Southland to play host to 'Summer of Timber'

The "Summer of Timber" is coming to the south suburbs.

The Chicago Southland Convention and Visitors Bureau recently announced the Tinley Park Convention Center will host the Stihl Timbersports 31st annual U.S. Pro and Collegiate Championship on July 15 and 16. The Timbersports Championship features top 20 lumberjack athletes in the country competing in six areas of discipline of chopping, cutting and sawing, with the winner earning the title of Top Lumberjack in the U.S.

In addition, athletes from more than 60 colleges will also compete to be crowned U.S. Collegiate Champion.

The competition is the second longest running show on the ESPN networks, and will again be broadcast this year on BC and ESPN networks.

Landing the extreme sports event is a feather in the cap for the region, according to Justin Teach, communications manager for the Chicago Southland Convention and Visitors Bureau. This is the first time the Timbersports Championship is being held in the Chicago area.

"The impact will be great for the Southland region," Teach said. "We expect to fill the 3,500 seats at the convention center as people come from all over the Midwest."

In addition to the crowds at the events, he added the estimated 10 million television viewers who watch the championships will also get to see what the region has to offer.

"With that many people watching, it would be hard to disregard the appeal of the Southland," Teach said.

Joel Koester, sports sales manager for Chicago Southland Convention and Visitors Bureau, said they spent about two and a half years working with Stihl to get the event to Tinley Park.

"The region is literally at the crossroads of the U.S.," Koester said. "This event fits with the demographics of the region, as well as our neighboring states."

In addition to the main event, the Extreme Weekend Festival will also featuring a party by co-sponsors 350 Brewing of Tinley Park and Dark Horse Brewery of Marshall, Michigan. Both brewers will debut craft beers specifically for the championships. In addition to the signature craft beers there will be extreme games as well as music and the barbecue mastery of Convention Center Executive Chef Steve Poskin.