The ORIGINAL Extreme Sport is Coming to Wasaga Beach!

LONDON, ON, June 20, 2018 /CNW/ - You've seen it live on TV, now come experience it LIVE! The Top 40 athletes from across Canada are competing in Wasaga Beach, Ontario for the title of Canadian Champion in the Pro Men's, Pro Women's and Rookie Divisions. Athletes attending this competition include 2018 World Champions Trophy winner and Vancouver, BC resident Stirling Hart; 5-time, and current reigning, Canadian Champion Mitch Hewitt from Scotch Creek, BC; and 2017 Canadian Pro Women Champion Kelly Bowness from Alberton, PEI.

"The last time I won the Canadian Championship was in 2015, and I have been working very hard to prepare for the competition, and all I can do is go out there and do my very best. I've come close. Stirling and Mitch are great competitors, so I'm looking forward to seeing how I do," says Marcel Dupuis, a previous STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Canadian Champion from Memramcook, New Brunswick.

The Canadian Championship features all 6 disciplines included in STIHL TIMBERSPORTS: Springboard Chop, Underhand Chop, STIHL Stock Saw, Standing Block Chop, Single Buck and Hot Saw.

Mitch Hewitt is the reigning STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Canadian Champion, outperforming the rest of his competitors in the 2017 Canadian Championships held in London, Ontario. "For me, I'm coming to Wasaga Beach to defend the title. I know I have guys like Stirling, Marcel, George (Williams) and the Cumberland's who are all vying to take it away from me, but I've been training hard. All I can do is go out there and try to repeat what I did last year and hope for the best," Hewitt says.

Biting at the bit is Stirling Hart, a Vancouver resident, who is just coming off a spectacular trip from Marseille, France, where he brought home Canada's first world title. There, Hart had a phenomenal competition, beating 9-time World Champion, Jason Wynward from New Zealand, to win the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Champions Trophy. "I'm in the best shape of my life, and returning home a World Champions Trophy winner has me wanting the Canadian Champion title again. I know I have some tough competition, but that will make me work even harder to finish on top," says Hart.

Schedule:

• Thursday July 19: Men's Pro Qualifier 1 – Group Red – 4:00 PM
• Friday July 20: Rookie Canadian Championship – 1:00 PM

                         Men's Pro Qualifier 2 – Group Black – 5:00 PM

• Saturday July 21: Pro Women Canadian Championship – 1:00 PM

                         Pro Men Canadian Championship – 5:00 PM

Canadian Trophy

The Canadian Trophy series will be celebrated on Sunday, July 22. The STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Canadian Trophy is an outstanding competition where Canada's best athletes meet to compete in 4 disciplines in a relay format.

The event features the 16 best STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Canadian athletes in an elimination bracket format, where the winner moves on to the next round and the losing athlete is sent home! This event, which has been nicknamed the "Masters Cup" of STIHL TIMBERSPORTS features two athletes head to head, athletes begin with the chain saw. Once the cut is complete, they move on to the underhand chop where the block must be chopped in half. After this chop, they move to the next event, the single buck with a 6-foot metal blade. When the single buck is done and their lungs are burning, they are not done yet. They must complete one more chop: the standing block. All 4 disciplines are executed in under 2 minutes. In the end, one athlete will remain at the top and he will be crowned the Champion.

The breathtaking scenery of Wasaga Beach is the backdrop of this outstanding "Gladiators" fight. Last year, Stirling Hart took the title in Charlottetown, PEI; this year he returns to defend his title and he is hungry for victory!

Schedule Sunday July 22:

• Qualification Round: 10:00 AM
• Main Draw: 1:00 PM

Wasaga Beach Bike Rally

STIHL TIMBERSPORTS is partnered with the largest annual motorcycle rally in Canada to bring spectators great food, cold drinks, live music and over 50,000 bikes.

For more information about this event or the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Series please visit www.timbersports.ca

SOURCE STIHL TIMBERSPORTS

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