70th Annual A.W.F.C. Conclave Champions - March 2009
The University of Montana Woodsman Team recently took part in the 70th Annual Association of Western Forestry Clubs Conclave hosted by Humboldt State University and held in Eureka, California. The conclave is a weeklong event that featured natural resource based field trips to the logging sites, Redwoods National Park, Humboldt State Park, and a mill tour. The team spent the last three days of the week competing in the logger sports events that included chopping, sawing, pole climbing, ax throwing, burling, and choker racing. UM finished the week with great success, winning the show overall, and having both the top male and female competitors.
The AWFC conclave started in 1939 in Missoula, where the University of Montana Forestry Club hosted the event. Since then the conclave has changed greatly. Now the event features mainly logger sports competitions with less emphasis on forestry related matters. The UM team won the Conclave this year in California and was awarded a new crosscut saw and a new chainsaw. UM also hosted this event last year in Missoula in which they also were champions of the show. The woodsman team consists of about 25-30 individuals in majors ranging from forestry to education. The team took part in two shows this fall in Corvallis, Oregon, for Oregon State University, and traveled to Ft. Collins, Colorado, for a chopping show which Colorado State University hosted. This spring the team will travel to Moscow, Idaho on April 4th for the University of Idaho show, and then to Kalispell on the 18th for FVCC. UM will host its annual Pro-Am show on April 24th and 25th at Fort Missoula. The whole community is invited to come out to the Fort as the show in going on in conjunction with the annual Forestry Day at Fort Missoula on the 25th.
