Her hands were bleeding as she started. Today, he is the star of lumberjack competitions

“This is where we train for the races,” he points to piles of wood in the backyard outside their family home. A poplar log with a diameter of 25 cm has been prepared standing on one base, and a pine tree with a diameter of 27 cm is placed on the other. “In the competition, the logs are drawn by lot, because there may be a souk hidden inside, which will slow down any competitor or even eliminate them from the competition. It’s about luck,” explains Karolína. First, she draws lines on the log, which her ax then copies. “The blade of the ax is 13 degrees, and a suk could curl or even break it. And such an ax costs up to eighteen thousand crowns,” he points out. Immediately afterwards, he demonstrates how to cut through a wooden block as quickly as possible.

First, she draws lines on the log, which her ax then copies:

First from one side, then from the other, until the log breaks. But you must not touch the wood with your hands. It normally takes her just 42 seconds in the race. He trains once a week for four hours, during which he cuts about five logs. “If it’s freezing in winter, I don’t train. I’ve already destroyed four axes on frozen wood,” she admits. He also goes to the gym and runs. He’s even more excited to show us the second discipline, when he cuts through the lying wood he’s standing on. Now she has to put on iron protectors so she doesn’t get hurt. “So far, nothing has happened to me, I just cut myself lightly in the leg once with a saw. The mother cut herself with an ax above the knee, but it was also nothing serious. But some competitors don’t have big toes because they don’t protect themselves,” he says.

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When she started, her hands were calloused and bleeding. His hands are now covered in a thick layer of skin. They somehow got used to hard work. “I came to the races in 2019 thanks to a neighbor who organizes them. Actually, sister and mom. Just last year, we all signed up under the wings of Stihl Timbersports, with whom we can also participate in international competitions,” reveals Karolína. At home, they no longer had competition in these disciplines. Four women and twenty-five men compete in the Czech Republic. So Karolína won, her sister Jana took silver and her mother took bronze. Nothing has changed about this position even last year in France at the French Championship.

From lumberjack competitions. Karolina Urbanová.Source: with the consent of Karolína Urbanová

“Our car broke down on the way, so we came there at the last minute, won and left again. The French woman was only behind us in fourth place,” laughs the Czech competitor, who competes in four to six different disciplines. During the races, she tries to demonstrate the best possible technique, achieve the best possible time in order to gain valuable points and advance to the next round of the competition. In addition to the ax, he also uses a saw. It is also very expensive, it costs around 70,000 crowns, and it can only be sharpened in Canada or Australia. “Sharpening costs 30,000 crowns including postage,” explains Karolína. The girls win either a financial reward or material gifts in the form of tools at the competitions.

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And what happens to the chipped wood? “We have to let it dry and then we heat with it,” smiles Karolína, who graduated from a secondary technical school of construction and is now studying at the Faculty of Forestry and Woodwork of the Czech Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. In short, she enjoys working with wood. “I would like to build log cabins one day. My sister moved to a friend’s place in Pilsen and we built her a house together. I really enjoyed the wooden trusses,” says Karolína. Her boyfriend also competes. They then discuss the technique together and give advice. Karolína Urbanová’s dream is to win the world championship.