Butte, Montana – At the first lineman rodeo competition at Highlands College in Butte, the competition is high-more than 50 feet high.
“There’s competitive spirit here among these young men and they all are doing a great job. It’s kind of an opportunity for them to showcase what they’ve learned and what they’ve been taught,” said Highlands College Instructor Brandon Cassidy.
The students competed in events like a speed climb, a change of arms on a beam, a change of bells, and a hurt-man rescue.
“Hurt man rescue is the one that’s most important, obviously, that hits home with linemen, you have to be able to rescue your buddy if your buddy’s in trouble,” says Cassidy.
Linemen not only learn how to do their jobs, but they also learn how to do things with their bodies.
“It is a highly skilled trade, it’s rigorous, you can definitely see there’s a lot of coordination, strength, agility in everything we do,” says Cassidy.
“I’m loving it, we’re having fun, we’re having a great time out here. Pretty good, having a great turnout, everyone’s having fun, staying warm, hopefully,” said student Luke Harding.
The students were competing in temperatures of 23 degrees, which felt like 18 degrees at the time. They were high up, and the wind and snow were blowing all around them. “Yeah, it’s a little cold, but when you’re moving and working it don’t bother you too much. A lot of physical labor and you’ve got to be smart about it too,” said student Wyatt Lackner.
The college wants this to happen every year.
