At the International Lineman's Rodeo, apprentices and journeymen linemen are expected to not only work swiftly, but also safely. As such, they must abide by certain guidelines during the competition. Otherwise, they can earn point deductions from their final score, which may limit their opportunity to walk on the award stage on the night of the banquet.
The International Lineman's Rodeo Association (ILRA) compiled all of this year's rules into one, 25-page PDF, which can be downloaded here.
Here are just a few of the two-point deductions that competitors need to look out for and avoid during the 2018 Rodeo.
1. Hooks/gaffs shall not be worn outside the work area and should be covered with approved gaff guards when not in use.
2. No work shall be performed on the ground while wearing hooks/gaffs.
3. Material or tools shall not be placed in the contestant’s mouth. The only exception to this rule will be in the “pole climb” event.
4. Improper hand line procedure: The first man up the pole should take the hand line and the last man on the pole below the neutral, or as indicated in the contestant’s scorebook should drop the hand line. Any other order will be an infraction.
5. Not wearing safety glasses: All participants need to wear safety glasses while inside the event area.
6. Hot-dogging: Hot-dogging is defined as having both hooks out of the pole while descending the pole, while periodically catching one gaff as to be almost out of control.
7. Not wearing ANSI approved lineman belt: All lineman belts must have the ANSI approves identification tag to be accepted for use in competition at the International Lineman's Rodeo.
8. Exposed blade on skinning knife: All skinning knives must either be folded or properly sheathed while not in use. Exposed blade in a ditty bag or a tool pouch on the climbing belt is considered misuse of tools. (No exposed blades)
9. Failure to inspect rubber gloves: Rubber gloves must be inspected before each event during the five-minute set-up time.
10. Improper storage of rubber gloves: Rubber gloves must be stored cuff down in glove bag.
11. Improper use of glove bag: Glove bag cannot be used to hold tools, material or wire.
12. Mishandling of materials and/or tools: Materials and/orools may not be placed in contestant’s mouth. This rule will not apply to the Pole Climb event, but will apply to all others.
