Posted 5:24 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 12, 2012
UW-La Crosse students Katie and Jacob Rick know all about balance — on logs and in life.
They’ve both placed within the top five in World Championship competitions in log rolling and boom running — sports that involve the art of staying atop moving logs in water.
They’ve also mastered balance in life — both earning a UW-L grade-point average above 3.8 last semester while working and coaching log rolling locally.
[caption id="attachment_581" align="alignright" width="400" caption="In addition to log rolling, Katie Rick works as the accounting and business manager at The Waterfront Restaurant & Tavern in La Crosse and is a graduate assistant in UW-L’s Accounting Department. "]
[/caption]Jacob, a UW-L junior and recreation management major, and Katie, an ‘08 alumna and full-time student in the Master of Business Administration program, have been around logs their entire life. As early as age five, the two would spend summers challenging each other to see who could stay above water the longest on logs in the Mississippi River backwaters. While it was fun, it was also preparing them for worldwide competitions in log rolling and boom running. Log rolling is when two people try to bump each other off a log and boom running involves running on top of logs attached end to end in water.
“You get to be outside on the river all summer and call it training,” says Katie. “You’re playing on the water with some your closest friends.”
Practicing log rolling at the La Crosse YMCA on a Friday afternoon, the two siblings still play well together. They stand on opposite sides of a 12-foot carpet-covered log in the pool and rock it until the waves go wild. Their feet spin the log and as they search for the perfect second to dip a shoe in the water and splash one another. This goes on until both are breathing heavy and one finally falls off.
In the sport that originated with 19th century lumberjacks, it’s still legal to spit chewing tobacco at an opponent, notes Katie with a smile. She adds while she’ll pull some classic log rolling tricks on her brother — she has never done that.
The two take their competitive spirits all over the United States. Since they were kids they’ve competed in local, state and national competitions. Katie has been invited to very selective competitions such as the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Series and ESPN Great Outdoor Games. She notes it has led to interviews with national media such as “Mike & Mike in the Morning” on ESPN in fall 2010. [caption id="attachment_584" align="alignright" width="400" caption="In addition to log rolling, Jacob Rick coaches track at Onalaska High School and works various part-time jobs at UW-L."]
[/caption]Similarly, Jacob has placed within the top three in the World Championships and made the finals the last six years.
And while competitions are exciting, they’re also about bonding, says Katie. She has met some of her closest friends from across the world in log rolling competitions.
“You’ll be the toughest, fiercest competitors, but, at the end of the day, we go out to dinner together,” she explains.
Log rolling and boom running also bring the Rick family together as the eldest of the Rick siblings — Carl Rick, of La Crosse, also rolls. They see each other five days a week during the summers whether practicing or competing.
“We coach each other while we roll,” says Jacob. “And we get frustrated with each other because we know each other’s weaknesses.”
It’s been such an important part of their lives that Jacob and Katie want to share it with others. The two co-direct three, local log rolling tournaments each year. “We love to give back to the community and it’s fun to see the kids learn and grow,” says Katie.
In addition of finding balance, log rolling has helped Katie in other aspects of life. The sport comes up in almost every job interview, she notes. It was even her talent act when she ran for Miss La Crosse/Oktoberfest in fall 2004, rolling a 3-foot-long log on the stage in sync to music. But she found it hard to keep her eyes up toward the audience and not at her feet as usual.
“I had to be sure the log stopped, so it didn’t roll off the stage,” she says.
[caption id="attachment_564" align="alignright" width="400" caption="Katie Rick and her brother, Jacob, coach log rolling at the YMCA and for area park and recreation departments in addition to preparing themselves for worldwide competitions."]
[/caption]Her brothers still tease her about the ambitious run for the crown and being the “Lumber Jill” at the pageant. While she didn’t win the crown that year, she feels it has likely helped her land jobs.
“It takes a lot of discipline to compete on the elite level and keep your grades up,” she says.
