On March 30th, hundreds of lineworkers from across the country (including our own GUC team) gathered in Colorado Springs, Colorado for the American Public Power Association (APPA) Lineworkers Rodeo. They braved the cold, snowy weather to demonstrate how quickly and safely they can climb power poles, hang transformers, rescue injured workers, and perform load transfers and other feats commonly required of lineworkers.

Employees volunteer to participate in the rodeo, which involves two levels of competition - journeyman and apprentice. A qualified journeyman has more than four years of experience in the electric utility industry, while apprentices have less than four years under their belt. In addition to the physical competition, apprentices also take a written exam that counts towards their overall score.

GUC’s journeyman team included Overhead Lineworkers Brian Baker, David Guy, and Steven Briley, along with Underground Lineworker Travis Ransom. Overhead Lineworkers Caleb Brickhouse, Matthew Craft, and Bryson Hall competed individually in the apprentice division, which included 130 apprentices from across the U.S.

Coaching our team over the past few months were Overhead Construction Line Crew Leader Mike Ashley and Overhead Electric Service Crew Leader Keith Stancil. In addition, Mike, Keith, and Underground Electric Distribution Supervisor Ryan Hardee served as judges at the event.

“I’m really proud of our team and apprentices,” said Mike. “They did really well, especially considering the weather conditions they faced on the day of the competition. This was also the first year our three apprentices have competed in a rodeo.”

A big congrats to Caleb for bringing home a trophy for placing 5th Overall out of 130 apprentices! Congrats also to Matt and Bryson for placing in the top 100, and our journeyman team for placing 17th out of 78 teams!

APPA is the national service organization for the nation’s more than 2,000 community- and state-owned electric utilities serving 46 million people.