Local 104 hosted their annual lineman rodeo on August 8 in Epping NH. This year’s rodeo brought one of the best turn outs yet. Lots of friends and family came out to enjoy the competition. We had two competitions at this rodeo, the hurt man rescue and the speed climb. We took the top guys from these two competitions and sent them to Kansas City for the international lineman’s rodeo.
The international rodeo is quite a bit bigger with approximately 1,000 linemen competing. Now in its 32nd year, the rodeo attracts some of the best lineman from around the world. This year’s international participation included attendees from Canada, Turks & Caicos, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.
Local 104 sent one journeyman team, four apprentices and one judge to this competition. At the competition they split up the journeyman and the apprentices. They both do hurt man rescue, speed climb and two mystery events. The apprentices also have a written test and a splicing rope event. The Local 104 guys did a great job They didn’t take home the trophy but we had a really good showing representing the IBEW and Local 104. You can look online at linemansrodeokc.com to see the results.
The 104 competitors were JL team Brian Lovell, Eric Bowden, and Joe Jodoin. The apprentices were Josh DuBois, Joe Spargo, Tyler Coutu, and Kyle Lazaron. The judge sent was Cut Lesvesque a special thanks to him for all the work he did in helping out the team.
At the rodeo there were other events going on besides the competition. The annual Safety Conference was jammed packed once again to hear from a variety of speakers on technical tips and regulatory issues that impact lineman every day. Real-life stories shared by technicians, linemen and family members emotionally brought home the importance of safety. Also, the expo show floor featured over 120 exhibiting companies, of which just over 28 were first-time exhibitors. Attendees wait close to an hour in line for the Expo to open, as it is their annual opportunity to view a virtual supermarket of tools and technology that could make their job’s safer and more efficient.
Although this year’s Local 104 rodeo seems like it’s a long way off, it’s never too early to prepare. Hopefully next year we’ll send even more 104 members to the International Lineman’s Rodeo.