Phil
Carpal tunnel level member
- Location
- Oak Lawn, IL
Well at the age of 41, and after having volunteered to setup and tree tech at quite a few TCCs, I was a first time competitor this past weekend in Illinois. I studied the rule book, watched videos of past competitors and events, didn't exactly practice any one specific thing, forced myself to climb on devices I don't normally use, and avoided weird foods the day before. I did not place top 3 that's for sure. I did not do terrible though. Being on the competitor side of the event vs the volunteer side was awesome. Being mixed in with peers of all calibers lead to great conversations as we rotated through stations and just mingled around as we waited for our next event. I was learning things about the event, particularly the nuance of how points can be earned while waiting for my turn to go. This happened to the point that I changed my plan for aerial rescue right before it was my turn. On a self reflection note, I do not have a competitive drive like some. I am not meek in that regard though. One thing I know about myself, which manifested in almost every event at the comp, was my tunnel vision and a sort of inability to multitask more than 4 or 5 things at a time. I usually climb on a HHxf, which is not approved for competitions. I have a rope wrench which I only used for the comp and at trainings. I do not have fast attach devices like an akimbo or a TAZ so for the aerial rescue and ascent event, my setup times were problematic. For AR this was a boat anchor as the setup to get on rope took a decent chunk of time. Once at the patient, I was so focused on not running out of time, securing to the patient, stowing a hanging handsaw, and verbalizing things I don't practice out loud, I forgot to even address the bleeding arm wound lol. For the ascent event, I do not have a floating knee ascender that is dialed in for maximum stride. I keep it fixed to my leg which works wonders for practical tree work. Even on my best days I could not run up a rope with the stride needed to compete for top spots they way I have it configured. This can easily be remedied though without really adding cost to gear. I had to wear the fall arrest harness under my work position harness and I almost forgot to secure the buckles on my leg straps. I felt secure because the fall arrest harness was snug, so my brain assumed my harness leg loops were secure. Fellow competitor pointed it out before I got in the ring. I also forgot the attach my chest ascender to the wrench before I went jazz hands. I forfeited my zero setup points to be able to utilize the chest ascender for the up. Having the fall arrest harness on under my climbing harness really threw me. For the Work Climb, I totally forgot to go to the limb toss station. I was descending past it to hit the limb walk and I heard the peanut gallery shout out the missed limb toss. Up back I went. I timed out returning from the limb walk after that. It was a loooonnnnggg day. The Masters Challenge the following day was awesome and I always feel fortunate to watch and learn from everyone who participates.
1st place winners from IL TCC
Women's - Libby Bower
Men's - Cameron Hughes
Congratulations to both of them. I learned a lot.
pic of the Masters tree attached. The lower central bell is on the back side of the trunk about 5 feet away. Green dot is limb toss. ground target is to the left, obscured by the bucket truck. Time limit was 25 minutes.
1st place winners from IL TCC
Women's - Libby Bower
Men's - Cameron Hughes
Congratulations to both of them. I learned a lot.
pic of the Masters tree attached. The lower central bell is on the back side of the trunk about 5 feet away. Green dot is limb toss. ground target is to the left, obscured by the bucket truck. Time limit was 25 minutes.