And their life on logs has pushed them to continue to strive for the next best thing. At first neither could stay on a log more than a second and now they’re both making history in the world of log rolling and boom running. Jake looks toward goals of graduation and Katie looks to continue to excel in the field of business, and maybe eventually pursue a doctorate degree, she says.
“This sport has taught us to keep at it,” she says.
[/caption]Jacob, a UW-L junior and recreation management major, and Katie, an ‘08 alumna and full-time student in the Master of Business Administration program, have been around logs their entire life. As early as age five, the two would spend summers challenging each other to see who could stay above water the longest on logs in the Mississippi River backwaters. While it was fun, it was also preparing them for worldwide competitions in log rolling and boom running. Log rolling is when two people try to bump each other off a log and boom running involves running on top of logs attached end to end in water.
“You get to be outside on the river all summer and call it training,” says Katie. “You’re playing on the water with some your closest friends.”
Practicing log rolling at the La Crosse YMCA on a Friday afternoon, the two siblings still play well together. They stand on opposite sides of a 12-foot carpet-covered log in the pool and rock it until the waves go wild. Their feet spin the log and as they search for the perfect second to dip a shoe in the water and splash one another. This goes on until both are breathing heavy and one finally falls off.
In the sport that originated with 19th century lumberjacks, it’s still legal to spit chewing tobacco at an opponent, notes Katie with a smile. She adds while she’ll pull some classic log rolling tricks on her brother — she has never done that.
The two take their competitive spirits all over the United States. Since they were kids they’ve competed in local, state and national competitions. Katie has been invited to very selective competitions such as the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Series and ESPN Great Outdoor Games. She notes it has led to interviews with national media such as “Mike & Mike in the Morning” on ESPN in fall 2010. [caption id="attachment_584" align="alignright" width="400" caption="In addition to log rolling, Jacob Rick coaches track at Onalaska High School and works various part-time jobs at UW-L."][/caption]Similarly, Jacob has placed within the top three in the World Championships and made the finals the last six years.
And while competitions are exciting, they’re also about bonding, says Katie. She has met some of her closest friends from across the world in log rolling competitions.
“You’ll be the toughest, fiercest competitors, but, at the end of the day, we go out to dinner together,” she explains.
Log rolling and boom running also bring the Rick family together as the eldest of the Rick siblings — Carl Rick, of La Crosse, also rolls. They see each other five days a week during the summers whether practicing or competing.
“We coach each other while we roll,” says Jacob. “And we get frustrated with each other because we know each other’s weaknesses.”
It’s been such an important part of their lives that Jacob and Katie want to share it with others. The two co-direct three, local log rolling tournaments each year. “We love to give back to the community and it’s fun to see the kids learn and grow,” says Katie.
In addition of finding balance, log rolling has helped Katie in other aspects of life. The sport comes up in almost every job interview, she notes. It was even her talent act when she ran for Miss La Crosse/Oktoberfest in fall 2004, rolling a 3-foot-long log on the stage in sync to music. But she found it hard to keep her eyes up toward the audience and not at her feet as usual.
“I had to be sure the log stopped, so it didn’t roll off the stage,” she says.
[caption id="attachment_564" align="alignright" width="400" caption="Katie Rick and her brother, Jacob, coach log rolling at the YMCA and for area park and recreation departments in addition to preparing themselves for worldwide competitions."][/caption]Her brothers still tease her about the ambitious run for the crown and being the “Lumber Jill” at the pageant. While she didn’t win the crown that year, she feels it has likely helped her land jobs.
“It takes a lot of discipline to compete on the elite level and keep your grades up,” she says.
And their life on logs has pushed them to continue to strive for the next best thing. At first neither could stay on a log more than a second and now they’re both making history in the world of log rolling and boom running. Jake looks toward goals of graduation and Katie looks to continue to excel in the field of business, and maybe eventually pursue a doctorate degree, she says.
“This sport has taught us to keep at it,” she says.