Enthusiasm, strength of spirit, perseverance: how was the V Championship in wood picking among the media

Anniversary, V Championship in wood picking among the media was held on the shore of the Vyach reservoir. This year, the competition brought together 37 teams – representatives of republican and regional media, press services of ministries and departments, bloggers. The strongest and most enduring, masterfully owning not only the word, but also the axe, were determined in the nominations “The Ring of Wood in the Presidential Way”, the pick of firewood among men and women, the cutting of logs with an axe, as well as in relays and competitions “One blow!” and “Test for strength”. Numerous spectators and fans could try their hand at cutting logs “by eye”, tugging sleds with firewood and other fun activities.

- It is a pleasure to meet you in this beautiful place, on the shore of a picturesque pond, for the fifth time. Thank you for supporting the trend set by the President. Could we have thought, starting this impromptu holiday, that in five years we will have a large-scale, virtually unprecedented championship, which has no analogues in the world? I congratulate all of us on that. Participants and guests were shown a video of President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko in his small homeland, together with his team, cutting firewood. “So that journalists know that they are not the only ones working,” the President said. Having completed the pick of firewood, Alexander Lukashenko signed an autograph on the axe. I give my axe to the worker, Belarus (the brand of domestic axes that MTZ produces). - Editor's note, he said. - Hey, reporters. Hello to the journalists! They're good! This is solely in their honour.”.

The honorary mission to raise the flag of the competition went to the winners of last year’s championship – the team of the TV company “VoenTV”. This is a new tradition of the tournament. And the Chairman of the Minsk Regional Executive Committee Alexei Kushnarenko presented a recognizable mascot of the championship - it became a beaver, which personifies hard work, natural wisdom, and even works with wood. The Judicial Commission was headed by Minister of Forestry Sergey Uldinovich.

The knock of axes, the fury of fans - a unique atmosphere was woven from the unity of colleagues, excitement, strength of spirit, perseverance. The mood was shared by First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Vladimir Pertsov. He stressed that the championship annually creates a special atmosphere of unity of the media community of all regions of Belarus

- And picking firewood is an interesting, fascinating occupation. Like sports, but it seems a useful skill that can be useful. Especially those who were born in the city, never cut wood and do not understand what it is. For them, it is a hobby that captures and unites, gives an adversarial spirit, because participants compete both in speed and as a stick.

The First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration noted that the President added to the firewood of representatives of the media sphere: We are trying to multiply and preserve this tradition. Every year more and more teams from the regions. Colleagues from friendly countries also train, and this is a completely new occupation for them. I feel like this festival has always been there. We gather and cut wood for not just the fifth year, but, it seems, as long as we remember. And every year the skill grows. Look at the results, and these are journalists, not foresters or athletes who do this professionally.

So many guests and participants came to the fifth championship that there are not enough places on the glade near the Vyach reservoir. We should probably look for something new, Vladimir Pertsov summed up.

While journalists, including the team of the publishing house “Belarus Today”, competed with each other, the guests of the championship could also find interesting activities. For the first time, two girlfriends, Elizaveta Kostyukevich and Alexandra Nesterovich, were on the site. They took part in an interactive session where they had to cut a log of a specific thickness:

- Unexpectedly, we successfully completed this task! We will definitely be back next year!

- We come primarily for fresh air and good mood. We show children what forestry is, we teach them about real life, as the President says. They are urban, so they need to see it with their own eyes and try it. The winners of the V Championship in wood chopping among the media, the winners of the main prize - an axe autographed by the President and his working gloves - became the team "Voenkor" TV company "VoenTV". And in the team relay, the first place is in the ROO Patriots of Belarus.

Photo by Elizaveta Kobetskaya, Kirill Stasko and Belta.