When it came down to the clock, it was Moss Vale’s Lucy Backhouse, 20, from the South Coast and Tablelands Axeman’s Association who proved slightly faster in the women’s underhand handicap.

Backhouse was up against Cheyanne Girvan, 25, from the Hall and District Axemen's Club, and won $200.

Backhouse was 11 when she first started woodchopping, following in the footsteps of her father, who has been involved in the sport since the age of 16 and now acts as her coach.

When asked what she loves about woodchopping, Backhouse said “it’s so different and because it’s so easy to make a mistake, it challenges you every time.”

Stamina and technique were the two factors Backhouse highlighted as key to being successful.

She usually trains every day in the lead up to big competitions like those at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.

Backhouse’s performance at the Field Days was particularly impressive, considering she hadn’t been able to put in much training beforehand, focusing instead on studying for upcoming exams for her law degree at the University of Wollongong.

Backhouse won the ladies underhand handicap at the Easter Show this year and is aiming for the championships next year, particularly since the prize money for the women’s competition has been increased to match the men’s.

Backhouse could be in to win $2200 and an axe: that’s up from $500 for women previously. The increase is thanks to women like herself calling for prize parity in the sport.

Both she and Girvan said they would like to see more girls and women in woodchopping and said it’s less intimidating than when they first started.

Girvan has been woodchopping for seven years and got into the sport as a way to meet people when she moved away from home in Bombala NSW to university in Canberra. 

She was the first female on the NSW under 21s team, but is now one of six in her club. Saturday was her first comp in 12 months, returning from a serious knee injury.