There鈥檚 been no shortage of motivation this year for the Dal AC Woodsmen.
The Canadian Intercollegiate Lumberjacking Association (CILA) final competition to determine the Association Champions 鈥� something the Rams have become accustomed to winning slipped through their grasp last season and they鈥檝e come back in 2018-19 determined to return to their perch at the top of the table.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had a bit of a chip on our shoulder,鈥� Woodsmen head coach Geoff Larkin said. 鈥淚t kind of woke us up a bit and really motivated us to come out from the beginning and put the work in.鈥�
So far that approach has paid off as both the Men鈥檚 A and Women鈥檚 A squads lead their respective points standings heading into the final event of the season this weekend, the 34th annual Rick Russell Woodsmen Competition at MacMillan Show Centre at the NSPEC Complex in Bible Hill.
Action starts Saturday, February 9 at 9 a.m. with timed events, which include chopping and sawing disciplines, a water boil, axe throwing and pole climbing among others, running until about 4 p.m. The day wraps up with the season鈥檚 champions presented with their awards at the teams only evening presentation. Teams from across Eastern Canada and the Northeastern United States will be duking it out for those honours.
Admission is $5 per person and children under 12 get in free.
The men enter the weekend with a commanding 502.49-point lead over the University of New Brunswick thanks to sweeping the season鈥檚 other three events at UNB, Sir Sandford Fleming College and McGill University鈥檚 Macdonald Campus just last weekend.
The women face a much tighter battle to regain their crown. They hold a slim 71.85-point cushion over McGill while Sir Sandford Fleming sits a further 67.54 points adrift. The women won the UNB and McGill events, but finished third at Sir Sandford Fleming College to bunch up the standings.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e in a good spot but they really need to have a good day,鈥� Larkin said of the women鈥檚 team. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no doubt they can. They鈥檝e got the talent, but it鈥檚 going to be tight.鈥�
DAL AC鈥檚 men鈥檚 team has won five titles in the past seven seasons, including back-to-back crowns in 2016 and 2017 but finished second in points a year ago to UNB. The women collected four championships in the same timeframe and finished third in last season鈥檚 standings.
鈥淚t would be awesome to win it here at home,鈥� Larkin, who has held the coaching reigns for the past three years, said. 鈥淭he athletes have put in a lot of time and effort and win or lose, I鈥檓 proud of the way they鈥檝e executed all year and how well they鈥檝e represented Dal AC. But it would be nice to see them get rewarded with a title. You always want to go for the title.鈥�
Nothing is a given, but the Woodsmen have traditionally had a strong showing at their home competition, which packs nearly 800 people into the MacMillan arena. The athletes feed off that energy and use it to their advantage.
鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing quite like coming home,鈥� Larkin said. 鈥淓specially here, with the atmosphere. It鈥檚 the loudest competition of the year.鈥�
Both the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 squads have benefitted from a strong veteran presence in their lineups this season. The bulk of both rosters are third and fourth-year student-athletes who have come up through the system via the Woodsmen B teams.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really showed,鈥� Larkin said. 鈥淭hey are really strong in the team events. They work together well and they鈥檙e able to communicate and if you can do that you鈥檙e generally going to have a good day.鈥�
That鈥檚 going to be key this weekend if the Woodsmen are to reach their goal of returning to the top on home soil.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e put in the work and now they just have to focus and do what they know they can do,鈥� Larkin said.