Our annual WAA Tree Climbing Competition was held at Mead Park in Stevens Point, WI. It was held on September 5th-7th, offering educational speakers and gear inspection on Friday, preliminary climbing events on Saturday, and finishing the weekend with the Masters Challenge on Sunday. This event gathers the best men and women climbers from all over the state to come together to do what they love to do – Climb Trees! We had the pleasure of holding the WAA TCC in Stevens Point, and what a host city they were. A big Thank you to Todd Ernster, the city staff, and Mayor Mike who gave their all to make us welcome!
We had all 45 competitor spots filled, with a waiting list as well this year. We allowed 5 out of state climbers to join our event to give our climbers more exposure to other skills. There were 5 female competitors and 40 men, as well as 45 volunteers from various states to help make this event a success! There was a strong spectator presence as well, with many taking the opportunity to ask about what arborists do.
This year’s event had many highlights to be proud of, like the father/ son duos of Lazaro & Misael Romero, Chris & Nick Ruch competing together for the first time. We had judges in training at each event to learn what it takes to be a judge at a ISA event. Giving these eager volunteers the opportunity to shadow current judges to better understand what is expected of them. This will help the TCC Committee to fill positions needed for the longevity of our event, The growing number off women engaging and taking on roles crucial to the TCC’s success is outstanding. It was a mix of abilities from veteran climbers, intermediate, and the newer competing climbers. It was a great weekend, good weather, and even better with all the passionate people involved. It was great to have such a big crowd on Sunday for the Masters Challenge and celebrated with the top finishers. The success of the Wisconsin Tree Climbing Competition is based on a core of Arborists that have passion to advance their abilities and help better our profession. Without the volunteers and sponsors who give of their time and money to support our event, it would not be the success it is today. Their generosity has enabled us to provide a Tree Climbing event of this quality and all the benefits it provides. A very Special Thank You to Arbsession, Casey & Brandon have come through with swag bags for all the climbers and prizes for the Masters Challenge finishers.
Our male & female Masters Champions will represent our Chapter in St. Louis, Missouri for the International TCC for 2026. Johanna O’Boyle and Tom Schumacher each received a battery powered Chainsaw courtesy of Milwaukee Tools!! We are already looking ahead to another successful event in 2026. Stay tuned and watch for upcoming details for the TCC.
Masters Challenge Results
