The spirit of the International Lineman’s Rodeo has lived on for 40 years. It’s a legacy and tradition that has connected lineworkers worldwide through competition and camaraderie.
Dale Warman, one of the founders of the Lineman’s Rodeo and a 2019 inductee into the National Lineman’s Hall of Fame, says the idea for the Rodeo was inspired by the cowboys, but is all about the line trade.
Every event includes skills that lineworkers routinely perform out in the field — whether it’s scaling a wood pole, working with hot sticks and rubber goods, tying a knot or replacing a blown fuse, tie or cutout.
“When we started this, it was all about one thing — it was by linemen, for linemen and about linemen,” he said. “The whole idea was that linemen and their families could enjoy themselves, get away from work and compete in a friendly competition to show their families what they do. It worked well, and it got
bigger and bigger.”
While the event launched with only a dozen journeyman teams in 1984, the event has experienced explosive growth to well over 1,000 competitors. In 2024, 227 three-member journeyman teams and 380 apprentices showcased their skills in the hurtman rescue, pole climb and mystery events on the Rodeo grounds.
One of those journeyman teams consisted of three brothers — Jordan, Keith and Tate King — from Xcel Energy in Colorado. Tate King says it’s awesome to be able to be on the same team with his brothers, not only in real life, but also in the trade.
“My dad was a lineman also, and I think he’s proud of us,” King said. “We work together, we go through practice and try to get ready for the Rodeo.”
Connecting the Global Line Trade
Due to back-to-back hurricanes in the Southeast just before the event, not all the competitors were able to travel to Kansas City for the Lineman’s Rodeo Week due to ongoing rebuilding and restoration. Those apprentices and journeymen lineworkers who were able to compete, however, kicked off the competition a little before 7:30 a.m. on an unseasonably warm October morning at the Agricultural Hall of Fame grounds in Bonner Springs, Kansas.
Following the American and Canadian national anthems and moment of silence, the announcer signaled the competitors to head to their first events for a full day of competition. Like last year, all the events had to be conducted in full fall restraint, and no free climbing was allowed.
The competitors could also compete in five different divisions — investor-owned utilities; REA, REC and electric cooperatives; municipals; contractors; and military. Within the journeyman bracket, those competitors aged 50 years old and older could also compete at the senior level on journeyman teams. Throughout all the events, the volunteer judges evaluated the competitors on five main criteria — safety and safe work practices, neatness and ability, equipment handling, timely completion of the event and the ability to follow all event and general rules.
As such, the competitors had to not only try to complete the events quickly but also safely by following all the rules and regulations. Otherwise, they could lose event points and the opportunity to be honored on the stage at the awards night. By watching other lineworkers in action, it gave the competitors like OG&E’s Jeff Stith the opportunity to learn from others.
“It’s our second time competing together, and my favorite part of the Rodeo is the events and the climbing,” Stith said, who was on a journeyman team with Trent Massey and Todd Munson. “It’s a good time and a family event. The weather is beautiful out here, and it’s fun to see all the different competitors from different locations interact with everyone.”
While the roots of the Rodeo are in the Midwest, teams from all over North America now compete at the Rodeo, which has also attracted interest from visitors from England, Brazil, Jamaica, Poland, New Zealand and Australia among other countries.
Canada often has teams competing on the international level at the event. For example, Manitoba Hydro sent two apprentices and three journeyman teams to compete at the 2024 International Lineman’s Rodeo. Chad Williams, a journeyman powerline technician for IBEW 2034 and Manitoba Hydro, competed as an apprentice eight or nine years ago. For this year’s competition, he was on a journeyman team for the first time with Jared Flaman and Matt Lake. The trio finished in the top quarter of all the journeyman teams. “I love the Rodeo,” Williams said. “It’s cool to see where people come from and how they do it a little differently.”
Harnessing the Power of Teamwork
In the line trade, lineworkers must work together to keep the power flowing and the lights on. Just as they serve on crews back home, the journeyman teams must also compete in teams of three to finish four different events with the maximum number of points in the minimum time frame. Two journeymen serve as climbers while the third member of the team works as a groundman.
