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Women show off woodchopping and sawing skills at Royal Adelaide Show

Woodchopping as sport has long been associated with men but a growing number of women are now displaying their skills at the Royal Adelaide Show.

The competitors are still called axemen but the women are chipping away at the gender imbalance.

"I would say the number of women has increased 200-300 per cent in the last five years," secretary of the Australian Axemen's Association Mike Fullgrabe said.

One competitor Kerry Rouse took to the sport two years ago after watching her husband Scott compete.

"He asked me to be involved in the Jack and Jill event (which is a log sawing competition) and it has gone from there," she said.

Ms Rouse, who is a police officer, entered the open under-hand event at the royal show and competed against the men.

She might have finished last but earned loud applause from the spectators for her determination.

"Being the first South Australian under-handed cutter goes a long way, so I think the crowd is getting a good taste of women being involved," she said.

Woman wins single-handed sawing

The sawing competitions attract the most females.

New Zealander Rochell Molan has taken out one of the show's blue-ribbon events with victory in the single-handed sawing competition for 300mm logs, snaring a $500 prize for her efforts.

Mike Fullgrabe said the growing number of women was vital for the sport.

"It all helps broaden the appeal of the sport, which in turn helps attract spectators and sponsors," he said.

Amelia Karcher became a competitor after her partner took up the sport and she quickly discovered the high level of commitment needed.

"It is a fairly expensive sport and you need to [train] regularly to improve fitness and technique," she said.

For months ahead of the Royal Adelaide Show, Amelia Karcher and Kerry Rouse train every Sunday morning at a boot camp with the other axemen to ensure they are ready for competition.

They may be slowly changing the face of the sport but it seems there is little they can do about being called axemen.

"What are you going to do?" Ms Karcher laughs. "It is already printed on the shirts and it's been that name for 180 years so you might as well stick with the term."

  • Watch more about the axemen (and women) on 7.30 SA on Friday night*