By Eric Baxter
Editor

Abby Hoeschler is the distilled essence of an old logging camp skill, sans the plaid shirt, burly build and axe. But Hoeschler, a petite, blonde-haired senior at Concord’s St. Paul’s School still retains the hard will and unflagging determination embodied by those long-gone loggers and river men, and it’s that refusal to give up in the face of quizzical looks and skeptical comments that has driven her to become a national log rolling competitor and a world champion boom runner.

It’s also what’s driving her to bring the esoteric art and sport of log rolling to the Northeast.

Kids watch as Anna Sigel, 9 (left), goes against her sister Eliza, 6, during one the Manchester YMCA’s log rolling classes. Abby Hoeschler, seated, is bringing the sport to New Hampshire as part of her senior project at St. Paul’s School in Concord.

“It’s a lot harder than people think,” said Hoeschler, 18. “Well, staying on is a lot harder than people think.”

Hoeschler spoke about the history of the sport as a group of about 10 kids, between the ages of 6 and 14, wait their turn to walk out on a 14-foot cedar log, carpeted for traction, floating the Manchester YMCA’s pool. A handful of parents look on, and a few adults watch with blank expressions. Most of the adults there are old enough to remember ABC’s Wide World of Sports and the summer sports offerings, which included log rolling. The event was among the more popular events.

Hoeschler said it was a Wisconsin native, Tony Wise, who first revived the art and popularized it through network television. Before Wise formalized the sport, log rolling was a local phenomena, a holdover from when logs were cut in the state’s northern forest and floated local rivers by the thousands, before being shipped out by rail and steamer. The giant floats of cut timber were managed by the most skilled of the lumberjacks, who could manage to keep their balance and work on the shifting floes of wood, where one misstep meant grave injury as the giant trees ground together under their own weight and could easily crush limbs. Many an inexperienced man also fell between the logs and under the water, never to be seen again.

When the drive was over, the lumberjacks set up competitions simulating the log drive and log rolling, as well as the ability to run from floating log to floating log, or boom running, were major events. As forestry changed and rivers were no longer the main way to bring the timber harvest to market, the inter-camp competitions became town competitions and almost died out. It was kept alive by a few dedicated natives with ties to the lumbering past.

Hoeschler’s mother Judy, a seven-time world champion, was one of the younger people to take an interest in the sport. Her father Jay was also inherited an interest. However, rather than simply keeping the sport as a hobby, Hoeschler’s mother developed a program through the local YMCA in LaCrosse, Wisc., and log rolling became as accepted as soccer and football. Indeed, that first log rolling class was one of the most profitable for the Y, taking in $11,000 one year.

Hoeschler, following in her family’s footsteps – her two sisters and younger brother are world champions in their age class – would like to start a similar program in the Granite State.

“There’s always a lot of interest. It’s definitely a spectator sport,” said Hoeschler.

While fun to watch, competing is all together different. In log rolling, two competitors stand on opposite ends of the log, which is free floating in the water. The athletes roll the log forward and back with quick foot movements, trying to unbalance their opponent and launch them into the water.

Log rolling requires a competitor to be light, as well as fit. Athletes need a sense of balance and the ability to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances as to log bobs and twists in the water and their opponent shifts their weight, stance and the direction of the log.

Unlike most sports, the two competitors are physically connected through the log making for a unique circumstance. Cody Marchand, 13, who was taking the introductory course with his brother Nathan, pointed out another wrinkle in the log roling challenge.

“You really have two opponents. First is the guy on the log with you. The second is the log itself. It’s always trying to roll you under.”

The two teens had progressed from a few fractions of a second, to a record of about 10 seconds each on the logs.

“We saw this on ESPN,” said Nathan. “When we heard they were doing it here, we had to try it.”

“It’s really challenging, but you get better with time,” said Cody.

New introductees to the sport are often skeptical. Among the skeptics was Manchester Y aquatics director Laura Leary, but Hoeschler won her over, as did the aspects of the sport that mesh with the Y’s mission.

“This is definitely a confidence builder and that is one of the character development traits we stress here for kids,” said Leary. “There’s a high value in confidence and self-worth.”

As she spoke, waves regularly sloshed over the pool’s concrete deck as kids flew off the log into the pool. But they always got right back on, even jockeying for a closer slot in the line.

“I was a little skeptical at first. But (Hoeschler) sent us a video and was persistent. Once we cleared up the safety issues and saw it could be done without any injuries, we said, ‘Sure, why not?’ I think when word of this gets out we could be on the bottom floor of an up-and-coming sport.”

Hoeschler, who started the program as part of her senior year individual project, said she has the same hopes. Rather than simply demonstrating her odd passion, she said she would like to make the Y program, as well as a similar program at the Concord Y, a regular swim program offering.

In the meantime, a competition between the Manchester and Concord log roller groups is tentatively set for November. Looking further, Hoeschler would like to see the sport grow to have regional competitions between the Mid-West and the Northeast.

And further?

“My goal is to one day see this at the Olympics,” she said.

For more information, visit the American Birling Association Web site at www.logrolling.org. This site also contains a tutorial section.