Before travelling to Missoula to defend its title, Flathead Valley Community College’s national champion logger sports team is hosting its annual Stumpjumper Days competition at the school’s Logger Sports Arena on April 20.
Stumpjumper Days showcases the state’s rich history of forestry and logging as participants compete for the Bull of the Woods, Belle of the Woods through a series of logger events. FVCC has hosted the annual competition since 1972, with the exception of 2006 when the new logger sports arena was under construction.
Since its inception in 1984, the FVCC squad has won 14 first-place trophies at the Association of Western Forestry Clubs (AWFC) Conclave, the largest logger sports event in the Northwest. FVCC is the only team to win four consecutive Conclave championships (1988 – 1991). It also is the only team to capture the Conclave title five years in a row (1996 – 2000).
Last year, FVCC won the national championship against 14 colleges and universities at the 73rd annual AWFC Conclave. FVCC was one of only three two-year colleges to compete. This year’s AWFC Conclave is in Missoula, April 23-27.
Stumpjumper Days is free and open to the public and will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The arena is located on the first road north of the college’s Kalispell campus and east of Hutton Ranch Plaza on Highway 93. In addition to Stumpjumper Days, community members will have the opportunity to watch the team conclude the season as it will perform free demonstrations at the annual Family Forestry Expo held on Mother’s Day weekend in Columbia Falls.
For more information, visit the team’s website.