Logrolling, or birling, is a sport that originated in the lumberjack/log driver tradition of the northeastern United States and Canada, involving logs in a river (traditionally) or other body of water. After bringing their logs downriver, the lumberjacks would have a competition to see who could balance on a log the longest while it is still rolling in the river.
The contest involves two lumberjacks, each on one end of a log floating in the river. One or the other starts "walking" (or "rolling") the log, and the other is forced to keep up. The contest involves attempting to stay on the log while attempting to cause the competitor to lose their balance and splash into the water. It is also commonly known as log birling.
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Log Sizes
There are four different sizes of logs currently used in competitions, though there are many other custom sizes used in training. Each log size has a number and color associated with it. In the United States the dimensions of the logs are standardized by the United States Log Rolling Association (USLRA) while CAN-LOG standardizes the sizes in Canada.
USLRA Sizes
- I Log - 15 inches in diameter and 12 feet long.
- II Log - 14 inches in diameter and 12 feet long.
- III Log - 13 inches in diameter and 13 feet long.
- IV Log - 12 inches in diameter and 13 feet long.
- V Log (proposed) - 11 inches in diameter and 13 feet long.
CAN-LOG Sizes
- I Log - 17 inches in diameter and 12 or 13 feet long.
- II Log - 15 inches in diameter and 12 or 13 feet long.
- III Log - 13 inches in diameter and 12 or 13 feet long.
- IV Log - 12 inches in diameter and 12 or 13 feet long.
J.R. Salzman is a top log roller who has won many championships. In 2006, he suffered a serious limb injury while deployed in the Iraq War.[1]
See also
- The Log Driver's Waltz, a song about log drivers and birling
External links
- United States Log Rolling Association (USLRA)
- Log Rolling from ESPN
- Good picture
- American Birling Association (logrolling.org)
- American Heritage Dictionary definition
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