As in years past, the journeyman teams had to compete in a hurtman rescue event on a 40-ft wood pole. All three members of the journeyman teams had to participate in the event simultaneously, with the climbers rescuing the mannequin and the groundman using the extendo to open the switch and then laying the hurtman on the ground. The Habersham EMC team of Tucker Dyer, Dillon Welborn and Robert Morris scored the full event points with a time of 01:27:66, earning the top spot in this event in the journeyman division.
Another traditional event, the pole climb, tasked journeyman teams with climbing and descending the pole without breaking the raw egg. The climber carefully places the raw egg in a small bucket, scales the pole, drops down an empty bucket at the top of the pole, places the egg in his or her mouth, hangs the new bucket on the hook and then climbs down. Once on solid ground, the competitor must show the egg to the judge, who will inspect it for any cracks, which incurs a 10-point infraction.
Ameren Illinois captured the top three spots in the journeyman division in the pole climb with the team of Jacob Carr, Buck Rodgers and Teddy Brinkoetter coming out on top with a time of 1:09:15.
While the journeyman teams could practice back at home for the hurtman rescue and pole climb events, they didn’t know the ins and outs of the mystery events until they arrived in Kansas City for the Rodeo Week and picked up their packets. For the first mystery event, the teams had a maximum time of 17 minutes to replace a bad C-neck tie. The simulated energized event required the journeymen to use materials including shotgun sticks, hoses, a split blanket and more. The IBEW Local 1245 team of Josh Klinka, Dustin Krieger and John Damas inched out the competition with a 10-second lead and a time of 08:34:04.
For the second mystery event, the journeyman teams had up to 20 minutes to replace a solid blade non-load break cutout serving a single-phase tap line at 4 kV. The PG&E/IBEW Local 1245 and SCE Local 47 team of David Angove, Brandon Gloria and Floppy Hunt climbed up to the top of the event with a
time of 06:38:28.
The team that won the grand championship trophy, however, hailed from the Marion Operating Center of Ameren Illinois and included Jason Novak, Clayton Gulley and Austin Lewis. The team, who were crowned the best of the best of the journeyman division, were one of only seven teams with a perfect 400 event points and no deductions, but they accomplished it in the lowest time of 20:05:30. Novak says winning the title, “Best of the Best,” was an amazing feeling.
“We practiced hard, but it takes a special day to win it all against the most elite competitors in the world,” Novak said, who has competed at the International Lineman’s Rodeo for more than 20 years. “We developed a game plan before each event, but anything can happen, and we adjusted on the fly. I couldn’t be prouder of how my teammates performed and how the other Ameren competitors did as well.”
Showcasing Skills at the Apprentice Level
Once apprentices have completed four years of their apprenticeship and meet certain criteria, they can compete on journeyman teams, but until then, they must go solo at the Rodeo.
Zackery Goff, a fourth-year apprentice for Pedernales Electric Cooperative, got a three-peat by winning the apprenticeship division, not once, not twice, but three times in a row. Along with winning first place in the overall apprentice category, he also placed first in the REA division, second in the written test category and fourth in the hurtman rescue. He says when it comes to competition, the nerves still definitely kick in,
regardless of any wins in the past.
“I really enjoy competing and seeing what I can push myself to do,” he said. “Paying attention to the details is important, and I like the safety aspects of Rodeo competitions, knowing it’s helping me to become better at my trade. It’s also fun being around other people and meeting folks at International.”
For the written tests, he put in a lot of time studying on his own time to learn the material, and for the hands-on events, he says there are many secrets to success on the apprentice level.
“I think it’s a combination of the hard work and practice I’ve put into it, coupled with the mentorship I’ve had through other people taking the time to teach me and help me along the way,” he said. “I’m grateful for that and all the support.”
For 2025, Goff must compete at the journeyman level once he tops out at PEC.
“It’s bittersweet knowing I finished my last competition as an apprentice, but I’m excited for the next phase of my career and look forward to continuing to learn and grow, and hopefully be back next year competing as a journeyman,” he said.
