Tree Climbing Championship History

The International Tree Climbing Championship was initially proposed in 1975 with the intent to preserve the classic skills that would prepare a climber equipped with nothing more than a rope to have the ability to save a life in an aerial rescue. At the first ISA Jamboree to be held at the conference in St. Louis, Missouri in August of 1976. Each chapter was allowed to send two contestants to compete as a team in four events the Work Climb, Aerial Rescue, Rope Throw, and the 40' Footlock or Body Thrust Speed Climb.

Contestants had the option to compete in both Footlock and Body Thrust Speed Climb events but were allowed to only earn points in one of the two events; only a selected few preferred the footlock over the body thrust method to enter the tree.

Afterwards, the total scores of the events were accumulated at the end of the competition, and the climber with the highest total score was announced the winner With new regulations, climbers were required to be tied in at all times during the competitions and he Footlock event was withheld from competitions deemed unsafe because there was no protection from an open fall.

In 1991, the Footlock was reintroduced as the Secured Footlock event, requiring the use of a Prusik Loop, and became a mandatory event for all competitors. The Body Thrust was transformed into the Belayed Speed Climb event. The Rope Throw was replaced by the Throwline event and the Footlock became the Secure Footlock event. Also, the Masters' Challenge, a final championship round, was created, consisting of only the top five contestants who have accumulated the highest combined point total in the preliminary events.

ISA Tree Climbing Championships are now hosted in 20 countries around the world, and today over 1,000 contestants participate at over 50 local competitions worldwide. The purpose of the event has also expanded to promote safe working practices, demonstrate innovations in equipment and techniques, and provide industry recognition. The competitions have brought the end users and manufacturers together, resulting in products specifically designed for tree care applications, benefiting safety standards creating a new respect for the role of the climber and a strong focus for the climbing community to improve the work environment for all tree care workers.

ISA’s regional winners come together annually to compete as the best of the best at the International Tree Climbing Competition (ITCC) hosted at ISA’s annual conference. Click Here to see more about ISA’s International TCC.

The organisers would like to thank their main sponsors for 2009