pond. They succeeded in hauling all four pros into the water, winding up a day that blended skill, comedy and community spirit. Organizers reported the event raised more than $4,000 in donations for Tour de Rock.
Ladysmith Loggers’ Sports remains one of the town’s signature spectacles, a live, up-close look at the techniques that built the region, delivered with showmanship that keeps audiences cheering.
