Keswick Ridge brothers compete at lumberjack competition

Two brothers from Keswick Ridge will compete this weekendagainst each other at a professional lumberjack competition hosted by the Central New Brunswick Woodsmen's Museum in Boiestown.

Nathan and Ben Cumberland will compete in 10 events, and compete against each other in all of them.

"We are a fairly competitive family," said Nathan. "We train together at home. One guy will hear the thump of the axes or the saws and it automatically brings him out."

Nathan, 19, won first place at the 2015 Stihl Timbersports Rookie World Championships in Florence, Italy earlier this year and his older brother Ben, 21, is also a provincially-ranked woodsmen and current reigning Canadian rookie champion.

"Once you get up and get ready to chop, it's just like anywhere else," said Nathan about his success in Italy. "I had a good performance and did very well. It was a special feeling."

Information Morning - Fredericton12:14Woodsmen

Brothers Ben & Nathan Cumberland take a whack at each other in this weekend's lumberjack competition in Boiestown.
The two will compete in competitions like the springboard, standing block chop and underhand chop.

"All the events that we've done mimic the events that were done by the loggers [of] old," said Nathan. "The underhand chop we stand on a log and chop down between our feet, then turn over and chop the other side."

The brothers said their father was the one who got them into the sport when they were young.

They said he'swon the Maritime title about a half-dozen timesand was still competing when they were growing up.

"He and mom would just bring us to the shows and give us a little axe and a block. He didn't pressure us. He let us have fun at it. When I turned 16,God flipped a switch and I started being able to chop really well," said Ben.

Both say that there's more to competing in lumberjack competitions than being strongand tough.

"In a lot of the events, the big burly guys is just not enough. You have to have good technique," said Nathan.