The King family is well known in Chadds Ford for their work in forestry through the family business, Chadds Ford Tree Services, but one family member has been blazing her very own trail.

Martha King, the daughter of owner and founder of the business Rob King, is blazing her own trail through the competitive world of Timbersports. With multiple podium wins at national and international events, Martha has chopped her way through the competition—and through setbacks, too.

Growing up in a family of arborists, Martha had a very clear plan for herself from a young age — she wanted to go to Penn State University’s main campus in State College and learn everything she could about nature. She grew up playing field hockey at Wilmington Christian School, where was an exceptional athlete and student, and when the time came to apply for college, she was accepted to the Mont Alto campus of Penn State rather than the main campus. She was devastated.

“I thought, ‘What, am I not smart enough for the main campus?’ but it turned out to be the best thing that could have happened for me,” she said. “I was used to a small school with 60 kids in the graduating class, and even the Mont Alto campus totaling 1,100 students felt like a shock to me. But ut I found my niche pretty quickly when I sought out people on the woodsmen team.”

Her father, Rob, had also competed on the Penn State Woodsmen team and she knew she wanted to follow in his footsteps, and at the time it was a good option since field hockey was not a campus sport.

“It kept me fit, kept me traveling, and out of trouble,” Martha said. “We got to travel to cut wood in college. How cool is that?”

Martha began competing with the Penn State Woodsmen team in 2007 under the coaching and teaching of Dr. Beth Brantley and Craig Houghton. She recalled traveling with the team and coaches to events in places like North Carolina and Canada, singing the song “Wagon Wheel” on repeat (the Old Crow Medicine Show version to be exact). It was a time of personal, competitive and educational growth for Martha as she earned her bachelor’s degree in animal science with minors in wildlife and fisheries and forest science.

“I believe that God’s plans are perfect, even if we are railing against something at the time and we’re frustrated and disappointed,” she said. “Coming through it, I could see that I was so blessed because I didn't get what I wanted at the time [being at Main Campus].”

The King family is still closely tied in with the woodsmen team and hosts an annual cookout for them on their family property off of Route 1.

“If we want the sport to succeed, we have to give back, and I’ve been so blessed so how can I not give back?” she said.

Top spots and event records

After graduating from Penn State, Martha moved to Germany to work on a pig farm with a family from a foreign exchange program she met in high school. After keeping in touch with the family and visiting for special events, Martha decided to go all in and become fluent in German. “When I first went to Germany, I was very shy and embarrassed about my inability to speak German well,” she said. “I didn’t want to be embarrassed or offend them, and I realized I was missing out on really great experiences because of it.”

Once Martha moved back to Germany, she immersed herself in the language and culture until she was finally able to speak to her friends in their native tongue.

“Once you get through the phase of hearing nothing but German roaring through your ears, the pieces just click and I started even dreaming in German,” she said. “Knowing another language has opened so many doors, and now I’m never afraid to walk up to someone and start talking to them, because it could really make their day!”

As Martha’s German improved, so did her competitive chopping skills. She began competing both nationally and internationally in Women’s Timbersports, earning top spots and multiple event records.

“A lot of people see me and think I’m so small or itty bitty, and I get up there and compete with excellence,” Martha said. “I hope it makes people see that they can do anything too.”

In 2021 and 2022, Martha placed first in Nationals, and came in second place in 2023.

Women’s events include Stock Saw (a chainsaw event cutting two slices of wood from a log within a 10-centimeter-wide area using a downward and upward cut), Single Buck (a hand saw about 2 meters long cuts a disc from a horizontally fixed block), and Underhand Chop (chopping through a horizontally mounted block from both sides with an axe while standing on top of it).

The events each require their own technique and precision which is critical to completing a good time, but is also very dependent on the luck of the wood block pull. Sometimes competitors end up with knotty or difficult grain in their blocks, which makes their technique and adaptability even more crucial to their performance.

Most recently, Martha competed in Sydney, Australia at the Royal Easter Show, also known as the Wimbledon of woodchopping events. Australia is considered by some to be the birthplace of Timbersports and hosts the biggest and best competitions in the sport. Australia is also known for its stubborn wood that can be infamously hard to work with.

During her work-up to the Royal Easter Show, Martha sustained a torn ligament in October and a herniated disc in January that greatly impacted her training. At first a devastating blow for her, Martha learned to find beauty in recovery.

“You have to take what you’re given and run with it, and I could only hope that my foundation I had built over the last 8 to 10 years was solid enough to come back strong,” she said of her recovery time. “I needed that moment to remember my identity is not placed in my performance. I want to enjoy what I’m doing and not put too much pressure on the performance expectations.

“I want to pursue joy in the arena, and focus on being an excellent athlete, role model and sportswoman.”

Her training resumed in February and Martha was able to have a pain-free competition in Australia, placing third in the Underhand Championship and World Title, first in the Jill and Jill Sawing Championship with her female partner, and 4th in the Jack and Jill Championship with her male partner.

Silencing the doubters

Timbersports is a male-dominated field where competitions often find the female divisions canceled due to budget cuts, yet most men Martha has encountered have been supportive and

welcoming to her in the sport.

“Some men can be chauvinistic, but most people in general think it’s really cool and get excited about it,” she said.

Once in Germany, a man scoffed at Martha’s goal to complete an underhand chop in 40 seconds — so she made sure to prove him wrong. Many of the great and legendary male competitors have given their respect and praise to Martha, building confidence for her place in the sport.

“I like to think I’ve accomplished something for women in the sport by silencing the doubters,” she said.

Martha’s mother, Katharine King, had trouble at first with her daughter’s choice of a profession due to the risk of injury. While accidents are a necessary evil of the industry, Martha has avoided serious accidents and only sustained minor cuts, but she has seen competitors lose toes via a missed chop or a deep cut by the slip of a saw. Once Katharine realized Martha’s gifts and passion for Timbersports, she was able to embrace the sport and will listen to Martha compete—she’s still too nervous to watch it.

The rest of this year holds more chances for Martha to show the world women’s place is behind an axe. She’ll be in West Virginia, Europe, and back to Australia growing the sport and representing Chadds Ford on her competition jersey.

“I’m very fortunate to be a part of the Chadds Ford community,” she said. “People always recognize me and wave when I’m in our trucks, and the generosity and goodness of the people here has been overwhelming. I love my community and I want to do my best for them. It’s an honor to represent and compete for the community.”