Like the journeymen lineworkers, they must also compete in two mystery events, the pole climb and the hurtman rescue, but they must also take a written test the day before the Lineman’s Rodeo. The 50-question test, which uses multiple choice and true/false questions, is based on content from the 14th edition of The Lineman’s & Cableman’s Handbook. Aaron Paisley, apprentice for Snohomish County PUD, captured the win in the written test event with only six deductions, which put him ahead of the pack at 94 points.
Like the journeymen teams, the apprentices also had to showcase their skills on pole climbing, which is often something they practice for hours at a time during their apprenticeships. Jack Fletcher from IBEW Local 42 won this event with a total time of 00:35: 22 and no deductions.
Because it’s important for not only journeymen, but also apprentices to know what to do in the event of an emergency, the apprentices must also compete in the hurtman rescue. Apprentice Clayton Tanner from Ameren Illinois swept the division with a total time of 01:05:50 and a perfect number of points.
The apprentices also had to compete in two mystery events, but they were completely different than those for the journeymen. For the first mystery event, they had up to 11 minutes to complete a transformer outage restoration. They first had to use a telescopic stick to remove the simulated blown fuse. Once the barrel was down and the stick was collapsed and back on the tarp, they could tool up or replace the blown fuse link. After adjusting their fall protection, they could then climb to the proper working height to retrieve the 8-ft shotgun and remove the squirrel. After returning the shotgun to its location, they had to climb down the pole, replace the blown fuse link and rehang the fuse barrel. Hunter Walton, an apprentice for Flint Electric Membership Corp., won this event with a time of 03:35:61.
For the final mystery event, apprentices had 15 minutes to finish an obstacle course by completing varying tasks at different spots on the pole. For example, they had to ascend the pole and remove the old tie wire and tie pad from the conductor without using knives. They then had to install the new preformed tie wire and tie pad. They also had to exhibit one of the foundational skills of the line trade—rope tying—by tying the two 10 ft tails together with a square knot. Dwight Diaz from IBEW Local 47 finished the event 16 seconds ahead of the closest competitor with a time of 04:33:56.
Celebrating the Champions
Following the day of competition, the lineworkers and their families came together for the final time at the awards banquet. The Overland Park Convention Center exhibit hall was transformed into a banquet venue with thousands of competitors and supporters cheering on the victors.
The ceremony began with a performance by Blane Howard, a Nashville recording artist. He revved up the crowd with his take on country classics by musical groups such as Brooks & Dunn with lyrics focused on the hard-working line trade. Next, the ILRA showcased the 40th anniversary video commemorating the history of the event and looking to the future of the International Lineman’s Rodeo.
Another highlight of the banquet was the recognition ceremony for the first Kids Rodeo, organized by Missouri Valley JATC and sponsored by Buckingham Manufacturing. One of the 11-year-old competitors, whose dad is a lineworker for Evergy, says he had fun rescuing a giant teddy bear off of a tower mounted to the back of a truck for the “Teddy Bear Rescue.” Kessler Hilson won first place in the eight- to 10-year-old age group, “1st Step Apprentices,” and Jake Milhoan won the 11- to 13-year-old age group, “Future Lineman.” Both winners were presented on stage with a child-sized championship belt, just like those worn by the grand champions at the International Lineman’s Rodeo.
After honoring the winners of the Kids Rodeo, the ILRA began announcing the names of the top apprentices and journeymen lineworkers in all the events and across all the divisions at the 2024 International Lineman’s Rodeo. Many of the winners received plaques while the top performers brought home trophies for being the “best of the best” in the line trade.
To learn more about the winners and to see more coverage of International Lineman’s Rodeo Week, stay tuned to the Line Life Podcast at linelife.podbean.com and to our website at www.tdworld.com/electric-utility-operations, where we celebrate the line trade not just during Rodeo Week, but year-round. Also, mark your calendars for the 2025 Rodeo, slated for Oct. 15-18, 2025.
