HICKORY CORNERS, Mich. (AP) - Of the more than a dozen entrants who took part in the Michigan Tree Climbing Championship, only two qualified for an international competition.
Jack Richardson of Ann Arbor and Charity Barnes of Dexter earned spots Saturday in the International Tree Climbing Championship in Milwaukee this summer.
“I just gave it a whirl,” Barnes, a first-time participant and the only female competitor this year, told the Kalamazoo Gazette. “It was super fun to be here and see all the excellent climbers and to be a part of it.”
The participants competed in five events that demonstrated their competency in a variety of skills used by tree care professionals in everyday working environments. The event usually is held in the fall, but Saturday was a makeup day for the 2013 competition, which had to be postponed due to weather, said Bob Hunt, chairman of the Michigan Tree Climbing Championship committee.
Committee member Bill Drews said the competition usually attracts 20 to 30 contenders. The rescheduled date may have contributed to the below-average turnout, he said.
Saturday’s competition was held at Michigan State University’s W.K. Kellogg Biological Station on the shores of Gull Lake in Hickory Corners. It was sponsored by the Ypsilanti-based Arboricultural Society of Michigan, the Battle Creek Enquirer reported.
The next Michigan Tree Climbing Championship is scheduled for Sept. 27 in Holland.
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Online:
Climbing Championship website: https://www.asm-isa.org/MTCC.html
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