The Work Climb Event tests the competitor’s ability to move about a tree using a tree-climbing rope and harness. Competitors start in the tree and are required to visit five work stations throughout the tree to perform a specified task after which they must ring a bell. The various stations in this event represent work being done in and around the tree, such as pruning. Each station requires the contestant to demonstrate the skills and abilities needed to perform safe and efficient tree work.
The stations include handsaw, limb toss, pole pruning, limb walk, and landing. Each of these stations simulate tasks that are performed by tree workers when working aloft.
The event format is as follows:
The contestant starts from a staging area near the top of the tree.
The contestant must visit four or five work stations, performing a specified task at each station.
Each station is equipped with a bell or horn; the contestant must ring the bell or sound the horn before continuing to the next station.
The contestant may complete the stations in any order.
STATION DESCRIPTIONS
The Handsaw Station – The contestant must:
Reach the station
Install his or her lanyard
Call for “stand clear”
Ring the bell with a handsaw
The Limb Toss Station – The contestant must:
Reach the station
Install the lanyard
Call for “stand clear”
Ring the bell with a handsaw
Receive confirmation that all is clear from the head judge prior to throwing a limb at the target on the ground. The contestant gets two attempts to toss the limb in the target.
The contestant receives:
3 points if the limb lands fully within and remains within the target on the first throw
2 points if the limb lands within and remains within the target on the second throw
0 points if the contestant misses on the second throw
The Limb Walk Station – The contestant must:
Walk out on the limb starting from a predetermined mark on the limb
Install the lanyard
Call for “stand clear”
Ring the bell with a handsaw
Walk back in on the limb, returning to the predetermined mark, without activating the buzzer. (Activating the buzzer indicates that the climber has put too much weight on the limb and not in
the climbing system (the rope) which may be unsafe in the work environment.)
The Landing Station – The contestant must:
Call for “stand clear”
Sound a horn or bell by hand
Perform a controlled
descent, landing on a target
on the ground
Time stops when the
contestant has landed, is in a standing position, and has
fully disconnected the
climbing line and friction
hitch from the tree climbing
saddle/harness.
SCORING
The Work Climb Event is worth up to 80 points. Scoring for this event is based on completion of stations (35 points), discretionary points from the judges (15 points), and time (30 points). No points are awarded for any task not completed correctly. There is a predetermined time limit for this event.
