Campbell River's Dave MacLeod spent a busy weekend helping organize the annual Salmon Festival Logger Sports competition at Nunns Creek Park. On Friday he picked up a hammer to help five-year-old Tyler Yon drive nails in the youth event, then grabbed a double-buck saw and filled the breach for a shorthanded team in the annual Media Challenge relay.
At the close of Sunday's main show, he doffed a floppy hat and tourist garb for a comedy routine that ended with his fall from a 90-foot pole.
Oh, and in between he managed to win the overall logger title, snare a world championship and, perhaps most impressive of all, leave announcer Ben Lefler speechless.
Nicknamed "The 'Stach" by Lefler, a loquacious New Zealander, MacLeod stunned the Kiwi and most of his fellow competitors during introductions by jogging into the logger sports grounds clean-shaven for the first time in anyone's memory.
Lefler quickly recovered from his shock to bestow a new nickname: Dave "No Mo" MacLeod, and the games were on.
MacLeod won the men's Axe Throw, the Grand Prairie Accuracy Cut and the open Choker Race, which was held as a world championship event. He added top-three finishes in four more events to claim the overall points title among the men.
Another world championship went to Stirling Hart of Maple Ridge and Jesse Whitehead of New Zealand, who teamed to win the Open Two-man Relay in the standing and horizontal chop. Whitehead doubled up with a Canadian championship in the open Springboard Chop, and Carson Bischoff of Celista, B.C., won the Canadian title in the open Obstacle Pole event.
Danielle Tkach of High Level, AB, was the women's overall winner, with wins in the Underhand Chop, the Single Buck and the Jack & Jill Double Buck, teamed with Hart. One Canadian championship was held in the women's competition, with Katelan Steward of Chetwynd winning the title in the Choker Race.
The competition drew an international field with competitors from across Canada, the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. Several North Islanders held their own, with Port McNeill in particular represented by three separate winners.
Nick Russell won the open Stock Saw, the open Single Buck and teamed with Joe Whalen to claim the open Double Buck. And teenage sisters Allison and Dawn Briscoe each got wins, with Allison claiming the Ladies Axe Throw and Dawn teaming with Steward for top spot in the Double Buck.
2015 Salmon Festival CANLOG competition
At Nunns Creek Park
Open Unlimited Hot Saw
1. Stirling Hart, 7.05 seconds; 2. Nick Russell, 8.89; 3. Karl Bischoff, 8.96; 4. Rob Waibel, 9.12; 5. Eric Hoberg, 13.17.
Open Stock Saw
1. Nick Russell, 6.21; 2. Jesse Whitehead, 6.27; 3. Cassidy Scheer, 6.53; 4. Karl Bischoff, 7.54.
Open Two-man Relay*
1. Stirling Hart/Jesse Whitehead, 1:26.21; 2. Dan Chisold/Rob Waibel, 1:59.03; 3. Carson Bischoff/Karl Bischoff, 2:05.08; 4. Dave MacLeod/Nick Russell, 2:17.09; 5. Danis Yarjau/Norm Goudie, 3:35.15.
Grand Prairie Accuracy Cut
1. Dave MacLeod, 16.5; 2. Jesse Whitehead, 19.9; 3. Nick Russell, 21.12; 3. Doug Folkins, 23.24.
Open Chair Carving
1. Carson Bischoff; 2. Dave MacLeod; 3. Leo Coudreau; 4. Brad Laviolette; 5. Dan Chisold.
Open Single Buck
1. Nick Russell, 28.49; 2. Norm Goudie, 31.23; 3. Dave MacLeod, 31.62; 4. Ben Lefler, 36.11; 5. Stirling Hart, 43.05.
Open Obstacle Pole**
1. Carson Bischoff, 13.53; 2. Rob Waibel, 14.06; 3. Dave MacLeod, 14.23; 4. Nick Russell, 15.76; 5. Katelan Steward, 17.03.
Open Axe Throw
1. Dave MacLeod, 15 points; 2. Dave Flannigan, 13.14; 3. Derek Pouchnik, 13.12; 4. Nick Russell, 12.12; 5. Danis Yarjau, 12.08.
Open Tree Climb
1. Stirling Hart, 18.75; 2. Cassidy Scheer, 22.23; 3. Nick Hall, 23.23; 4. Eric Hoberg, 28.05; 5. Dave MacLeod, 29.00.
Open Double Buck
1. Nick Russell/Joe Whalen, 7.45; 2. Roger Briscoe/Dave MacLeod, 8.59; 3. Derek Pouchnik/Rob Waibel, 9.53; 4. Norm Goudie/Doug Folkins, 12.12; 5. Carson Bischoff/Jesse Whitehead, 12.68.
Open Springboard Chop**
1. Jesse Whitehead, 1:05.63; 2. Stirling Hart, 1:08.11; 3. Rob Waibel, 1:30.93; 4. Dave MacLeod, 1:34.98; 5. Dan Chissold, 2:06.64.
Open Hot Saw (140cc)
1. Karl Bischoff, 7.08; 2. Dave MacLeod, 7.59; 3. Nick Russell, 11.00; 4. Robert Berg, 11.79; 5. Danielle Tkach, 12.38.
Open Choker Race*
1. Dave MacLeod, 33.4; 2. Chase Gunderson, 35.82; 3. Jesse Whitehead, 40.61; 4. Denis Yarjou, 46.95; 5. Cassidy Scheer, 47.26.
Women
Stock Saw
1. Janice Burns, 7.00; 2. Janice Boyko, 8.05.
Underhand Chop
1. Danielle Tkach, 1:06.5; 2. Brenda Pouchnik, 1:28.92; 3. Katelan Steward, 1:44.4; 4. Anita Jezowski, 2:05.71; 5. Janice Burns, 2:17.84.
Axe Throw
1. Allison Briscoe, 13 points; 2. Megan Aasen, 11; 3. Katelan Steward, 7; 4. Danielle Tkach, 4.
Double Buck
1. Dawn Briscoe/Katelan Steward, 13.41; 2. Allison Brisco/Anita Jezowski, 13.52; 3. Casey Lefler/Michelle Lefler, 16.74; 4. Sarah Mooney/Brenda Pouchnik, 17.31; 5. Kat Spencer/Danielle Tkach, 17.70.
Choker Race**
1. Katelan Steward, 23.57; 2. Janice Burns, 25.99; 3. Danielle Tkach, 28.87; 4. Kat Spencer, 29.22; 5. Anita Jezowski, 30.21.
Single Buck
1, Danielle Tkach, 24.14; 2. Allison Briscoe, 25.32; 3. Anita Jezowski, 25.49; 4. Brenda Pouchnik, 25.8; 5. Katelan Steward, 26.73.
Mixed
Jack & Jill Double Buck
1. Danielle Tkach/Stirling Hart, 7.75; 2. Sarah Russell/Nick Russell, 9.25; 3. Allison Briscoe/Carson Bischoff, 9.63; 4. Michelle Lefler/Ben Lefler, 11.03; 5. Brenda Pouchnik/Derek Pouchnik, 11.44.
*World championship event
**Canadian championship event