[PAmedic]

Anyone ever experience this first-hand? Nothing like that occurred back in the day, unless you count the infamous power outtage that night at Liberty Gym (ask SCAR, no- don't)

A Rodeo with Hats, Belts and Spurs, but No Cowboys

March 27, 2006

Central Virginia Electric Cooperative (CVEC) will host the fourth annual Gaff-n-Go Lineman’s Rodeo on Saturday, April 1 at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.

What is a lineman’s rodeo? Similar to the cowboy competitions that exhibit the everyday work skills of riding, roping and racing, the Gaff-n-Go rodeo competitors will “show their stuff” atop a 40-foot wooden pole during each of five scored events. Three events will remain a mystery until the day of competition. The other two involve linemen rescuing a 175-pound “hurt man” stranded near the electric lines and competitors completing a smooth pole climb with an egg in their mouth.

CVEC Operations Manager, C.T. Bryant explained that CVEC discovered a number of benefits to rodeo participation: “The competition really showcases the special qualities that a person needs to be a lineman. He must be well trained and disciplined, know how to work as a member of a team and have a high level of confidence.” Not unusual job requirements until you factor in the lineman’s work setting. A lineman must operate in and around high voltage lines wearing his safety belt and hooks (metal gaff’s positioned in the instep) to help him stay on the utility pole. “This is not a desk job and linemen are not your average workers. They go to work in the worst of conditions, often in the middle of the night during stormy weather in order to restore power to people’s homes,” said Bryant.

Each team will be judged according to standards of safe and efficient work practices with points being deducted for safety infractions and broken eggs.
Opening ceremonies begin at 8:00 AM on Saturday on the field of competition, located just off of Candler Mountain Road and across from the Candler Station Shopping Center.

The local community is invited to join in the fun which will include free rides in a bucket truck that will hoist children and adults up to 60 feet in the air. Other attractions include a high-voltage demonstration of the power of electricity, a pole climbing demonstration that is open to the public and other demonstrations that focus on family safety.

In addition, International Broadband Electric Communications (IBEC) will be demonstrating Broadband over Powerline (BPL), a new technology that delivers high speed Internet service in rural areas. The first rural deployment of BPL in the U.S. occurred on Nelson County and IBEC is poised to extend BPL throughout the Central Virginia Electric Cooperative service territory in 14 central Virginia counties
The Gaff-n-Go Rodeo is the only Lineman’s rodeo in Virginia and will attract participants from 5-6 states along with their families and co-workers. Winners will receive paid entry to the International Lineman’s Rodeo that is held in Kansas City later this year.

Members of the public are welcome to attend all events beginning at 8 AM through 4 PM on the field at Liberty University. A Media Day is planned for Friday May 31, from 1:00 – 3:00 PM. Members of the press will have the opportunity to film or take photos from a bucket truck, strap on a belt and then climb a utility pole or cover a high voltage live line demonstration provided for school classes in attendance from 1:30-2:30 PM.

The Gaff-n-Go Rodeo is sponsored by IBEC and all proceeds are dedicated to the Educational Scholarship Fund administered by the Cooperatives of Virginia Maryland and Delaware.

Additional details will be released on Monday, March 27 and are available at the Gaff-n-Go Website or by contacting Greg Kelly at 434-263-7627 or gkelly@forcvec.com.

[El Scorcho]

I saw all of the poles stuck in the field near Campus North on my way into work the other night. I had no idea what was going on, but I seriously thought it was some sort of permanent utility installation. Sadly, I didn't feel surprised.

I was much happier when I found it was a temporary thing, though.

[PAmedic]

Gaff-n-Go puts it on the line

by Matt Warner
“These guys work 40 yards off the ground with a product that is as hot as the surface of the sun, invisible, and moves at the speed of light,” said Grey Kelley, Manager of Member Services at the Central Virginia Electric Cooperative, of the linemen competing in the fourth annual Gaff-n-Go rodeo, which was held at Liberty University over the weekend.

A lineman is exactly what the name implies, a man who works on a line, power lines to be specific – the product being high voltage electricity.

Kelley said that linemen will wake up in the middle of the night, go up on a mountain in a driving rain storm and scale a pole using only special cleats strapped to their electric-proof boots and a strap to restore electricity to their customers.

The fourth Annual Gaff-n-Go Rodeo, which was held to promote safety, drew over two dozen teams from six states who competed in five events and scored based on safe practices and safety infractions.
Speed of completion was used only as a tiebreaker.

A popular event with the linemen was the hurt-man rescue, in which each team was required to safely bring down a 175-pound mannequin from the top of a pole.

“It’s always good practice to have hurt-man rescue, you pray and hope you never need it, but in my mind it’s the most honorable thing you can do,” said journeyman lineman and Gaff-n-Go contestant Mark Greene, who has worked with the Owen Electric Cooperative in Northern Kentucky for 27 years. A journeyman lineman is the highest level of linemen and takes 48-66 months of training to achieve, in Greene’s Cooperative only Journeyman are permitted to perform solo emergency jobs at night.

Greene said the most exciting event for the crowd was the egg climb, in which linemen must complete a pole climb with an egg in their mouth, without cracking it.

Linemen are authentic “modern day cowboys,” said Kelley, referring to the ruggedness and individualism it takes to perform emergency maintenance on high-voltage wires in any weather, at any time, often working alone.

Accompanying the rodeo was a tradeshow, bucket truck rides, a live-wire demonstration, and a chance for spectators to try their hand at scaling a power pole.

The winning team received paid entry to the International Lineman Rodeo in Kansas City, which draws teams from Jamaica to Ireland.

Kelley hopes to host future Gaff-n-Go Rodeos at Liberty as the event grows.

For more information visit www.gaff-n-go.com.

Contact Matt Warner at mjwarner@liberty.edu