AN up-and-coming East Coast sawyer is preparing to try his hand at the competitive sport of woodchopping.
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Six months ago, in a self-confessed drunken state, St Helens' Jason Helsson stuttered to Australian champion sawyer and close friend Joe Rattray: "I could be a champion sawyer".
After months of early morning gym sessions and afternoon sawing practice, Helsson and Rattray took the East Coast sawing community by storm.
Now, Helsson is seeking a new challenge and hopes the same hard-working approach can see him become the top woodchopper at April's Easter Pyengana Chops for Charity event.
"I'm a competitive person - I like to test my mettle against everyone else," he said.
"[The transition] has been a little bit hard because I've never tried anything like this, but Joe's father, Les, has been extremely supportive.
"Every morning we're up at 6.15am and in the gym. We're getting full-on with it."
Following the Chops for Charity event, Helsson aims to balance both sports, with the goal for him and Rattray to take out the 2016 Sydney Royal Easter Show two-handed sawing record.
