Born to be cutting

Australia and New Zealand lumberjacks accounted for six of the eight Springboard competitors and all three medalists in Thursday's event.

Springboarder Matt Bush, of Croghan, N.Y., who lost to eventual champion Dave Bolstad, of Taumarunui, New Zealand, said the down-under dominance is due to those lumberjacks learning springboard techniques young.

"Dave Bolstad's father was a former world champion," Bush said. "Jason Wynyard's father was a former world champion. So at age 3, they already knew more than I know about wood chopping now."

Bush will turn 37 next month.

Lighten up

Springboarder Jason Wynyard arrived in this year's Great Outdoor Games about 30 pounds lighter than last year, when he was runner-up in the event.

This year, despite faltering and winning only a bronze medal, he felt more nimble and lean. He switched to a low-carb diet, he said, which leaves him missing bread most of all.

"I went to a nutritionist back in New Zealand and he gave me a good program, a low-carb diet leading up to a competition and then like five days before a competition, high carb, before the event," the 33-year-old five-time Great Outdoor Games medalist said. "It's been good, I've been able to eat a lot of carbs. The hard part is right after a contest when you have to cut the carbs right out again."

How hot was it?

A thermometer placed on the competition stage at the Timber Sports venue, site of the Hot Saw, Springboard and Women's Endurance events, read a scorching 120 degrees.

The actual high temperature recorded by weather officials in Reno was 105 degrees.

Bolstad's long day

New Zealand lumberjack Dave Bolstad's nine-hour day at the Timber Sports venue began at 8:30 a.m. and ended nine hours later with two medals hanging around his log-sized neck.

Bolstad first competed in the Springboard competition, collecting the gold medal, and then moved on to the Hot Saw, where he picked up a silver medal.

In between were practice rounds, the fine tuning of his chainsaw, and the chance to take the stage again to collect his medals.

One for the brother-in-law

Not all brothers-in-laws are at odds, as evidenced by the camaraderie shown between New Zealanders Jason Wynard and Dion Lane.

Wynard, a finalist in the Hot Saw medal round, was put out of action after the chain of his saw came apart during the semifinals. Lane came to his in-law's aid by helping him piecemeal the parts needed to repair the saw.

In the process, he bloodied his hand but refused help from medical officials until the saw was repaired. The effort was worth it, as Wynard scored the bronze medal in the competition.

Casting event adds skills test

Fly fishing head judge John Davis was determined to make changes in this year's fly casting competition. In fact, after incorporating those changes, it's more accurate to call it a test of fly fishing skills rather than simply fly casting.

Previously, there were only tests of distance and accuracy. Added this year were tests of line management and tight loops. Davis got the idea for idea for the tight loops addition after watching well-known fly angler Lori Ann Murphy compete in a regional competition.

"She throws a beautiful tight loop and it's a casting skill you need to have," said Davis.

Anglers are required to cast through a series of three hoops, the first of which is 35 feet away and five feet in diameter. The second hoop is at 45 feet and is four feet in diameter and the third is 55 feet and three feet in diameter. Casting through one hoop is worth 100 points, two hoops 200 points and a cast going through all three hoops is worth 300 points.

This proved to be the event that earned Mike McFarland the No. 1 seed. He scored on all three casts and improved each time, casting through all three hoops for 300 points on his last cast and finishing with a total of 600 points in the event.

The next best total for three casts in the tight loop contest was 300 points by No. 2 seed Chris King. And it probably cost Whitney McDowell the top seed as the finished third overall in spite of scoring no points in the tight loop cast.

In the line management test, anglers were required to make a 30-foot cast and drift a dry fly back through a series of three pairs of sunken markers 42 inches wide in a 12-foot river section. It is a test of an angler's ability to accurately cast and manage a drag-free drift.

When the fly passed between a pair of markers, it was worth 100 points with a possible total of 300 points on each cast. No one scored a perfect 900 points in the event, but six of the 12 anglers scored 800 points, including King and McDowell.

Chuck Farneth earned an automatic berth in this year's fly fishing event based on his bronze medal performance last year. But that proved to be a disadvantage in the casting competition. All the regional qualifiers had competed in the line management and tight loop events, while Farneth hadn't.

"I tried to practice (for the tight loop) in my backyard with Sherry holding a hoola-hoop over her head," Farneth said.

Sherry is Farneth's ever-patient wife. How many times did she get hit with the fly line in this short-lived experiment.

"Several," laughed Sherry.