Lack of exposure at the top level is all that is holding Europe back from becoming a huge force in international sawing and wood chopping competitions.
That's the firm opinion of world single saw champion Faavae Sefo who has just returned home to Masterton after spending several weeks holdingintensive coaching sessions in Poland, Sweden, Holland, Germany and the Czech Republic.
It was the fourth European trip for Sefo but his first as world champion and while he has always been welcomed with open arms he did notice a difference this time round.
"They were a bit more in awe of me I suppose but that didn't last long. It's nice to have a world title but it doesn't change me as a person and they soon realised that."
Sefo has always been impressed by the physical attributes of the top European sawyers and axemen and is adamant they will make a huge impression on the world stage if they are regularly attending competitions each season, as is the case for their counterparts in New Zealand and Australia. "We basically get the chance to compete every weekend but if they get even four or five big meets each year they are doing well," Sefo said. "Technically they are not quite there yet but they are improving. It's the lack of competition which is their biggest drawback."
While the next couple of months will see Sefo take a break from competition, he is determined to defend his world single saw title in Sydney next year, a title which saw him capture two major trophies at the 2012-13 Wairarapa Sports Awards last week, Senior Sports Personality of the Year and supreme champion, sharing the latter with shearing administrator Willie Buick.
"It's great to have one world title, it would be even better to have two," Sefo said. "The first one took 15 years to get, I'd like to think the second would come a lot quicker than that."
Sefo sees the decision to go to Australia a week before the world champs as a key component in his title win in that it gave him more opportunity to train on the firmer wood they used in major competitions. Not surprisingly, he intends to follow the same routine next year.
