Tree Climbing Competition Held at Morrisons Cove Park

Arboriculture is the cultivation and study of trees, shrubs and other perennial woody plants, and an arborist practices that cultivation.

Spanning over a two-day period of Friday, May 17 to Saturday, May 18, a tree climbing competition, to test one's arborist climbing skills, was held at Morrisons Cove Memorial Park.

However, calling this just a tree climbing competition is seemingly an understatement; the competition consisted of various, difficult challenges to assess participants' quick-thinking skills, athletic ability, and speed.

The competition was sanctioned by the International Society of Arboriculture, or the ISA. For these tournaments, one must win a chapter event, such as the one at the Park (known as the Penn-Del Chapter). From there, these competitors are on their way to become a "World Champion."

Before the competition began, the Penn-Del Chapter donated around $8,000 to trim and remove any unsafe trees using services from Bartlett Tree Experts, Lofty Heights, and Cumberland Valley Tree Service.

As for the competition itself, beginning at noon on Friday and seven in the morning on Saturday up until seven p.m. both days, around 40 contestants, all over the age of 18, came to the Park to compete in the tournament.

The competition had multiple challenges to be completed. Each tree climbing competition is composed of five preliminary events: a throw line event, belated speed climb, ascent event, work climb, and aerial rescue.

For the throw line event, the arborist was judged on how speedily they were able to position a throw line and rope in specific branch junctions in the tree. The score was based on height, so the higher the target, the higher the score.

The belated speed climb was the closest conventional tree climbing a contestant experienced during the competition.

Testing one's strength and speed, the climber was belayed from the ground and assessed on how quickly they could climb to a marked height.

As for the ascent event, the climber was judged on how quickly and efficiently they could attach themselves to a climbing line, ascend to a certain height, and then shift to "descent mode," and go back down.

Another challenge was the work climb. A coordinator of the event, Aaron Feather, said it is "by far the most exciting and fun event to participate in and to watch."

For this challenge, the climber was placed at the top of a large tree, usually one with a large canopy. Here, the climber was judged on how quickly and skillfully they were able to move through the tree to different stations and complete certain tasks at each one.

The tasks varied, ranging from ringing a bell with a hand saw to limb walking as a way to display skill and balance. The last station was the landing station; the competitor had to drop to a target on the ground.

The final preliminary event was an aerial rescue challenge. This challenge assessed a climber's ability to quickly and safely evaluate an emergency scenario involving a fellow climber, or in this case, a rescue dummy, in need of help.

In the scenario, the competitor needed to ascend to where the climber in need was stuck and get them to safety on the ground for "treatment." This event required the most gear and experience.

All of the participants in the preliminaries were scored using a point system. The top three male and female climbers were then moved on to the final event of the tournament, the masters challenge, where the overall male and female winners were decided.

For the masters challenge, there was one large tree with several stations set up throughout the canopy. Each competitor was given around half-an-hour to evaluate the tree, determine a plan of action, ascend into the tree, and complete as many stations as they could.

Once they completed their tasks, they had to drop to the ground and pull all their gear from the tree.

To conclude the event, the winners of the Tree Climbing Competition at Morrisons Cove Park were Daniel Lawton and Jennifer Welk. As champions, they were awarded work and climbing gear as well as a chance to compete in Georgia this fall to represent the Penn-Del Chapter.

Many local sponsors also helped out with the event including McCoy's Lawn and Garden, Curry Fluid Power, and the Scott and Kyle Stern Family.

Additionally, Randy Acker, the Martinsburg Fire Chief, came to the aerial rescue event to check out the different techniques used by competitors.

Overall, the competition was a success and invited many climbers and arborists to put their skills to the test. Aaron Feather said that it was a fantastic day.