David Green chops the top off his log, placing second in the spring board event at The Mill Casino-Hotel during the Bay Area Lumberjack Competition Saturday. -World Photo by Alex Powers

NORTH BEND — Lumberjack competitions are like an amalgamation of America’s favorite sports.

Contestants need the fast-twitch muscles of a baseball hitter, the upper-body strength of a football lineman and the technique of a basketball free-throw shooter.

They also need a golfer’s knowledge of their equipment, which can produce sounds reminiscent of a NASCAR race.

Performing before packed stands Saturday at The Mill Casino-Hotel, competitors used these skills and their knowledge of wood to rise to the occasion.

Nursing a sore back and facing lumberjacks less than half his age, Rob Waibel still had a pretty good day. The West Linn resident finished first in three of the 10 individual events at the Bay Area Lumberjack Competition.

A high school forestry teacher in his mid-40s, Waibel attributed his success to experience, good technique and a little luck.

This was particularly evident in the underhand chop, which Waibel completed in 19.68 seconds.

Competitors stand on a piece of alder or cottonwood that is held in place by a stand. They chop down on the wood on one side, then the other until the log splits in half.

The logs are the same width, though, as Waibel pointed out, differences in grain and density can play a role in determining the winner. The first- and second-place finishes can vary by less than a second.

Waibel’s piece of wood came from a part of the tree that wasn’t as tight as other sections. He had a sense he had a good log when he tested it right before the start. His goal was to cut the log clean, so his ax wouldn’t stick after chops, thus slowing him down. Mission accomplished.

“I didn’t make any mistakes,” he said.

Waibel compared the competition to a round of golf in terms of the importance of tool selection. Depending on the wind, a golfer might use a different club from the same tee hit from earlier in the day. It is the same in a lumberjack competition, where one piece of wood can be very different from another.

“Your technique and equipment are so much more important than your athletic ability,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years and I’m still getting better.”

Waibel did have some trouble. It was on the obstacle pole buck. In this event, contestants have to climb a Douglas fir log leaning at roughly a 25-degree angle. Once they get to the end, they use their chainsaws to make one cut before making their way back down.

Waibel wore spiked shoes to provide better traction. He even sharpened the spikes them before the event, but to no avail.

“They were skating instead of digging in,” he explained. “I had a hard time staying up.”

 Staying up also can be a problem in the springboard chop. As the event’s name suggests, lumberjacks must make a pair of cuts in a log and insert springboards that serve as footholds, allowing them to chop down the top of the log. Oftentimes, the lumberjacks can be about eight feet off the ground as they make their final blows.

The cuts must produce a perfect V, Waibel said, or else the lumberjack will find himself falling from his perch as the springboard comes out.

Getting good grip also is the key in the speed-climbing event. Contestants ascend poles about 65 feet tall, using a rope and special footwear that digs into the wood.

Adam Dempsey, of Arlington, Wash., was one of the men who scaled the obelisk.

“It’s like running up the tree more than climbing it,” he said.

After each step, Dempsey would flip the rope, which circled around the tree and behind his back, up the tree at the same time as he pushed off with his feet. On the way down, the rope took on another role.

“Your rope is basically your break, slowing down or speeding up your descent,” he said.

In a race, slowing down is not something you want to do, but it is hard to not rely on the rope somewhat.

“You just do what your mind is willing to allow you to do,” he said.

 The one event that isn’t timed is the ax throw. For this event, there is no one technique. Some participants stand with their feet together, while others stand with one foot back. Some use a two-hand approach, while others toss with one hand.

Waibel said there is only one trick to the ax throw.

“Put a target in your backyard and practice,” he said.