More than a Sport: Competing at the 2017 International Lineman's Rodeo

Oct. 16, 2017

The job of a lineman is a matter of life and death: safety must be paramount as line workers maintain and restore power for modern civilization to function. And once a year, the best of the best come together to compete for the honor of being called world champion in the same tasks they perform all year round.

The 34th annual International Lineman's Rodeo kicked off at 7 a.m. local time on Oct. 14, 2017, in Bonner Springs, Kansas. More than 1000 competitors converged on the rodeo grounds, bringing along colleagues, families and friends to cheer them on.

Journeyman linemen competed in events such as pole climb, hurtman rescue, removing and installing shunts and replacing crossarms. Apprentices competed as individuals in the same events in addition to a written test.

Following are scenes from the day of the rodeo. For more coverage on the safety conference and the expo, see the Electric Utility Operations page on the T&D World website.

About the Author

Amy Fischbach | Amy Fischbach, EUO Contributing Editor

Amy Fischbach is the Field Editor for T&D World magazine and manages the Electric Utility Operations section. She is the host of the Line Life Podcast, which celebrates the grit, courage and inspirational teamwork of the line trade.  She also works on the annual Lineworker Supplement and the Vegetation Management Supplement as well as the Lineman Life and Lineman's Rodeo News enewsletters. Amy also covers events such as the Trees & Utilities conference and the International Lineman's Rodeo. She is the past president of the ASBPE Educational Foundation and ASBPE and earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from Kansas State University. She can be reached at [email protected]

About the Author

Nikki Chandler | Group Editorial Director, Energy

Nikki has 28 years of experience as an award-winning business-to-business editor, with 23 years of it covering the electric utility industry. She started out as an editorial intern with T&D World while finishing her degree, then joined Mobile Radio Technology and RF Design magazines. She returned to T&D World as an online editor in 2002 and now leads the content for EnergyTech, Microgrid Knowledge and T&D World media brands and supports Endeavor’s energy events, Microgrid Knowledge and T&D World Live. She has contributed to several publications over the past 25 years, including Waste Age, Wireless Review, Power Electronics Technology, and Arkansas Times. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.S. in journalism from the University of Kansas.

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