*WESTERN TREE CLIMBING CHAMPIONSHIP & KIDS CLIMB: MAY 7TH in ALLEGHENY CEMETERY* * * *PITTSBURGH – *The Penn-Del Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) will host the Western Tree Climbing Championship in the Allegheny Cemetery, at 4734 Butler Street in Pittsburgh, on Saturday May 7th . Beginning at 8am, twenty-five of the region’s best male and female arborists will take to the limbs in hopes of competing for the state title, which grants them a chance to climb against other champions from around the world in Sydney, Australia at the ISA Annual Conference. The competitive games will provide an opportunity for tree lovers to see professional climbers perform skills used in the tree industry where both speed and precision count. A series of five contest events challenge climbers in the ways of daily work situations: the belayed speed climb, work climb, secured footlocking, throw line event, and aerial rescue. *Do you have what it takes to be a professional tree climber?* This year, the Western Tree Climbing Championship features a Kid’s Climb, inviting aspiring climbers to attempt some of the skills they will see at the competition. All children are welcome to wear a tree climbing harness and climb with the aid of ropes under experienced supervision. The kids climb will go on all day, and is free of charge, sponsored by the Pittsburgh Shade Tree Commission. The Tree Climbing Championship is free, family friendly, and open to the public. Refreshments from local vendors will be available. In case of heavy rain, the competition will be held on Saturday May 14th. For more information contact Matt Erb, Event Chair, at 412-362-6360 or email Matt@treepittsburgh.org. Events you can expect to see: *WORK CLIMB* The work climb is designed to judge the contestant’s ability to safely advance through various workstations in the tree while on a rope and saddle. Demonstrated safety, agility, and speed are all factors. Each participant is allowed approximately 5 minutes to demonstrate climbing skills and complete the course. The time ends when the climber unclips their climbing rope from the saddle. *BELAYED SPEED CLIMB* Competitors are timed as they climb a tree for speed to heights of 40-60 feet. Ringing the bell at the top stops the clock. Climbers have a belayed climbing line attached for safety. *SECURED FOOTLOCK* Competitors are timed as they perform a vertical ascent into a tree using a Prusik hitch or other approved friction hitch for safety on a doubled climbing line. Men’s height: 15 meters Women’s height: 12 meters *THROW LINE* Competitors must accurately place throwlines and climbing lines into the tree at heights between 40 and 60 feet. This event demonstrates how climbers place ropes into the tree. *AERIAL RESCUE* The simulated aerial rescue is designed to measure the ability of each contestant to reach a worker in a tree, inspect for injury, and evacuate the injured worker from a tree to the ground safely, quickly, and efficiently. A stuffed dummy, weighing about 150lbs, is used as the injured worker. -- "Time is how the trees grow. I will fall asleep for a thousand years and a mighty spruce will have raised me high, high into the sky."