The Cumberland family has always been connected to forestry, but they’re gifted in timber sports.
Ben and Nathan Cumberland won bronze in France in November at the STIHL Timbersports World Championship alongside the two other New Brunswickers on the team, Nicholas Russell and Marcel Dupuis – known as the “beast from the east.”
“The STIHL timber sports is sort of like the Olympics of the lumberjacking world,” said Nathan Cumberland.
The two boys were coached by their father, Rod Cumberland, who is known in Charlotte County as the ‘Charlotte County Chopper.’ Both of them said training for these events is a big commitment.
“This year leading up to the championships, it was a lot,” said Ben Cumberland, who also won the bronze medal in the individual all-around competition. “Of fine-tuning, working on my mental aspect of competing … But I watched a lot of videos and techniques. World-class choppers and sawyers and trying to pick up things that I could do. Obviously, there’s the fitness aspect, so I was in the gym as much as I could.”
The two brothers are just 18 months apart, leaning on each other as teammates and competitors.
“We were very blessed to be close in age and it was always a friendly rivalry,” said Nathan Cumberland. “We’re watching the other person saying, okay, maybe try this technique … just helping the other person. And then it shows. It’s great too because we can help each other at different events and even at the worlds too.”
Nathan and Ben are accomplished timber sportsmen, winning multiple individual and team championships and medals.
Their father, who taught them the love of timber sports, also competes but is mainly there to support the two in their fight for the championship.
“It was a comfort and a relief knowing that, okay, we walk off the stage, we’re handing him our axes and then we come back to mark off our blocks,” Nathan Cumberland said. “We know they’re sharpened and ready to go and we can go back on the stage.”
Rod Cumberland is proud of his two sons.
“For me, the proudest thing is doing this as a family,” he said.
He recalls a woman, from Switzerland, who organizes some of STIHL Timbersports events saying she’d finally met his two boys.
“She said: I finally met both of your boys … and they’re good competitors, but they’re really nice people. That’s what matters to me. They’re good human beings,” Rod Cumberland said.
All three share a strong love of family – including their child who they saw are starting to practice their own competition skills – at home – with toy saws and axes.
Canada beat out New Zealand in the final round, securing third place in the Team World Championship 2024 – in Toulouse, France. All of Team Canada was from New Brunswick.
- with files from Vicki Hogarth
