Nordic athletes ready for season as this year’s TIMBERSPORTS® competitions are presented
After last year’s crowd party at the TIMBERSPORTS® World Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden, extreme sports athletes face a new season of action, strength and precision. For the Swedish athletes, several international and national competitions await, and based on last year’s performances, there are significant medal hopes. In particular, sights will be firmly set on a podium place during the World Championships in Stuttgart in November.
Falun, Sweden, will host the first Nordic Cup competition on 26-28 May, marking the start of the Nordic competition season in TIMBERSPORTS®. The tournament brings together Nordic athletes in all competition classes – Pro, Rookie, Intermediate and Women – and includes four rounds of competitions stretching all the way through to the end of September.
The highlight of the Nordic season takes place on 11-12 August in Elverum, Norway, where a Nordic TIMBERSPORTS® champion will be crowned. The Nordic Championships are also the last chance for Nordic athletes to climb the European rankings, which determine who will get to travel to Stuttgart to compete in the TIMBERSPORTS® World Championships 2023 on 3-4 November. In order to guarantee a place in the Individual World Championships in November, the best athlete from each country needs to finish in a top eight position in the European rankings. For Sweden’s Ferry Svan, it also represents a chance at revenge, after the 26-year-old failed to qualify for the individual competition in the 2022 World Championships.
“It’s going to be great to be competing again. During the pre-season I have been training and competing in Australia. I learned a lot there, especially technical details, and I’ve incorporated that into my training for the season,” says Ferry Svan, who continues:
“I’m aiming to win the Nordic Cup and the Nordic Championships and to be on the podium during the World Trophy. This year the goal is also to represent Sweden in the Individual World Championships and finish in the top three. I hope that those of us in the national team can also achieve a new record time of under one minute in the Team World Championship and finish higher than last year.”
Last year’s historic season
Last year’s season was historic, as it was the first time a women’s class had been included in the Nordic competitions. The season also ended with Danish athlete Felixia Banck becoming the first woman ever to compete in a TIMBERSPORTS® World Championship.
“I’ve been training a lot and preparing for a new season, and now I’m really looking forward to the new season getting underway. My goal and that of the Danish national team is to beat last year’s times and get even better,” says Felixia.
Nordic athletes compete against the world’s elite
In parallel with the Nordic competition season Swedish athletes will also be competing internationally. The international TIMBERSPORTS® competition season kicks off on 9 June. Athletes from all over the world will gather in the port of Rotterdam for the World Trophy. The crowd-friendly Trophy format means that the athletes compete in duels, with four heats conducted one after another and in the fastest possible time. The same weekend, and in the same place, the Rookie World Championship will be taking place, where Swedish junior athlete Edvin Karlsson will compete for the title of world champion.
Nordic athletes will compete here in 2023:
- The first round of the Nordic Cup will be held in Falun on 26-28 May.
- The world elite will gather in Rotterdam for the World Trophy on 9 June. Swedish Rookie athlete Edvin Karlsson will also compete in the Rookie World Championship in Rotterdam.
- The Nordic Trophy takes place in Transtrand on 17 June. The competition serves as a qualification round for the European Trophy.
- The Nordic Cup continues with round two in Malung on 21-22 July.
- The European Trophy event will be held on 30 July in Poland.
- The third round of the Nordic Cup will be held in Orsa on 5-6 August.
- On 23-24 September, the Nordic Cup will be decided by the fourth round in Svenljunga.
- 11-12 August the Nordic Championship takes place in Elverum, Norway.
- On 3 September, the European Nations Cup will be held in Seefeld, Tyrol.
- This year’s World Championships will take place in Stuttgart, Germany, on 3-4 November. The team competition will be held on Friday and the individual competition on Saturday.
The full TIMBERSPORTS® schedule is available here: https://data.stihl-timbersports.com/Events
Find more news about TIMBERSPORTS® Sweden here.
