New Zealand wood-chopper Anne Paterson gives inside look at sport ahead of first female World Trophy event

New Zealand wood chopper Anne Paterson. Photo / Supplied

Female wood choppers will for the first time compete parallel to the men at the New Zealand Timbersports National Championships.

The winner in this weekend’s event will book a ticket to the inaugural female World Trophy event in the Netherlands.

Anne Paterson is gunning for that title, which she says would be “a dream come true”.

“It’s been a long time coming,” she said. “There’s been that many more females competing in wood chopping since I started and to be able to go overseas and to be able to represent my country would be one of the best things I was able to do, especially with the sport I love.”

The 31-year-old, born and bred in Greymouth, got involved in the niche sport eight years ago after a casual invitation from a friend.

“We were having a beer at the pub and he said, ‘you should come along and have a go’.

“I later found out that my grandfather and his brothers used to competitively wood chop and worked in the timber industry. So, that was pretty cool.

“I’ve basically been chopping ever since.”

Paterson moved to the Gold Coast seven years ago and used her passion as a means to make friends in the new city, eventually going on to become one of Australia’s top axewomen, winning several state and regional titles.

In September, she topped the Queensland ranks after taking out the Ladies Champion of Champions trophy in Brisbane.

Heading back to her homeland to compete in her first national title tournament, Paterson looks forward to the “unreal” opportunity and hopes to spark a new perspective for her code.

“A lot of people think you need to be really strong to be able to do that and we’re a little bit crazy because we’re wielding really sharp instruments.”

However, Paterson explained how safe the sport can be.

“You look at some of the people that do compete, men and women — they vary in sizes and strengths and they’re all as good as each other.

“You could be a petite, tiny little female, or you could be big and strong, but people win on the day depending on how great their technique is.”

Paterson said there’s a lot of training that goes into the sport. “It’s not your average ‘go to the gym or go for a run’.

“You use a lot of muscles and it’s a very abnormal technique ... you can’t just pick up an axe like you’re chopping firewood, there’s a lot more to it.”

She also said it can be a costly sport. “The equipment is pretty niche, you don’t go to Bunnings and buy an axe or a cross-cut saw.”

Equipment can cost up to $3000.

Costs can hit harder for competitors who don’t inherit equipment from family members, as it’s common that generations of families fill the sport.

“We might not have as many competitors as the mainstream sports but it is because it’s typically more family-participated sport.”

Paterson will compete against families and friends from Friday for that national title.

“We all get along pretty well but at the end of the day we’re not there to have a cup of tea, we’re there to win.”