Overview:
The Logging Show starts at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, July 27. People can sign up to compete in ax-throwing, bucking, and log rolling.
Outside, adjacent to Harriet Hall, rocks line a water-filled pit to reduce drainage. A crowd gathers in this part of the fairgrounds better known as the Logging Area during the Southeast Alaska State Fair.
Floating inside the pit is a 20” diameter spruce log. On opposite ends, over 12 feet away at the pit’s edge are two competitors facing each other. A judge with a public address system stands nearby.
“On your mark, get set, and roll,” he bellows.
The competitors step onto the bobbing spruce and battle to stay on the log by sprinting, kicking, and using a variety of techniques to win.
The sport of log rolling has simple rules: first one that falls off loses, and the best out of three moves on in a bracketed-style tournament. There are about a dozen signed up to compete this year.
Cosmo Fudge has won the Southeast Alaska State Fair’s Log Rolling Competition the past five years in a row. He’s determined to win his sixth championship.
“You’re just trying to stay on longer than your opponent because you’re never really in control out there, you’re just trying to ride it out and get off the log.”
The 37-year-old carpenter’s key to winning is basic.
“The secret sauce is to not be afraid of getting wet. Like as soon as you fall in once, you’re not afraid of falling in anymore,” he said.
According to the sports governing body US Log Rolling Association, the unique competition preserves the rich history of lumberjack sports in North America. Log rolling promotes balance, leg and core strength, cardiovascular endurance and overall functional coordination.
“It’s one of those kinds of dying [sports] that used to be in a lot more locations than it is now. And I’m really glad to have it at the Southeast Alaska Fair. I think it’s pretty nostalgic,” Fudge said.
He recently returned from Juneau where he competed at Gold Rush Days, a weekend celebrating the past, present, and future of Alaska’s mining and logging industries. He was undefeated until he faced an opponent from the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show.
Fudge used to compete in several lumberjack events.
“Now that I’ve got a little kid I’m not going to do all the chainsaw events anymore. My wife hates watching me doing it so I think I’m gonna do the log rolling this year. But I am looking forward to it.” .
Fudge was introduced to lumberjacking at a very young age.
“My dad was a logger, and I grew up on float camps when I was a kid in the 90’s. And then when I got out of high school, I worked for Boyer Towing and I was paid to raft logs. And so I’m very familiar with running around on logs that are floating.”
This experience gives Fudge an advantage compared to others but he admits he doesn’t practice.
“I just have fun with the skills I’ve learned in my 20s.”
Fudge doesn’t have a training plan or workout routine.
“If I’m under 200 pounds, I consider myself to be ready for it right now. I’m like 196 [pounds]; I think I’m as good as I’m gonna get… At my age, I better stretch.”
The Logging Show starts at 1:00 p.m. sharp on Saturday, July 27. People have the opportunity to sign up and compete in any and all categories: ax-throwing, bucking, and log rolling.