The WSU Logging Sports club is working on its chops. About 10 WSU students in the club practice sawing, chopping and climbing trees, while boning up for spring competitions, said President Shelby Fowler, a junior construction management major. To prepare, students practice underhand or vertical chopping techniques, and try to improve their speed and efficiency to use fewer cuts in competition.

Club members say it's harder than it looks.

"It's actually fairly difficult. You can't just swing at a log and have it work," Fowler said. "You have to learn where to hit the log, where to saw, where to stand and when to breath."

Everyone can join the club and those who do pick up fairly quickly, Fowler said.

"Anybody can do it. You don't have to be a 6-foot bearded guy in flannel," he joked.

The club is looking to recruit more members, though practices are at a standstill because of shut-down facilities, he said. Until competitions begin in March, club members are volunteering at professional logging shows, checking out equipment and meeting people in the business. In the spring, everyone in the club can compete in every competition.

"It's a whole new experience," Fowler said. "A lot of people join just because it sounds cool, and you just get really into it. It's not like playing basketball. You're doing your own thing, but you're part of the team."

Junior member Kyle Johnson, a political science major, said the club is good for former high school athletes who'd like to get back into competitive sports. He especially likes how the logging competitions give him a chance to travel around the region.

"It's something competitive to do," he said. "I tell people, it's the opportunity to travel. I just want to go to new schools and meet people, and compete again with a specific goal."

For many, the uniqueness of the required skills and techniques of logging is the biggest challenge. Practices are laid-back, but the sport takes a lot of physical ability, said junior Trevor Lewis, club vice president and a civil engineering major.

"I had a never heard of it before I joined the team," he said. "There's a lot more technique than it seems."

For more information on WSU Logging Sports, e-mail loggersports@wsu.edu or visit loggersports.wsu.edu.