The wood chopping competition is always a popular event at the annual Glenreagh Timber Festival and this year was no exception. Axemen from around the state came together to compete in several woodchop events with the main event of the day, the Kevin Smith Memorial NSW 250mm Combo Championship. Eight keen axemen lined up to compete in the State championship event. Grafton axeman Chris Owen was one of the contenders. The 28 year-old has been chopping since the age of 12 and was inspired to take up the sport by his grandfather, who Chris said was also a good chopper. Last year Chris won a world title in the ‘Standing block division’ in Christchurch, New Zealand. Chris said that he is looking forward to his next event in August at the Royal Queensland Show, which is affectionately known as the EKKA. Chris, along with the other axemen, showed off their chopping skills as they battled it out for the State title. Blake Marsh from Millfield, took out the event with Dan Shipman of Glenreagh 2nd, Chris Owen in 3rd and Blake’s brother Brendan Marsh in 4th place. Blake said that he had just returned from competing in Germany, in the Stihl rookie series. “I’m heading off to New Caledonia to compete again in two weeks time,” Blake said. The young axeman said that he was very happy with his win on Saturday. “It feels pretty good to win [the NSW Championship],” Blake said. “I won it two years ago, so this is the second time I’ve won it. “There was a fair bit of training that went into winning it this year.”