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Dear Log Rolling Friends and Family,
I was very surprised and excited to be named President of the USLRA board of directors. Log rolling has become a central part of life in the Birdsong family. The boys always look forward to practice, and take any opportunity to promote and talk about the sport. Attending the Lumberjack World Championships in Hayward has become our yearly family vacation and it is something around which we plan our free time. All pro log rollers are household names and we often have discussions about their various talents.
A little about me: My wife Shary and I live in Onalaska with our three boys, Garrick, Connor and Larsen. I teach orchestra at Holmen High School and Middle School, and I am an active freelance jazz and classical bass player. I am not a log roller, but I have tried to roll a few times. My longest time on a log is about half a second. I will leave the rolling to those who know what they are doing.
I would like to thank Shana Martin for her many years of dedicated service to the USLRA. Shana does everything with 100% effort. Watching her in action is impressive and exhausting! Her passion and energy will be missed, but she assured me that she would continue to work hard on behalf of our sport. I would also like to thank all the board members, both present and past. Your commitment has helped shape this great sport.
An organization like this cannot survive without the help of very dedicated volunteers. Your help at tournaments and in the background are what make this organization work and it is very much appreciated. We are all in this together, and I know we all want the sport to be the best it can be. Please get involved and let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely, Troy Birdsong USLRA President
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Survey Responses and 2014 Changes
Thank you to all of the 2013 USLRA Members who took the time to fill out the member survey, helping guide the 2013/2014 board to making some very important decisions for the 2014 season.
Results of the member survey can be seen here.
Based on these survey results, a few important decisions were made, which will be in effect January 1st, 2014. The updated rules and tournament format document will be posted on the website by January 1st, 2014 but a summary of key decisions are listed below.
1. "Rolling Up" and the blurred lines between U17, Semi Pro, and Pro:
New Wording:
"U17 Athletes may only "roll up" at a level three tournament in which a Semi-Pro division is not offered and there are fewer than 3 athletes in U17Boys/Girls. If prize money or elite prizes (excluding medals or trophies) are accepted athlete will not be able to return to amateur status."
Semi- Pro Definition: These are serious rollers who want to improve and compete at major tournaments. Will roll in spikes when such equipment is available. After two world championship wins, athlete must advance to the elite division by the following season.
2. Round Robin Format: The USLRA Website has a nice round robin template, yet no clear definition of how what tie breakers to use. The USLRA will do some research into other sports and finalize a definition to be listed on the tournament organization document before the 2014 season.
3. Log Time Limits. Much time was spent discussing potential time limit changes to logs to a set limit for each log. The final decision, based on survey results and comments, was to keep the current time limits. This issue will be reviewed again at the end of 2014.
4. Seeding. The question was if the elite division should only seed the top 8 present or if not all 8 are present, bump lower ranked athletes into the top 8. The USLRA will look into other sporting practices and have final decision made before the 2014 season begins.
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2013 World Champions
Congrats go out to our ILRA/USLRA 2013 WORLD CHAMPIONS!
Men's Elite Log Rolling: JR Salzman- Menomonee Falls, WI
Women's Elite Log Rolling: Gretchen Greene, Madison, WI
Men's Boom Run: Charlie Fenton - Hayward, WI 13.702 sec
Women's Boom Run: Abby Hoeschler - Minneapolis, MN 14.643 sec
Semi Pro Men: Spencer Wilkinson - Madison, WI
Semi Pro Women: Ellie Davenport - Hudson, WI
U17 Boys: Shane Burns - La Crosse, WI
U17 Girls: Lauren Hallett - Lee, NH
U13 Boys: Tanner Hallett - Oconomowoc, WI
U13 Girls: Livi Pappadopoulos - La Crosse, WI
U10 Boys: Dominic Wilson - Grand Marais, MN
U10 Girls: Morgan Thill - La Crosse, WI
U7 Coed: Reese Sheehan - Hayward, WI
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US Log Rolling on Facebook
"Like" us on facebook for event updates, photos, and results! Also, feel free to share your own photos and log rolling stories!
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Log Roller Bio: Larsen, Connor, and Garrick Birdsong
 | | Connor, Garrick, and Larsen Birdsong |
Age: Larsen-12, Connor-14, Garrick-16
Hometown: Onalaska, WI
Current Log Rolling School: La Crosse YMCA, Onalaska Waterfront(summer), Ericson Pool - La Crosse (summer)
Why did you start log rolling? Our mom was a lifeguard at the Y in La Crosse. Her boss was Barb Rick, Carl, Katie, and Jacob Rick's mom, and she encouraged our mom to have us try log rolling, so she did and we never stopped.
What is your favorite competition? Larsen-Three Rivers Roleo; Connor-Hayward; Garrick-Namekegan
Who is your log rolling mentor? Larsen-Sue Bulk; Connor-Katie Rick; Garrick-Emily Christopherson
What other hobbies are you involved in? Larsen-Violin, French Horn, Show Choir, Drama, Cross Country; Connor-Cross Country, Badger sports and NFL football; Garrick-Cross Country, Orchestra, Youth Symphony, Solving Rubik's Cubes
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Polar Plunge Winter
Log Rolling Championships
Who: All Elite Log Rollers are invited to be Freezin' For A Reason!
What: US Log Rolling's first ever WINTER Log Rolling Championships! A hole will already be cut in the ice for the Polar Plunge, so why not have a log rolling competition?
Where: Half Moon Beach - Eau Claire, Wisconsin
When: Saturday February 22nd, 2014. "Warm-Ups" will run from 1 - 1:15pm and competition will begin promptly after that.
Why: The US Log Rolling Winter Championship, sponsored by the Eau Claire Area Sports Commission, will be an unranked, non-super series competition to raise money for 1,000 Eau Claire area Special Olympics athletes.
Details: The Eau Claire Area Sports Commission has approved $2,500 in prize money for the Elite rollers while the Special Olympics will provide long sleeve shirts for all competitors to reward us for travel and braving the cold temperatures..
The winner may not be the best roller, but the athlete who can handle the cold water the best!
Due to the frigid temperatures, a waiver must be signed by all athletes and parents of minors.
Modified Rules:
Matches will be determined by either 2 out of 3 falls or by the roller with the most falls when one forfeits due to cold temps.
Prize money will be the following for the Men's and Women's divisions: 1st: $300 2nd: $250 3rd: $200 4th: $150 5th: $100 6th: $100 7th: $50 8th: $50 9th: $25 10th: $25
Polar Plunge Details: Rollers are encouraged to also participate in the Polar Plunge by registering at www.SpecialOlympicsWisconsin.org/plunge/eauclaire . Minimum to Plunge is $75 (separate from log rolling registration fee). The more money you raise, the more prizes you earn! More details can be found on the registration website.
Contact tournament director Shana Verstegen with log rolling questions E-mail: shana@shanaverstegen.com Contact Karen Kraus regarding Polar Plunge questions. Email: kkraus@specialolympicswisconsin.org or 715-833-0833
Register Here!
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