In the individual competitions of the open championship "Lesorub-2011", 3 Belarusian participants are leading.

September 9, Minsk /Tatyana Lobas - BELTA/. Three Belarusian participants became leaders in the individual competitions of woodcutters at the XVII open republican championship "Lesorub-2011". This was reported to BELTA correspondent by the chief judge of the competition, chief specialist of the Ministry of Forestry of Belarus, Nikolai Pototsky. The competition is held at the Logoisk forestry. Woodcutters from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Hungary, and Finland are taking part. Belarus is represented by 50 people. Today, the winner in the individual competitions was Alexander Smekhovsky, an employee of the Glubokoye Experimental Forestry of the Vitebsk State Production Forestry Regional Association (GPKHO), who scored 659 points out of a maximum possible 660. He felled a tree 1 cm from the marked stake. In second place in terms of points (658) is Valery Baran from the same forestry, who felled a tree 2 cm from the marked stake. The third result (655 points) belongs to Pavel Begunov from the Polotsk forestry of the Vitebsk PLKHO. Each of them managed to fell a tree with a chainsaw at a specific angle in the shortest possible time, so that the trunk and crown of neighboring trees were not damaged. Nikolai Pototsky noted the high level of training of Belarusian woodcutters. Assessing the overall results of the first day of the competition, he noted that many participants showed good results. "The point difference is in hundredths of a point, very close results, there will be many contenders for victory in the total points," summarized Nikolai Pototsky. For example, the representative of Estonia Tavi Erbai and the Hungarian Andras Kozak scored an equal number of points (653 each). The leader of the Finnish team, Jukka Peramaki, earned 649 points, and the ex-champion of the world lumberjack championship, the owner of the lumberjack "golden helmet," the representative of the Russian team Ilya Shvetsov, scored 612 points. According to preliminary results of the current day of the competition, the Vitebsk PLKHO team took first place in the team event, the second team of the Brest GPKHO took second place (regions had the right to field two teams each), and the second team of the Minsk GPKHO took third place. Among the guests, the teams of Hungary and Estonia distinguished themselves, taking fifth and sixth places respectively in the overall team standings for wood felling.

The **standing competitions** will be held tomorrow, September 10, at the **OSK "Raubichi"**. Forest fellers will compete in precise bucking, limbing, combined bucking, and precise sawing, as well as in the speed assembly/disassembly of a chainsaw. Additionally, a relay race will be held, where the entire chain of exercises is performed at speed. **Forwarder operator competitions** will also be organised. In addition to the main events, the organisers have prepared entertainment contests for teams and spectators. An exhibition fair of consumer goods from Belarusian forestry enterprises will be open. As **Nikolai Pototsky** emphasised, the forest fellers' competitions not only hone professional skills but also allow for the study of the experience of the best loggers from other countries. The competitions are a kind of assessment of forest felling skills according to international rules. For the participants of the Belarusian national team (which has already been formed), this is serious training, a kind of dress rehearsal before the world forest fellers' championship, which will be held in Belarus in 2012. World forest fellers' championships are held once every two years. The republican championship is held annually. Belarusian loggers show better and better results every year. New technologies, machines, and tools are emerging, enabling timber harvesting at a qualitatively new level. However, no matter how mechanised timber harvesting may be, it cannot be done without forest fellers. The quality of the finished product depends on how precisely a logger performs the bucking of a tree. The competition rules give paramount attention to occupational safety aspects. Sometimes, points gained through incredible effort, speed, and accuracy are lost due to disregard for safety measures. The loggers' championship contributes to the career guidance of young people. This is why, in recent years, the competitions have been held in city stadiums. Based on the results of the "Logger-2011" Belarusian championship, new candidates for the national team will be selected to participate in the world championship. -0-

BELTA