Ligna 2019

•••2••• Messewelten The“Formula 1”of forestry skills Precise and fast: German Logging Championship with high-power chainsaws cutting T he German Logging Cham- pionship is back for another high-octane season at Ligna 2019. With elite lumberjacks and for- estry professionals from all over Germany facing off in a range of logging disciplines, there will be thrills and spectacle aplenty for visitors. The championship is the “Formu- la 1” of forestry skills, with high- power chainsaws cutting into wood with precision and at in- credible speeds in fiercely fought contests where the difference be- tween victory and defeat is meas- ured in tenths of a millimetre. This year, some 100 contestants will be putting their endurance, handling skills and precision to the test in five disciplines: tree felling, chain fitting, combined cut buck- ing, precision bucking and delimb- ing. They will perform their amaz- ing feats of chainsaw handling skill under the watchful eye of ex- pert judges, who will score them on safety, accuracy and speed. One of the big highlights of the championship is the tree-felling event. There’s no forest on the Hannover Exhibition Center cam- pus, so the organisers have gone all out to re-create a real-life tree- felling scenario, complete with 18-metre tall logs which have been set into the ground in spe- cially cut 1.5-metre deep bore holes. 150 metric tons of sand have been trucked on site and spread out in three sweeping arcs, creating a cushion to absorb the momentum of the falling logs and stop them from shattering when they hit the ground. The tree-felling event is followed by the delimbing contest, in which each contestant has to cut off 30 uniform-thickness branches (broomsticks) that have been spe- cially attached to a horizontal log. Like tree felling, this is a test of speed and accuracy. “While tree felling is the most important of the five disciplines, delimbing is probably the most spectacular,” said VWMD (German Woodsmen’s Championships Association) Presi- dent Wolfgang Junglas. “Contest- ants are scored in accordance with a sophisticated set of rules that is administered by an inde- pendent federal body. To be eligi- ble to participate in the national championships, all contestants must first qualify in all five disci- plines in accordance with VWMD rules in recognised regional cham- pionships. In concrete terms this means they must have gained at least 1,200 points in the U24 class or at least 1,300 points in the pro- fessional class.” Theme-specific avenues The sponsors of the German Log- ging Championship will have their own exhibition stands directly ad- jacent to the competition arena on one of the themed “avenues” in the outdoor forestry demon- stration area. The demonstration area is a 3,000 sqm zone com- prising a series of theme-specific “avenues”, where exhibitors can stage moderated live demonstra- tions of their forestry technology solutions. As in previous years, it is organised jointly by Deutsche Messe and the German Forestry Council (KFW). German Logging Championship events and moder- ated demonstrations will be held on the demonstration area. Elite lumberjacks and forestry professionals in action: This year, some 100 contestants will participate at the German Logging Championship. Photo: Deutsche Messe AG