Brandon Sanders and his journeyman lineman team achieved their goal in the Georgia Lineman’s Rodeo on May 3: to qualify for the International Lineman’s Rodeo and Expo for the first time.
“Going to Kansas, it’s going to be a humbling experience,” Sanders said. “It’s supposed to be the best of the best. Just want to show up and show out.”
The international rodeo is “a lot bigger” than the Georgia competition, with roughly 150 teams and over 400 apprentices, said Lexington’s Ben Campbell, Jackson EMC journeyman lineman and six-time international rodeo qualifier.
To qualify for the international rodeo, Sanders, a Jackson EMC journeyman lineman and Oglethorpe County resident, and his teammates Easton Tuggle and Cody Watson competed in four events, placing fourth out of 27 teams with 398 points.
The events — hurtman rescue, two mystery events and a known event — were each scored on a 100-point scale and based upon safety, work practices, neatness and ability, equipment handling and timely completion of the event.
Penalties were awarded to teams for instances such as dropping tools, the event mean time exceeding more than two minutes or accidental contact with energized phases.
Sanders’ team placed second in both the hurtman rescue and an event involving a blown fuse and a bad lightning arrestor.
“We thought we had hurtman won, though,” he said. “We got beat by two seconds, which our time that we got this year was two seconds faster than the winner of it last year, so we thought we had that in the bag.”
Campbell said one of the mystery events involved a simulation of building a new line off of a three-phase line.
“That was a lot of work,” Sanders said. “But the (event) was the most physical, and it involved a lot of covering up of the lines and a lot of climbing up the pole and hanging the wire off one pole.”
Campbell said showcasing his abilities to family and friends at the Georgia rodeo, which was in Fort Valley, brought him a sense of pride.
“It’s good to know that I can compete in my career,” he said. “Other linemen from across the state, across the country, I can hang with them.”
Campbell and his teammates Austin Lewis and Brandon Carter placed fifth with 398 points and will join Sanders’ team at the international rodeo in Overland Park, Kansas, in October.
For Sanders, qualifying for the international rodeo was a way to boost his ego.
“You take pride, (and) it feels really nice, especially to get down there and compete against the best in Georgia and have a chance at winning, let alone place at the top,” Sanders said.