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CORVALLIS - Power equipment will yield to axes and crosscut saws as forestry students from throughout the West arrive at Oregon State University for three days of old-time logging competition on April 3-5.

Teams from six states will struggle for the Western Forestry Clubs Regional Meet Championship, in day-long competition starting at 8 a.m. each day. The events will be at Cronemiller Lake in OSU's Peavy Arboretum along Highway 99W, about five miles north of Corvallis.

All events are free and open to the public, but there is a half-mile hike on a dirt road to the lake. For access information, contact the OSU Research Forests recreation office at (541) 737-6702.

The annual meet, which is held in a different state each year, pits OSU against logging teams from California, Colorado, Montana, Idaho and Nevada. The OSU team is the only logging sports team in Oregon, said Christie Reichle, an OSU graduate student from Monmouth.

"Thursday starts off the competition with water events such as birling (logrolling) and men's and women's single buck," Reichle said.

Pole climbing, ax throwing, choker-setting and sawing are among the featured events Friday. Saturday will feature a second heat of many events, as well as the vertical speed chop, jack-and-jill buck and the ax throw finals.

Speed, accuracy and safety are hallmarks of the events, Reichle said.

Academic prowess comes into play in a number of technical events, including wood identification and estimating lumber yield from timber stands.