Midwest TCC

O

okietreedude1

Location
Enid, Ok
The midwest had their competition this weekend.

Representing us again will be Noel Boyer from Springfield, MO.

He was the leader of the prelims and held on for the top spot.

Second place: Brandon Toppins, Springfield Mo
Third place: Brian Eshleman, Stillwater OK



We also had a woman climber this year. She was the lone woman competitor but she did really well considering her back ground. She works for the Missouri Dept. of Conservation and has learned to climb on her own and practices in her own back yard at night and on weekends. She completed the speed climb, footlock, work climb, came really close on the aerial rescue (got to the dummy w/ one minute and had difficulties), and got skunked on the throwline. Word spread quickly as she got prepped for the work climb and Id bet 75% of the guys there gathered around in support. Unfortunetly, she wont be going to Minnesota. Those in charge around here said she had to be Top 5 of the guys to go. I think thats really pushing it. Weve got a great top 10 mens group and making it to top 5 is quite a feat.

Anyway, she had a great time and plans on coming back next year.
 
I posted some pics in the General Discussion forum. Got some good ones of ya David. It was a pleasure to meet you, and maybe I'll see you in Minnesota.
 
[ QUOTE ]
. On a side note, do you have access to the tree austria 2 saddle.

[/ QUOTE ]

I dont have any in stock but I will check the availability tomorrow. If they are in the USA, I should be able to get one.
 
Congrats Noel and Ann. See ya in Minneapolis.
I think if a woman competitor competes and finishes in all 5 preliminary events, she should get the local chapter to pay for her to compete at the Internationals. That's the way it is in Illinois. Anyone?
 
Norm and Kathy,

I cant say I totally disagree. We had a woman competitor a few yrs back and she couldnt even get off the ground...literally. She didnt go and it was obvious why.

This little lady busted her A** on her own time to get where she did Saturday. Sure she timed out on the AR and got a zero on the TL (one person of 13 too), but she had a good showing. Did she deserve a free trip to the ITCC????? Im not 100% sure. She was the only one but Im not sure she could compete at that level. I hope she takes the time off work to go watch the ITCC. It will do her a lot of good to see other women and get a better feel for the events. If she comes back next yr as the lone woman, she should go.

Kathy, a question for you....do the women at the Internations use the same masters challenge tree w/ the same stations as the men use?
 
hey david,
the itcc has different trees for the masters, men and women, every year. the ar tree has mostly been the same but not always in the 4 yrs i've gone - the access line is sometimes in a different place and/or the time limit is different.

my very strong feeling is that people will rise to a challenge, particularly people who are temperamentally inclined to compete to begin with. if an ill-prepared competitor (male or female!) finds him or herself competing at an international level it will be apparent to him or her in a hot minute what they should have done or need to do next time. either they will not come back or they will improve.to me this has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not the chapter should fund the trip. if you want to support women climbing, then find the money. why deprive her of the chance to see what the best climbers in the world look like, the chance to learn from the best in the business? before i started competing i had 7 yrs or so of climbing under my belt, but the climber i am today is much more skilled - because i had the opportunity to compete at the international level. it opened my eyes. we will rise to the challenge. i feel the same way about "dumbing down" the trees for the women's division and the different footlock heights. women can footlock 50 ft, so to me it's a stupid and prejudiced distinction - our times will certainly fall in a group below the men's times, but that doesn't mean we can't do 50 ft.

sorry, you got me started :).
k.
 
Ok, I'll bight. I don't get into the whole fem-nazi women can do just as good as men bla bla bla , bla bla bla bla bla bla thing. I won't go there. I don't have an opinion about that, and I don't care. I also don't know anything about the politics at a TCC, if there are any, and don't care to go there either.
However, I have seen some chapters have only one female competitor, and they sent her to the International. I don't think its right that the girl at the Midwest chapter could only go to the ITCC if she beat out a bunch of the guys. Who decided that? That just doesn't seem right. Seems to me to be about politics and/or money.

Another reason I think she should go is because I was there, and I saw the look in her eyes during the walk around the day before the comp. and she seemed to me to be a serious competitor. She was studying the events with an intense look in her eyes. I think I heard someone say she mostly learned on her own? Well, she's got my vote. Then again I'm not funding her to go either, so I'll be quiet.

P.s. I was the tech for the AR, and she impressed me. The part where she got hung up with her rope, well every one of us has learned from our mistakes, she will too. In fact I'd bet she will be at a future ITCC.

P.s.s Peace Kathy /forum/images/graemlins/giveup.gif
 
John,

Since you were the tech for the AR, what exactly happened?

All I heard was that her rope got hung up and nothing else.


As for her going, i can pretty much tell you its a money thing. The MW chp is lacking on the amount it spends for the man to go. Im going to start asking a few questions and see what I can find out.
 
She dropped down through the crotch where the dummy was before routing the tail of her rope through. So after her weight was on her line, it was difficult to pull the tail through. Especially with the dummies line in the mix of it.

The same thing happened to a bunch of the guys. A lot of people tied in with the access line provided, and there were a few who didn't throw down enough tail through that crotch to get to the ground smooth.
 
