2011 Texas Tree Climbing Competition

Climbers Prepare for 2011 Texas Tree Climbing Competition

Visitors to Fort Worth’s Trinity Park will soon be training their eyes, binoculars, and cameras on the activity in the trees.  No, it is not the annual Audubon bird count that will have their attention.  It is the Texas Tree Climbing Competition.

This year’s event returns to the wooded park along Fort Worth’s scenic Trinity River.  Tree climbers from throughout the state will begin gathering on Thursday, for pre-competition workshops.  The competition begins on Friday, May 20, at 12:30pm with five preliminary events that test climbers’ speeds and skills.  The top scoring climbers from Friday’s competition will compete in the Masters’ Challenge, scheduled to begin on Saturday, May 21, at 10:30am.

Former Texas Tree Climbing Champion, Miguel Pastenes, refines his tree climbing skills.

David Ruiz completes a practice Aerial Rescue in preparation for the 2011 Texas Tree Competition.

Nicanor Bruitron makes a final safety check before starting a practice Aerial Rescue.

Among the competitors from the Arborilogical Services production team will be four-time winner, Miguel Pastenes.  Miguel will be competing to take back the state title from Abram Zies, the winner of last year’s Masters’ Challenge.  Other Arborilogical Services winners include Vicente Navarro and Nicolas Martinez.

The Texas Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture holds the Texas Tree Climbing Championship each spring.  The chapter winner competes in the International Tree Climbing Championship, which this year, will be held in Sydney, Australia, July 23-24.

The Trinity Park event is free and open to the public.  Make plans to attend, and be at the competition on Saturday when the winner will be presented the Houser Cup.

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