Log rolling boom runners return victorious

“Marcel swooped in from out of nowhere, a virtual unknown and surprised all of us, including himself. He won the World championship!” she gushed.

Seventeen-year old Marcel Scott claimed the boom running win from Jamie Fischer, a third generation boom runner and log roller who holds seven world titles.

The Scotts’ cousin, Barrington’s own fifth-generation logrolling legend Darren Hudson, beat Tyler Fischer in the Men's Division to bring home his third consecutive World Championship.

April Scott earned third in the masters log rolling and her son Dakota placed sixth out of 18 in the Boys under-13 category.

A week later, on the July 27 weekend at the Lumberjack World Championships in Hayward, Wisconsin, Hudson scooped the Pro Log-rolling title from Stillwater’s Jamie Fischer. Marcel Scott placed third in the boom run in Hayward.

Burlin Nickerson, formerly from Barrington and now living in British Columbia placed fifth in the speed climbing event.

April Scott is already planning for next year.

“We now know what we have to do to get better or maintain those titles. Out in Wisconsin and Minnesota it’s lumberjack country,” she said.

“They have log rolling schools out there. The kids take part year round. The local YMCA sponsors a log rolling school. The kids that Dakota log rolled against were just unreal.”

Scott said that the lath-turned logs were different than the sawn ones they practice on in Barrington.

“Those are white cedar, they ride higher in the water and for the kids there is a carpet on them, so they don’t get ‘spiked up’ nor have shavings on them to slow them down in the water. They turn really, really fast. And you have to wear different footwear,” she said.

Scott plans on trying to obtain similar logs for future practice but for now is still savoring the wins.

“We were pretty happy. I’ll tell you another thing, we would never have got there if it wasn’t for our sponsors and the municipality,” she concluded.