Lauren Tulk has always been involved in competitive sports, but she never imagined she would ever become a professional lumberjack.
“It was either that or field hockey, and I thought you know what let’s try the lumber jack thing out. It was a lot of fun and was pretty competitive,” she said.
Tulk is a member of the West Coast Lumberjacks – one of the largest lumberjack shows in Canada. She said being a female, in a male dominated sport, does have its challenging moments.
“There is that, I don’t know if I can do this. I don’t know if I can do what the guys can do. But I’m pretty competitive, so I like to try anyway.”
Harrold Starrett, also a West Coast Lumberjack, said Tulk adds a special element to their show. “Young girls are watching like it’s a fun show, like they want to get into it,” he explained.
“Lauren, she can do anything. She can climb. She can log roll. She can chop. She can saw. She can do anything you want.”
There is a misrepresentation that lumberjacks only need to be strong, said Tulk, it is also about precision and technique.
She understands a lot of women get intimidated by the sport, but she says she’s an example of how it can be done.
“I think a lot of women do think that and that’s unfortunate. I think there should be way more women in the timber sports. It’s a lot of fun and it’s not as hard as you would think.”
The West Coast Lumberjack show is on at 5pm, 7pm and 9pm on Exhibition Grounds.
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