THE Stihl Timbersports World Championship takes place in Toulouse, France on 8 and 9 November this year, and the athletes who will represent Great Britain in the team event have now been selected.

After going head-to-head against each other as rivals in the British Championship earlier this year, the top British athletes will now have to work together if they want to repeat their success on the world stage.

British Pro champion Glen Penlington from Knighton, Wales took his third British title in a row in June at the Royal Three Counties Show, but it was his impressive times in the Underhand Chop, Single Buck and Standing Block Chop that guaranteed him a place in the team.

With four other places on the team to be filled, including a reserve, the decisions in the rest of the selection process needed more consideration. But through analysis of each of the discipline times from the British Championship, the rest of the team was selected. 

Along with Penlington, Rob Chatley from Hanley Broadheath in Worcestershire, Graham Turner from Penicuik, Scotland, Tom Redmond from Bere Regis, Dorset and George Spencer from Hereford all made the cut, meaning that the British team for the 2024 World Championship is the same as the team that travelled to Stuttgart for the 2023 World Championship. 

Vicky Tween, Stihl Timbersports team manager, said: “Individually, they are all really strong athletes, so it’s always great to see what they can do when they come together. Last year didn’t go as planned for the team, but it was a useful learning experience, and I’m certain they will improve this year.”

The World Championship can be watched live on the Stihl Timbersports YouTube channel on Friday, 8 November.