15 Year Celebration

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The sawdust and wood chips flew once again on the North Island as the Port McNeill Logger Sports Society (PMLSS) hosted their annual event on Saturday, May 31, 2025. Competitors from across Vancouver Island, BC, Alberta and even further competed for rankings and cash prizes in a full slate of Open, Ladies, Novice and Mixed events. As always, this was a fun for all-ages, free community event at the Broughton Boulevard waterfront event site, across from the Port McNeill Community Hall.

PMLSS is already looking into the future, as 2026 will mark their 15th year of hosting Logger Sports in Port McNeill. The community has a much longer history of wood chopping competitions, but prior to the PMLSS inaugural event in 2010, it had been many years since the community held a competition.

The Early Days

The Regional District of Mount Waddington was named Forest Capital of British Columbia for 2010, which at that time was a year-long title, designated by the Association of BC Forest Professionals. It recognized and celebrated the valuable role forests play in the economic and environmental health of the province and our communities. As part of this designation, a local committee organized and hosted events throughout the calendar year that highlighted the close relationship the North Island region has always had with our forests, both for our livelihoods and our well-being.

For the 2010 inaugural event, a subcommittee of the Forest Capital group was formed to plan and host the Logger Sports event, which ended up being one of the greatest legacies of the Forest Capital designation.

Accomplishments Through the Years

This subcommittee would go on to become the Port McNeill Logger Sports Society, and this group of passionate and dedicated volunteers would proceed to host this event annually, minus 2020 and 2021, due to COVID restrictions. Accomplishments over the years include: the 2010 and 2011 events being filmed and aired on TSN’s internationally syndicated Lumberjacks television series; Being a Canadian Logger Sports Association (CANLOG) sanctioned event; Hosting Canadian Championship events; Hosting international competitors; Maintaining a strong community connection by always being a free spectator event and always offering free novice registration; Offering free registration for all events in 2024 and 2025; and, Creating the Port McNeill Logger Sports Society Theresa Brady Memorial Bursary which annually awards up to two $250 bursaries to graduating students who display community spirit through volunteering. 

The competition at the Port McNeill show is high calibre, always with a full slate of skilled athletes. The show has attracted competitors from across Canada, USA, France, New Zealand and Australia. It has also provided a pathway for Port McNeill locals to compete nationally and internationally - Allison Briscoe in a Maritimes Logger Sports Association competition in Mactaquac, the Morton Logger Jubilee in Washington State, at the multiple STIHL Nationals across Canada, and the STIHL World Timbersports International Women’s Cup in Rotterdam, Netherlands; Dawn Briscoe in the Tokoroa and Paeroa Wood chopping competitions in New Zealand; Roger Briscoe at the Morton Logger Jubilee in Washington State; Nick Russell at multiple STIHL Nationals across Canada and multiple STIHL Team World Championships in Lillehammer, Norway, Gothenburg, Sweden, Toulouse France; and Thomas Symons at multiple STIHL Nationals across Canada and the STIHL World Timbersports Rookie championships in Vienna, Austria.

Success Has Been a Community Effort

The North Island theme for the Forest Capital designation was “Forests are rooted in our communities” and the annual Logger Sports event proves this is true for Port McNeill. This small community has been incredibly supportive of the Logger Sports event in so many ways over the years. The society members commit countless hours to organization, with a core group who have been involved since the beginning. The sponsors make generous contributions that are essential for running the event, many who have financially supported the event every single year. The large local contingent of competitors bring action to the field, some who have participated in every held event so far. The spectators show up and cheer on the participants without fail, year after year.

Help Us Celebrate 15 Years of Logger Sports in Port McNeill

2026 will mark 15 years of Port McNeill Logger Sports, and the organizing committee is excited to celebrate with new elements and bring old favourites back to highlight this milestone. The show will take place on May 23, 2026. 

With the goal of it being their biggest year yet, for the first time they are asking the public for  support, via donations. The money raised through this donation will go directly towards these special events, which will bring new excitement for the crowd to enjoy. We will be releasing more details as the anniversary show date approaches, so be sure to follow along. If you have attended and been entertained by this event over the years, please think about contributing.

Any amount given is greatly appreciated. 

The link to donate is below. 

Here's to the 15th year and many more years after that!