European Championship in Forestry Skills

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The European Championship in Forestry Skills is a competition in forestry skills among students from European forestry and agricultural colleges, staged each year since 2002. The students are formed into teams and tested in various disciplines.

Forestry economic sector

Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, using, conserving, and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. The science of forestry has elements that belong to the biological, physical, social, political and managerial sciences.

Contents

Goals

The short‐term goal of the competition is the presentation of the latest achievements in logging techniques, logging machinery tools and loggers safety equipment and a comparison of these at an international level in theory and practice.

Logging the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto transport vehicles

Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the process of cutting trees, processing them, and moving them to a location for transport. It is the beginning of a supply chain that provides raw material for many products societies worldwide use for housing, construction, energy, and consumer paper products. Logging systems are also used to manage forests, reduce the risk of wildfires, and restore ecosystem functions.

The long‐term aim of the competitions is to increase the appreciation of forest work and to draw general attention to forestry training and the forestry industry on both a national and international level. These competitions play a particularly significant role in creating international contacts between students and schools, which contribute to the furthering peaceful coexistence between nations.

Structure

This competition is a team competition between schools of the EU. The best team from each country may attend the competition. Students who are in forestry training and between 16 – 25 years of age are eligible to compete. A team consists of four participants. Each participant must compete in theory and practice components.

In planning and carrying out the competitions, special attention is paid to safety aspects in working techniques.

The competition consists of two parts. First part is demonstrating specific knowledge of working with a chainsaw and consists of five disciplines (Fitting a new chain, Bucking by combined cut, Precision bucking, Undercut and Felling Cut, and Limbing). [1]

A chainsaw is a portable, mechanical saw which cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain that runs along a guide bar. It is used in activities such as tree felling, limbing, bucking, pruning, cutting firebreaks in wildland fire suppression and harvesting of firewood. Chainsaws with specially designed bar and chain combinations have been developed as tools for use in chainsaw art and chainsaw mills. Specialized chainsaws are used for cutting concrete. Chainsaws are sometimes used for cutting ice, for example for ice sculpture and in Finland for winter swimming. Someone who uses a saw is a sawyer.

Log bucking

Bucking is the process of cutting a felled and delimbed tree into logs. This can be a complicated process because logs destined for plywood, lumber, and pulp each have their own price and specifications for length, diameter, and defects. Significant value can be lost by sub-optimal bucking. Cutting from the top down is overbucking and from the bottom up is underbucking.

Felling the process of downing individual trees

Felling is the process of cutting down individual trees, an element of the task of logging. The person cutting the trees is a feller.

The second part is demonstrating knowledge about forests. This part takes place over an approximately 3 km long orientation course, within which are 16 points. At each point the competitors must demonstrate their knowledge of forest surveying, or recognize tree and animal species, forest pests and diseases of trees. [2] The winner is the one country whose competitors achieve the highest number of points from both parts.

Point scoring

Technical events – individual

Event IFitting a new chaintotal 120 pts.
Event IIBucking by combined cuttotal 160 pts.
Event IIIPrecision buckingtotal 200 pts.
Event IVUndercut and felling cuttotal 660 pts.
Event VLimbingtotal 400 pts.

Forestry course - team

Event VIForestry coursetotal 6000 pts.

Host nations and prize winners

yearorganizer of the competition1st place2nd place3rd place
1.2002AustriaAustriaFinlandLithuania
2.2003FinlandEstoniaFinlandAustria
3.2004EstoniaEstoniaSloveniaAustria
4.2005LithuaniaAustriaGermanySlovenia
5.2006AustriaAustriaSloveniaGermany
6.2007BelgiumAustriaItalyLithuania
7.2008NorwaySloveniaAustriaGermany
8.2009GermanyAustriaSloveniaPoland
9.2010LuxemburgAustriaSloveniaEstonia
10.2011PolandAustriaGermanyPoland
11.2012SloveniaSloveniaAustriaNorway
12.2013AustriaSloveniaAustriaItaly
13.2014ItalyAustriaItalySlovenia
14.2015EstoniaGermanyEstoniaItaly
15.2016AustriaAustriaSloveniaItaly
16.2017SwitzerlandAustriaSwitzerlandRomania
17.2018HungarySloveniaAustriaRomania
18.2019SwedenAustriaItalyRomania

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References

  1. "XIV European Championship of Forestry Skills" . Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  2. "Regulary(sic): European Students Championships in Forestry Skills: 3.6 Event VI: Forestry Course" (PDF). Retrieved 15 May 2015.
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