November 3, 2016 Charlottetown, PEI for IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION

November 3, 2016 Charlottetown, PEI

FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION

SHARP AXES - POWERFUL CHAIN SAWS – PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES THE STIHL TIMBERSPORTS CANADIAN SERIES IS COMING TO TOWN!

The STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Canadian Series announces the Canadian Champions Trophy. You have seen it on TV, now come experience it LIVE!

As part of Canada’s 150th anniversary celebration, the top Professional Axe-Men in the country will head to town for an event never seen before in the Island and that will have spectators at the edge of their seats from beginning to end. The STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Champions Trophy is the “Master’s Cup” of the sport and is the most coveted event in the Canadian tour. This invitational event features the top eight athletes from the Canadian Championship – the ones that battled the hardest to the top of the Canadian ranking in 2016.

"Thanks to the efforts of our sport tourism initiative, SCORE, Canada Day weekend in the Birthplace of Confederation is sure to be an exhilarating experience in 2017 as we welcome the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Canadian Champions Trophy to Charlottetown," said Mayor Clifford Lee. "With the picturesque Charlottetown waterfront as a backdrop to this ultimate extreme sport, residents, visitors, and TSN viewers will be wildly entertained by this not to be missed Major League of logger sports."

The Champions Trophy features four out of the six STIHL TIMBERSPORTS disciplines in a back to back relay format without taking a break. Two athletes at a time will go head to head; winner moves on to the next round, losing athlete is knocked out! The competition starts with the Stock Saw discipline, in which the athlete must cut a disc of wood, a “cookie”, from a log with one downward cut, followed by the Underhand Chop, which simulates chopping a felled tree. Next is the Single Buck, a one-man crosscut saw about two metres in length. Finally,

the Standing Block Chop, which goes back to felling a tree with an axe. The seamless transition from one discipline to another is what is going to set these athletes apart. Each heat requires supreme stamina, endurance and precision to push the athletes to their absolute limits.

“We are very happy to announce this event. Not only are we going to be in one of the most beautiful cities in Canada, but at the Birthplace of Confederation, right on Canada’s 150th Anniversary. This will be a historic event for the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Series around the world and will be part of our TSN national broadcast for 2017” said Gerry Rozo, Manager and Executive Producer of STIHL TIMBESPORTS in Canada. “This is a free admission, all-ages event, brought to you by the City of Charlottetown; a world class extreme sport event at a world class city… can’t get any better than that”.

Information:  Friday June 30th – Time trial/ qualifications  Saturday July 1 – STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Champions Trophy  Place: Victoria Park – Charlottetown, PEI  Time: To be confirmed

About the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® Series The STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® Series consists of six disciplines, three using an axe – Springboard, Standing Block Chop and Underhand Chop – and three using a saw – Stock Saw, Single Buck and Hot Saw. Most of the disciplines have evolved from traditional forestry techniques and have been practiced for over 150 years. The keys to victory in STIHL TIMBERSPORTS are a combination of an outstanding fitness level, perfect technical skills with the axe and saw, and a complete focused and mentally strong condition to withstand the enormous pressure of this competition.

Press contact:

Kelly Elliott STIHL TIMBERSPORTS PR Coordinator +1 (226) 376-0779 [email protected]