People From Around The World Were In Tulsa To Punch Their Ticket To The International Tree Climbing Championship

Tree climbers from around the world took to the trees at Owen Park to compete in the Midwestern Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture's (MWISA) Tree-Climbing Qualifying Competition.

"All of this kind of like mocks different scenarios that we do in our work every day," said the competition's head tech, Noel Boyer. 

He said these competitions are important to help build the professional image of arborists.

"It's really easy for somebody that just has a chainsaw and a pickup to go out and hustle tree work, but there is a wrong way to do tree work, and there is a very right way to do tree work," said Boyer. 

Climbers competed in several events like throw line, speed climb and aerial tree rescue.

"Make sure that they're safe and smooth getting up into the tree. That they treat the casualty based on the scenario that we'll mention that they get them down the ground in a safe and appropriate manner," said climber Boal Hammarstrand. 

The event brought folks from near and far to Tulsa to compete for the title.

"I've traveled from Sweden to Tulsa to be part of the Midwest tree climbing competition," said Hammarstrand. 

She started climbing in 2006. Now, Hammarstrand volunteers at the competition.

"I've been at the international tree climbing competition and placed third as the best, and I came second at the Europeans a couple of times," she said. 

Hammarstrand said she looked forward to passing on her knowledge to other tree climbers, and more.

"I'm just looking forward to hanging out with my tree family in the States. Everybody in the arborist community is like a big family; just enjoy hanging out together, talk about trees and gear and equipment, and just get to climb some nice trees," she said.