[/ QUOTE ]P.s.s Peace Kathy /forum/images/graemlins/giveup.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif
thanks for biting john. i'll make a note to myself to never get in a "fem nazi" conversation with you. ( /forum/images/graemlins/confused.gif). sounds like you really saw this woman (whose name i don't know), saw her serious mental preparation and also her mental error. good for you. that's about all we can ask, eh? to be seen. she wasn't just "the woman competitor". cool.

i get that it's a money thing, which is a real issue. still though, if the chapter was serious about supporting woman climbers they would either find twice the funding or award half to each and work their tails off next year to find a bit more cash. my first comp i was the only woman, and my fourth comp i won the world title - what if pnw chapter had said "sorry not enough dough."? who knows what this midwest woman can do? i hope we find out next year, myself. the more the merrier!
thanks,
k.
 
Hi Kathy. I both agree and disagree with you. In agreement: the women should be given the same tasks as the men. That's the way it is in the real world (ideally) when a woman wants to practice in a trade predominantly occupied by the men-folk. As a general rule women aren't as physically "capable" as men; at least not in the same ways. But there certainly are exceptions. In that vein, it would be fine with me if women competitors wanted to compete (as in scoring) against either the men or the women - to be chosen before the competition starts - but the tasks should be the same regardless.

Now for the disagreement. It seems to me that you're being inconsistent in your position that female competitors should somehow be shown favoritism regarding their representation at the higher levels of competition. Maybe it should be that five of each be sent ahead, with replacements from one group filling spots when the other doesn't have enough to fill them. If you were saying that, then I'd agree. But I don't know how things work at the next level (are there only so many spots available per chapter? are "walk-ons" welcome?).

It seems somewhat unfair or shortsighted of the chapter to not provide for their sole woman competitor and I don't have a solution in mind. It is their "show" after all. Perhaps they feel that she's not at the level of competition necessary to really have any sort of chance and that by sending her instead of someone else, that other person would be denied a real possibility.

At least this year there really isn't much to prohibit her from attending the next level, albeit not to compete, anyway. If she does, then she'll be able to see some of what you were saying she'd be missing out on. Let's hope next year will turn out differently in terms of equity for everyone involved.
 
hi glen,
i think we're in basic agreement, though that "capable" word is worth arguing in another forum sometime. my point is really that word is just now getting out after 5 yrs of women competing internationally that this is an option. that said, the talent pool (admittedly smaller than men's division because the work is physically pretty gruelling) is just beginning to increase. if chapters want to have women representing them at the international, this is not the time to get cheap (sorry, it's true) or to make arbitrary decisions about who is and isn't ready to compete at the international level. any woman, in my not-that-humble opinion, who wins a chapter should be given the same support both financially and emotionally as the person who wins the men's division. period. down the road when there are more women competing the talent level will naturally rise - as it actually is already if the footlock times are any indication. support us, and we will collectively improve. deny us access to higher levels of training and it will take us twice as long to improve.

my two cents. i think the powers that be should be embarrassed that women champs from other chapters are discussing pooling our money to pay this woman's way.
k.
 
Hi Kathy.

It's probably safe to say we're not too far apart in this general matter; maybe a matter of semantics...

I'd have to revisit the discussion at this late date, but it seems I recall there was only the one woman in the recent competition. Assuming that was the case, is it really fair to in effect automatically send her to the next level regardless her ability? It's a tough call to make this time 'round, for sure.

I really hope the assistance pool succeeds for her! What are "we" talking about? The entry fee and a few nights room and board? Would a just a few hundred bucks cover it this time, excluding of course the gasoline to travel, what, maybe six or seven hundred miles total?

She sounded pretty cool and as I recall the visuals were pretty good in my book :) PM me...
 
To Noel and Ann, congrats on a climb well done.

As for the subject of not sending Ann, this to me is frankly disappointing. I concur with Kathy, Norm and Mark.

I'm having a hard time believing this is even a question about wether to support a competent climber to the ITCC. It's 2006 people... how are we supposed encourage new employees into our field of arboriculture when we don't even recognize the individuals who have a desire to be in it? Talent of all levels are welcome at the ITCC. You only advance your own skills by learning with the best.

The Chapter's descision shouldn't be wether to send a climber only if they have a chance at winning or placing at the ITCC. The climber is there to respresent their Chapter with their best talent demonstrated - even if they are the only person to climb in a particular division. If that climber completes the events, and has demonstrated safe and confident climbing skills, they should be supported to go the ITCC, if that is the prize package the Chapter is providing that competition year.

Wether we have the same rules for each event is not the issue at hand. Though for the record, I feel the events should be the same. A footlock is still a footlock wether it's 40' or 50'. Trees don't shrink when women want to climb them.

If my Chapter didn't send me my first year to the ITCC it would have taken me many years to learn the knowledge I gained from all of the climbers, techs, judges, volunteers over the years. Thank you NEC-ISA for your support of women competing at the ITCC!

Kathy- if Ann Koenig wants to go, I will also add to the to the pool.

Thanks for considering my two cents...
Melissa
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Back
Top Bottom