Wellesley Howard-Larsen (on the left) took first place in her age group at the Harold Fischer Memorial Logrolling Tournament held in New Richmond, Wisconsin on April 16. North Shore Roller teammate Lucy Shaw also placed first in her age group. About a dozen kids have been faithfully practicing through the winter at the Grand Marais swimming pool getting ready for competitions. The granddaddy tournament of them all is the Lumberjack World Championships held in Hayward, Wisconsin July 29-31.
Two members of the North Shore log rolling team traveled to New Richmond, Wisconsin on April 16 to participate in the first ever Harold Fischer Memorial log rolling tournament and came away with first place hardware.
Wellesley Howard-Larsen and Lucy Shaw each placed first in their age group. Wellesley, age 11, won the 11-13 age bracket while Lucy, age 9, won the 8-10- year-old group.
Lucy also placed second overall in the Speed Burling competition. Competitors have 30 seconds to see how fast they can spin a log in a complete circle without falling off. Lucy set a new personal best by making the log go around 38 times. First place went to a boy who was 15. He beat Lucy by just one spin.
Lucy’s dad, Barry Shaw, placed third in the adult log rolling division. Barry, like Wellesley, was injured in warm-ups. Wellesley sustained a large abrasion to her left shin (carpet burn) that needed bandaging and Barry received a large cut to the bottom of his foot during practice. Barry was forced to wear tennis shoes after being bandaged up by the lifeguard and although hobbled, competed well.
Above: Wellesley Howard-Larsen and Lucy Shaw take some time to rest in between competitions. Don’t let their innocent smiles fool you. Roll against them and they’ll put you in the drink in a heartbeat. The outdoor logrolling season kicks off in June and these girls will be ready. Left: Barry Shaw was all smiles after placing third in the adult division. Barry cut his foot on one of the logs during practice. After it was bandaged up he had to compete with shoes on, normally he competes barefoot. Barry and his wife, Vicki, both help coach the logrolling team.
The meet was held indoors at the New Richmond community center.
A dedicated group of about 12 kids has been practicing indoors two days a week this winter at the Grand Marais pool to get ready for the logrolling season. The first outdoor meet will be in June. Most competitions are held in Wisconsin but the Minnesota State Championships will once again be in Grand Marais over the Fisherman’s Picnic weekend. Eighttime world champion Jenny Atkinson coaches the team over the summer and Julie Collman and Vickie and Barry Shaw coach during the winter months. Both the Shaws and Collman also assist in coaching during the summer.
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