Bend filmmaker rolls on fading sport: Log-rolling

Although it might look nothing short of goofy — back in the day — log-rolling was a serious business.

From the tops of floating logs, champions were crowned. And in Lewiston, Idaho in the 1960s, a dynasty was born.

“Four women, who in a 14-year period won 11 world championships,” Bend filmmaker Dave Jones said recently.

Decades after the women won those titles, Jones knew he was rolling on a good story.

“This is a glimpse into our cultural past in the Pacific Northwest,” Jones said. “With this generation, the story is gone.”

So Jones is preserving it all in a new documentary, “Queens of the Roleo.”

He’s tracked down all those champions. He even found the man who coached them all — Roy Bartlett is now 87 years old.

Before Jones got his feet wet, he said, he didn’t know anything about the sport. Now you could call him an expert.

“It is balance, it is speed and it is coordination,” Jones said. “Simply, it’s trying to knock someone off a rolling log in the water.”

Jones said the story is about much more then the sport.

“It’s about log-rolling, but it’s really about these people and that’s what interested me. How did they achieve this?” Jones said.

That answer is coming some time this spring. Jones said he plans a DVD release online and several showings at Bend theaters.