There’s a rodeo Saturday in West Valley City, but it doesn’t include livestock and cowboys. The 22nd Annual Utah Lineman's Rodeo involves journeymen and apprentice electrical workers coming together to show off their skills and compete for a prize that might shock on-lookers.
“They earn bragging right to say that, ‘Not only did I climb that pole faster than anyone else, I did it safer than anyone else.’” said Paul Murphy, a spokesperson for Rocky Mountain Power. “Because there’s a lot of points deducted if they do anything that’s unsafe.”
Rocky Mountain Power is partnering with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers to sponsor the event.
Murphy said the rodeo is meant to reinforce skill and safety.
“These guys and gals are going out during rain, snow and wind and they’ve got to do it safely but a lot of times it’s really dangerous stuff,” Murphy said. “The idea is you want to be good at what you do but the most important thing is you have to be safe while you’re doing it.”
Murphy said competitors will be climbing 45 foot poles with an egg in their mouth, which they cannot break, and rescuing a victim, played by a mannequin, from the top of the pole.
Teams from Pacific Gas and Electric, Portland General Electric, St. George City Electric and other companies are coming to participate.
Because of the danger involved in their line of work, Murphy said the rodeo is a fun event that enables the participants to safely show their families and communities what they do on the job.
“It’s a time to celebrate the people who are out there doing their best to keep our power on,” Murphy said.
The awards banquet and silent auction which follows the rodeo will be donating all of their proceeds to the University of Utah Health Care Burn Center and the PacificCorp Memorial Scholarship Fund.