Event:
A show to establish who can climb a 25m free standing wooden pole with appropriate climbing aids in the fastest time

Date & Venue:
The event will be held at a new location during the Woodfest Wales at Kinmel Estate, St George, North Wales, LL20 9DA on 28th, 29th & 30th May 2011.

Eligibility for entry:
All entrants must:-

1. Be fit, healthy and capable of the extreme physical exertion required by the event.

2. Have their own personal climbing equipment.

3. Be sufficiently experienced in tree climbing techniques to competently use the climbing equipment.

4. Complete the official entry form before participating

5. Notify the organisers in advance of any special health conditions.

Safety Equipment:
All entrants must use the following equipment:-

1. Climbing harness that must have a waist belt,

2. Leg straps and proper point of attachment for the safety line.

3. Pole strop of a sufficient length to encircle the pole and be safely attached to both sides of the harness.

4. Sturdy footwear and gloves.

5. Set of tree climbing spikes.

6. Helmet with fitted chin strap.

All equipment will be inspected before the event to ensure that it is safe and appropriate for the task. Safety ropes and all fixings to the poles will be provided.

Safety procedures:
An official will check each entrant on the following points prior to allowing a climb to proceed:

1. The climbing equipment is correctly fitted, secured and adjusted.

2. The pole strop is around the pole and secured to the harness at both ends.

3. The safety line is running free through the top of the pole and secured to the correct coupling on the climber's harness.

4. The persons belaying the climber understand the task and are ready.

5. The climber is ready and outwardly capable of completing the climb.

Once the officials are satisfied that these requirements have been met, they will allow the starter to start the climber. When the climb is completed, the climber should rest until sufficiently recovered to climb down the pole with the belayers controlling the decent. If the climber is incapacitated for any reason, the belayers will take his full weight and control his/her descent. A spare rope and set of equipment will be available at the time close to the pole.

Organisation Of The Competition

Expert Class:

Competitors in this class may use any climbing equipment subject to complying with the equipment regulations previously mentioned.

Tree Surgery Class:

Competitors in this class must not have won in a novice class in any national event or any previous competition. All Entrants in this class must use 'off the shelf' equipment. No custom made spikes, It is advisable to use a steel core strop/flip line. Climbers in this class can elect to become experts and participate in the expert event but this must be indicated on the entry form prior to the competition. Once a climber has elected to become an expert, they cannot return to the tree surgery class. One of the objectives of this competition is to encourage those who have not taken part in this sport to have a go. Novice climbers will be welcomed and all efforts made to ensure that they are able to practice outside the glare of the main competition with the possibility of taking part in the tree surgery class event. Practice days: Saturday 28th & Sunday 29th will be practice days which will be run on the same format as the UK 25m Pole climbing Championships on Monday 30th with prizes for each of the days.

UK Championships:

This will be on Monday 30th and will be a separate competition from the events of the practice days. As with the previous two days, there is a limited amount of time in the morning qualifica-tion for the afternoon competitions and pre-booked entries will be given preference to those arriving on the day. It is not necessary to attend the two previous days to compete in the UK 25m Poleclimbing Cham-pionships.

Extra Awards:

There will be prizes awarded for the fastest time set by a lady, senior and a veteran over the three days. Eligibility for these awards are: Senior (30-45 years of age) and vetran (45+ years of age). These are NOT classes of their own.

Qualifying for each day:
Qualifying for the events on all three days will follow the same procedure. Competitors must compete in both heats to partake in the final. The timing of qualifying is flexible but has to fit in with the other displays which run throughout the morning / afternoon. It will normally start be-tween 9.30 and 11.00am and end about 4.00pm but final details will be up to the officials. The time available for qualifying may be limited and preference will be given to those who have pre-booked. All efforts will be made to fit in those who turn up on the day.

Expert and Tree Surgery class finals for each day:

These will be run on the two poles simultaneously and will consist of two separate races with one person on each pole. The poles for each climber will be de-cided by the qualifying times; the fastest climber in each pairing has the choice of poles. The slower climber can insist that the choice is made 30 minutes before the final starts and if a decision by the faster climber is not communicated by this time, the choice of poles reverts to the slower climber. The tree surgery event will be run first followed by the expert final to determine the overall champion in each class. The qualify-ing time will dictate the running order with the slowest qualifiers first and the fastest in the final race. On the last day, this will decide the Husqvarna UK 25m Poleclimbing Champion as a grand finale to the whole competition. Before the expert final there will be the final to determine the Tree surgery class Poleclimbing Champion.

Organisation Of Each Climb

Starting and finishing the climb:

When the Officials are satisfied that the safety preparation is satisfac-tory, The start will be undertaken by the Starter. When the climber and belayers are ready, the climb will be started by the words "Climber by your pole; three, two, one, GO". On "GO", the climber will start the climb and finish at the top of the pole by hitting an electronic timing button.

Timing and recording:

Timing can be manually with stopwatches or electronically. Manual timing will be by a minimum of two time keepers using stopwatches based on visual observations of starting and finishing and the average will be the recorded time for the climb. Electronic timing will be by mechanical switches at the start and finish of the climb that will precisely record the time. All electronic times should be backed up by a manual time in case of failure in the timing equipment.

Time checking and disputes:

The time for each climb will be recorded in writing. It is the responsibility of each climber directly after the climb to check the recorded times and agree them with the timekeepers. Any disagreements must be brought to the attention of the Officials before the following climb commences to allow a rapid investigation and decision. The Officials will be responsible for settling any disputes and their decision will be final.

Prizes and awards:

The total prize fund this year stands at £3000 in Husqvarna merchandise..

Sponsorship:
T-Shirts for all the climbers will be provided and it will be compulsory for the competitors to wear them during the event. Merchandise will also be provided to each entrant.

Tickets and parking:

All pre-booked entries will receive a complimentary ticket & a free camping Pass. Tickets will be available for collection from the main ticket office. State pole climbing and your name.

Useful hints:

The following may save you problems on the day:

Arrive early - all access routes are busy by 08.30 and arriving before this may save a long wait

Pre-booking - qualifying is very much on a first come first serve basis. Pre-booking guarantees your place. If you arrive after 10am, you will not get a chance to qualify.

The showground will remain open on Sunday night for live entertainment & BBQ.

How To Enter:

Print out and complete the booking form and return it to:

Husqvarna World 25m Pole climbing Championship,
18 Brookhouse Rd,
Oswestry,
Shropshire
SY11 2JN

Closing date for entries is 29th April.

Priority will be given to those who book in advance.

You may be able to enter on the day dependant on availability

Contacts and queries:

If you have any queries about the rules or the competition please contact

Terry Bennett
Email: terrypbennett@gmail.com
Phone: 07711398628