Steve Bullman

APF 2022 and The Arb Show, the UK’s largest forestry, woodland, fencing, trees and timber show has reported record advance ticket sales for this year’s event. The show being held at Ragley Estate, Alcester, Warwickshire on the 22-24th September 2022 is expected to attract over 300 exhibitors and 25000 trade visitors over the three days. Exhibition Secretary, Ian Millward, commented “We are delighted with advance tickets sales for the event. In May we saw sales equalling 25% of our entire total for the 2018 event. Exhibitor bookings are very strong and we have very little demonstration circuit space left. I get the feeling that the whole industry is really looking forward to the event after having to cancel in 2020 and with all the new events and features for this year it is going to be a great show” You can book your place as an exhibitor or visitor right now at https://www.apfexhibition.co.uk/

STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® will host its first ever British Women’s Championship in June, where the best female lumberjill athletes in Great Britain will put their axe, saw and chainsaw skills to the ultimate test to become the inaugural female STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® British champion. The landmark event will take place at Royal Three Counties Show in Malvern on Friday 17 June and will see the top eight female logger sports athletes battle against each other in three challenging disciplines; Stock Saw, Single Buck and Underhand Chop. Each discipline will see the athletes slice and chop their way through large logs in seconds using a combination of axes, two-metre crosscut saws and high-powered chainsaws, all requiring high levels of power, precision and endurance to succeed. Competitors are awarded maximum points for the fastest time, with the athlete accumulating the most points crowned the best female TIMBERSPORTS® athlete in Great Britain. Competing in this ground-breaking event will be Beth Parker from Southport, Catherine Eccles from Scotland, Dee Hardwick from Redditch, with the remaining five athletes in Justine Narusa, Kristy Bray, Martine Arrowsmith, Sarah Cox and Zoe Penlington all hailing from Wales. The athletes have been sharpening their logger skills at STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® training camps throughout the year and are ready to put on a high octane performance in front of a live audience. The 2022 STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® British Championship and British Rookie Championship crown will also be fought for at the Royal Three Counties Show on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 June respectively. In the British Championship, the top male athletes from around the country will compete against each other across six TIMBERSPORTS® disciplines. The rookies, who are under 25, will take part in four events, accumulating points in each round based on their placing in each discipline. The overall winner in each competition is the athlete with the most points once all rounds have taken place. Simon Hewitt, Head of Marketing at STIHL GB, said: “After several behind closed door events, not only are we thrilled to be bringing TIMBERSPORTS® back to a live audience, but we are also very excited to introduce the first British Women’s Championship. “All of the competitors want the chance to be the champion in the first Women's Championship, so all eight athletes have been working hard, but even the smallest slip-up on the day can have a huge effect, so anyone can win it! We can’t wait to see the best-of-the-best female athletes compete for the ultimate logger prize.” Jane Edwards, Shows Manager at Three Counties, said: “We are incredibly excited to welcome STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® to Royal Three Counties Show and wish all the athletes luck in their Championships. The STIHL Arena is a fantastic, high octane, entertainment area and a great addition to the Show. We’re especially pleased to be hosting the first STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® British Women’s Championship on the Friday and love the fact one of the athletes hails from Worcestershire!” The Royal Three Counties Show (17 – 19 June) is the Heart of England’s premier celebration of the countryside and rural life. To buy tickets and see the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® action live, please visit https://www.threecounties.co.uk/buy-tickets/. To find out more about the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® Series please visit https://blog.stihl.co.uk/timbersports/ STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® British Championship - the six disciplines: Springboard – athletes slot two springboards into a vertical tree trunk then chop through a block of wood at the top of the tree, nearly 3m above the ground Stock Saw – athletes race to cut two timber “cookies” with a chainsaw from a horizontally set log. The cookie must be complete and within a defined thickness Standing Block Chop – simulating the felling of a tree, athletes race to chop through a 30cm wood block as quickly as possible from the side Single Buck – athletes race to cut through a 46cm diameter log using a two-metre long single man crosscut saw Underhand Chop – athletes stand on a horizontal log and cleave it in two with an axe, chopping from both sides Hot Saw – athletes race to cut three cookies of a specified thickness from a horizontal trunk using an extremely powerful chainsaw weighing nearly 30kg and with a chain speed of around 250 km/h