OXFORD — The sound of chain saws — really loud chainsaws — echoed across the Oxford Fairgrounds on Friday as the 40th Annual Woodsmen’s Day kicked off at 10 a.m.

Woodsmen (and woodswomen) gathered to celebrate a heritage that dates back to long before there was an Oxford County Fair, when lumberjacks spent weeks at a time in the woods harvesting the massive forests of North America.

Woodsmen’s Day at the Oxford County Fair brought in lumberjack competitors from all of the New England states, as well as New York, Pennsylvania and New Brunswick, Canada.

David Clement, who announced the daylong event, said some of the competitions that took place Friday actually had their origins in the logging camps.

“The ax throw was recreation in the logging camps,” Clement noted as an example.

In the ax throw, a large cross-section from a tree trunk becomes a target, with a beer or soda can set into the bull’s-eye. Each participant throws a double-bitted ax from a line multiple feet away and attempts to split open the can, which sends carbonated liquid spewing and usually garners big cheers from the audience. Each player has four throws, and the highest three count toward their total score. Players earn points based on how close they are to the center. In the event of a tie, a throw-off determines the winner.

Dozens of spectators turned out to watch the competitions, which also included challenges in stock-appearing chain saw, hot saw, buck  saw, crosscut, underhand chop and tree fell.

Tim and Yvonne Roberts of Oxford said they enjoy the smaller-scale event at the Oxford Fair as compared to similar, larger events at Fryeburg.

“It’s small enough that you can see everything,” said Tim Roberts, who never worked in the logging industry. “It’s an old tradition and it’s just interesting to see a lot of the things done the old way.”

“It’s a lot less crowded (than Fryeburg),” his wife added.

Yvonne Roberts said her favorite part of Woodsmen’s Day is watching the women compete.

“I enjoy watching the women because it’s amazing how strong they are,” she said.

Event coordinator Elaine Emery has been involved in arranging Woodsmen’s Day since the 1970s. She also organizes lumberjack competitions at the upcoming Fryeburg Fair and a couple of other shows throughout the summer months. Emery said that until about 20 years ago, women’s competitions were rare in these events.

“It’s been a long haul for these females,” Emery said. “I fought tooth and nail for them to add women’s events.”

Jessica Upham, 25, of Mansfield, Conn., accidentally happened into lumberjack sports when she was a student at the University of Connecticut. She was studying equestrians when she met Shannon Strong, the coach of the school’s timber team.

“They practiced right near the horse barn, and I wandered over there one day,” Upham said.

Strong convinced Upham that the highly athletic sport would be great exercise for her, and by the end of the season, Upham said, the team had more female athletes than men. Now she divides her time between horse shows, her 30-horse facility and lumberjack competitions.

Three colleges in Maine have similar timber, or lumberjack, teams: Colby College, Unity College and the University of Maine. Clement said many young people get their start on college teams, while many of the older competitors have worked in the logging industry in some form or another. Some even own their own companies and many build their own equipment to use in competitions.

Upham said the competitors are very close because they all spend the summer competing against each other in shows across the region.

“We see the same people every weekend,” she said.

While some compete on the national, or even international circuit, doing as many as 40 or 50 shows per year, Upham prefers sticking to the shows in the Northeast region, which extends up into the Maritime provinces of Canada. Shows begin in April and finish in the Northeast with the Johnny Appleseed Festival in October, but Upham said she doesn’t go to that one because it does not include competitions for women.

The oldest competitor at Friday’s event was 82-year-old John Postemski, who lives full time in Windham, Conn., but has a camp in Raymond.

Many of Friday’s competitors were only just beginning their weekend of competition, heading to another show on Saturday at the New Portland Lions Agricultural Fair.