A man in his early 20's is recovering at home this week from a self-inflicted axe wound at last Sunday's logger sports competition in Gibsons.
Kyle Wilton was airlifted to hospital in Vancouver after he swung an axe that failed to make solid contact with the vertical pole he was chopping, and instead landed on the inside of his left foot.
Others entered in the logger sports ran to Wilton's aid, put pressure on the wound and tried to keep him comfortable while an ambulance was called.
Sea Cavalcade organizer Conchita Harding helped clear the ramp down to the dock for the ambulance and the volunteer announcer kept spectators informed and calm.
"Everyone responded very quickly. At the speed of light, the fire department, ambulance and RCMP were there," Harding said.
Paramedics were shuttled to the barge by boat and competitors lent a hand transporting Wilton on a stretcher.
Once on shore, an air ambulance landed on the beach in front of Gramma's Pub to transport Wilton quickly to hospital.
Organizers have been told that Wilton had to have a bone removed and his foot put into a cast before he was released. They were also told Wilton will recover fully from his injuries.
Wilton was not wearing shoes at the time of the accident; however, organizers are doubtful a shoe could have lessened the blow of the freshly sharpened axe that was ultimately stopped by the barge the logger sports were set up on.
"Where [the axe] hit, it would have gone through even a steel toed boot. It was the axe hitting the deck that finally stopped it," logger sports organizer Tom Stenner said.
He said letting Wilton take part without any footwear was an "oversight by everybody."
"It will be different in the future. There will be a rule to have shoes on," he said.
But Stenner sees a bigger overall problem that he feels contributes to the safety of the event.
"The budget has been pushed back and back and there is no prize money anymore for the logger sports, so the professionals are not coming out," Stenner said. "The events are the same, but the people competing are just people who want to come out and have a good time. When the professionals are there you get a really, really good show and they know what they are doing. I will bring it up and mention it at our next meeting."
