When Kathy Gill came up with the idea last year of staging a tower rodeo in her own backyard at her Tower Safety® training facility in the middle of a pandemic, some might have raised an eyebrow or two. Who would travel to participate in some tower ninja-warrior type events much less watch them, judge them or sponsor them? Turns out, Gill read the room correctly; people wanted to bust out of the shadow COVID had thrown across the industry and show off their skills…and even have some fun doing it, once all safety measures were met. The second annual TRX Challenge takes place December 3-4, at Gill’s training compound on 3212 S. 36th Street in Phoenix, AZ.
The goals of the event haven’t changed since last year: create realistic problem-solving situations with challenging rescue and rigging scenarios. The Tower Rodeo™ Challenge meets the annual rescue practice requirements of OSHA CFR 1910 and OSHA CFR 1926, ANSI 10.48, and ANSI z359. And, once again, the teams will come from a cross-section of the climbing industry from tower “dawgs” to first responders. Gill purposely wanted to create an atmosphere of sharing knowledge and techniques across professions.
She has made a few changes, however, based on last year’s event by making the rules more strict in order to keep a stronger safety presence. The heart of the competition still beats strong, Gill said, in that participants can come away with positive lessons in teamwork and communication. She has also added to the festive atmosphere with a live rendition of the National Anthem on Friday prior to the games, a bagpiper, a fire engine food truck, balloons and flags, with coverage from the local news station airing it live Friday morning.
Last year, contestant William Henry finished in second place but is planning to win first with his teammate Dylan Hartzell, who participated in the games last year as well. Henry’s favorite challenge was the semi finals relay race, although some of the other challenges helped him learn that his weak spots were mechanical advantages and knots. Since then, he has implemented both into his training.
“I want the challengers to appreciate team work and problem solving,” Gill told Inside Towers. “I also want them to learn that determination allows us to succeed in any challenge we do.”
Over the past year, Gill said she has received a lot of positive feedback from the challengers, judges, and spectators.
“The number of sponsors has grown along with the participation of manufacturers and it is exciting to see them want to be a part of our cell tower industry,” she said. In addition, she hopes the attendees take away an appreciation of the hard and dangerous work that climbers do.
Although the seven teams are set to go, observers are welcome and are required to register by clicking here. The action will be live streamed on the Tower Safety YouTube channel.
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