When 16-year-old Kallie steps onto her log and lifts her axe, a crowd has already gathered. Like her father, grandfather, and great-grandfather before her, woodchopping is part of her family’s legacy. However, Kallie is breaking new ground as the first female in her family to take up this rugged sport.
Kallie is part of a growing wave of women entering competitive woodchopping, eager to prove their place in an arena traditionally dominated by men. “But I’m trying to represent the younger girls because it’s a male-dominated sport and I think having a role model really helps,” she said.
Growing up in Tasmania, the birthplace of competitive woodchopping, Kallie first picked up an axe at 14. Despite initial worries that she might “take a toe,” her father was thrilled when Kallie became the first female in the family to compete. “My dad was so excited because I’ve always been my dad’s son in a way, and now we get to compete together,” she shared.
Breaking Barriers in a Male-Dominated Sport
While a few still doubt women’s place in the sport, Kallie said the support she receives keeps her going. “I’d be walking into a toilet at a show and people would say, ‘Oh, I saw you out there. Don’t give it up,'” Kallie recalled.
Last year, Kallie welcomed two local girls her age into the sport and recently competed against a newcomer in her 40s. “Before them, it was just me and the world champion, Amanda Beams, competing,” Kallie said. “On the log we’re very competitive, then we come off and give hugs and say, ‘You did so well.'”
Beams, 54, who also started competing as a teenager, described the growth as a turning point. “I see it as, we’re a flower, we’re a bud, just starting to open,” she said.
“It’s the most rewarding feeling to defeat the log, you’ve gone through it, you did that, no-one else,” Kallie said.
New Opportunities and Challenges
The growth in female participation is driving significant changes, with competitions across the country now introducing events that were once only open to men. “Timber sports are about to introduce a new discipline for women — which is the standing block. The springboard is coming too. This whole new world is opening up,” Beams announced.
Prize money is also catching up. “When I first started wood chopping, you were cutting for $250 at a royal show for first prize. Now, the world title at Sydney Show in the women’s underhand is $6,000,” Beams noted. This shift reflects the rising visibility of female competitors and the public’s growing interest in the sport.
“And luckily for us, the public love it. They just love watching women wood chopping and sawing,” Beams added.
The Road Ahead
Today, Beams holds five world titles in the underhand chop and two Jack and Jill sawing titles with her husband, fellow world champion Dale Beams. She’s also the captain of the Australian women’s woodchopping team. “We’re not at the level of the guys, but the competition now is in a really good place,” she said.
Kallie plans to compete interstate for the first time this year, a step her great-grandfather could never have imagined. As the sport evolves, the inclusion of women and the introduction of new events signal a promising future for competitive woodchopping.
