INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — “Timber” Tina Scheer, founder and owner of the “Chics with Axes” lumberjills lead her highly experienced team of women athletes in several logging sports.
Scheer called the events the “Olympics of the Forrest” on Friday night at the Indian River County Firefighters’ Fair.
A small crowd gathered in anticipation of the lumberjills’ competitions, but the crowd quickly grew as the sound of chainsaws and cheering ripped through the fairgrounds.
The lumberjills’ 30-minute show included Power “Hot” sawing, axe throwing, crosscut sawing, underhand chopping, log carving, and log rolling.
But the show was more than a competition, it was a full-blown, well-scripted comedy that kept the audience laughing and engaged for the duration. The lumberjills each took turns passing the microphone to explain history behind the events, rally the crowds, and razz one another all for the sake of entertainment.
Scheer said she began logrolling when she was 7 years old and traveled with her family who all competed in logging games across the globe. Growing up, Scheer said she was the “token female” on her family’s otherwise all-male lumberjack team.
Approximately 20 years ago, Scheer was inspired to launch “Chics with Axes” and the group has been travelling the world, winning awards ever since.
Scheer said her career has allowed her to traverse the globe several times over. Beyond her lumberjill credentials, Sheer was a castaway on “Survivor: Panama Exile Island” the popular CBS reality survival show, and is a cast member of National Geographic Channel’s “Ultimate Survival Alaska.”
During the log carving demonstration, Scheer used a chainsaw to comically carve a rabbit into a miniature chair fit for small child.
After a little prompting, 4-year-old Hugh Sherlock of Natick, Mass., was pulled from the audience and planted himself on the chair during an audience participation portion of the show.
Though Sherlock was a little shy, he said the show and his new prized chair were “awesome” and he was ready to get back to the rides. His 7-year-old brother, Frank Sherlock, was also very impressed with the lumberjills and eager to continue on into the fair’s attractions.
“It’s always fun being the participant,” said Sherlock’s mother, Margaret Squair. “We’ve been coming to this fair for three or four years, it’s part of our annual vacation,” Squair said.
She added her family was going to spend the rest of the evening riding the fair’s rides before having to return home to Massachusetts on Saturday.
The Chics with Axes will be delivering their educational and entertaining shows daily near the front entrance of the fair grounds. A fast-paced, action packed, entertaining for the entire family.
