Tree climbers look up to competitors
Peter de Vries is going way up against Ontario’s best Saturday, climbing local trees in Canatara Park.
The Sarnia arborist is one in a field of about 35 from across the province competing in the Ontario Tree Climbing Championship, last held at Canatara in Sarnia in 2005. The 37-year-old said he’ll have his work cut out for him in events demonstrating the skills needed for professional tree work, testing rope-throwing accuracy, speed climbing, aerial rescue of a 150-170-pound dummy, and limb walking.
“I’d say 80 per cent of the guys and women who are competing, they’re probably climbing 10, 12 trees a week; where I’ve probably done that in a year,” said de Vries. The City of Sarnia primarily uses bucket trucks for work in the tree canopy, he said.
“Most of (the other competitors) are way more experienced climbers than me,” he said.
After hosting recreational climbs in Canatara’s oaks with the group Climb ON, de Vries will be competing in his second year at the Ontario championship, hosted by the province’s chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture.
Top scorers in preliminary rounds move on to a master’s challenge, where the male and female winners are crowned. They get to represent the province at the international championship in Knoxville, Tenn., Aug. 9-11, 2019. Spectators can watch the spectacle at the trees west of the great lawn in Canatara from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The park offers good tree selection for the competition, said de Vries, noting those who compete are like a close-knit community. “It’s a jamboree more than a climbing competition,” said City of London arborist Brian Zylstra, 35.
He and de Vries, both on the arborist industry’s safe work practices committee, were testing equipment and practicing climbing in one of the park’s oaks Friday morning
They noted more than 100 volunteers come together to make the event possible. “Without them, this wouldn’t happen,” de Vries said.
The competition is a great time to get together with fellow arborists, Zylstra said.
“We got great weather. It’ll make for some great competition.”