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Playing it Safe P


Co-op lineworkers participating in ‘rodeos’ hone safety skills By Megan McKoy-Noe


ractice makes perfect—and when working with electricity, perfection can mean the diff erence between life and death. To keep lineworkers’ skills honed, competitions dubbed “linemen’s


rodeos” have sprung up around the country. Rodeos involve bucking power transformers, not broncos. Line-


workers from electric cooperatives, investor-owned utilities, and municipal electric systems tackle complex speed- and safety-based challenges while hundreds of family, friends, and co-workers cheer them on. “We’re making good linemen better,” notes Maxie Rozell, Director


of Safety & Security at Rappahannock Electric Cooperative of Freder- icksburg, Virginia, and chairman of the Gaff -n-Go Lineman’s Rodeo & Expo, an event held every April that’s sponsored by the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives. “Educa- tion and training are critical. We use the program to sharpen skills.” Northeast Oklahoma Electric Cooperative is proud to have had


past rodeo participants. Linemen and apprentices have traveled to Texas and Kansas City to compete and judge other competitors. Rodeo competitions typically take place atop 40-foot utility poles.


For safety reasons, power lines do not carry an electrical charge, but competitors are judged as if every aspect is real. Lineworkers perform a variety of tasks scored by a team of judges. Attention to detail remains key. Each team or apprentice is judged


not only on the time it takes to perform an event but, more impor- tantly, on the safe and effi cient methods with which the job is accom- plished. Participating rodeo-ers train for months, oſt en on their own time.


T e payoff ’s not only seen in the results, though. Many electric co-op executives credit rodeos for keeping lineworkers on their toes in what can be a dangerous profession. “Our line crews are among the best trained, most dedicated, and


Phil Hendrix secures a dummy during pole- top rescue practice.


hardest-working folks you will ever meet,” says Rick Shurtz, Man- ager of Operations. “T ey must work in and around high-voltage power lines in the toughest weather conditions and oſt en in the dark to restore power to their neighbors’ homes. T e rodeo gives them the chance to pit their skills against their peers. While preparing, it opened up some discussions about safety that were very benefi cial.” More than a dozen states host state or regional rodeos. Men and


women from around the world congregate each fall at the Internation- al Lineman’s Rodeo in Bonner Springs, Kansas. To learn more about this event and the challenges linemen face, visit www.linemansrodeokc.com.


Megan McKoy-Noe writes on consumer and cooperative aff airs for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the Arlington, Va.-based service arm of the nation’s 900-plus consumer-owned, not- for-profi t electric cooperatives.


July 2013 - 13


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