A local Duke Energy worker is getting ready to compete in the International Lineman’s Rodeo this weekend. The competition features events designed to simulate lineworker tasks, such as climbing up and down poles and stringing wire.
Jesse Orr, a Duke Energy lineworker based in Bloomington, is one of 12 people from Indiana who will be participating in the competition in Bonner Springs, Kansas. Orr qualified for the international rodeo for the second time at the Midwest Lineman’s Rodeo last spring.
As a fourth-year apprentice, Orr will have to complete a written test, a pole climb, a hurtman rescue and two mystery events. He is judged based on speed, safety procedures, agility and technique.
For the hurtman rescue, Orr will climb up the pole to where a 150-pound dummy sits, then lower the dummy down to the ground safely. For the pole climb, Orr needs to climb up and down the pole as quickly as possible without cracking the egg he is required to hold in his mouth. If he cracks the egg, he loses points.
“Imagine if you're running, you're doing some cardio, and you need to breathe really good. You're probably breathing through your mouth,” he said. “You can't do that, you can hardly breathe, and you're trying your hardest not to crack the egg…it's uncomfortable the whole way.”
Orr broke his ankle five months ago and was only able to start climbing a month ago. In that time off, he focused on studying for the written test. At this week’s practice leading up to the competition, he has worked on getting back into climbing and being efficient with his actions.
At this year’s competition, Orr will focus on more than speed.
“It’s not being the fastest but being clean and getting the most points,” he said.
Orr said he’s most looking forward to the mystery events. He finds out what they are the night before he’s set to compete.
“I enjoy the night before, going through the pamphlet and trying to come up with a game plan. To me, that's fun,” he said. “You get out there, and you can tell there's some guys that studied the night before and some guys really hadn't probably looked at it. And it's enjoyable to see that. And I think it makes the competition what it is, instead of everybody doing the same event that we do every single year.”
Orr became interested in lineman rodeos as a teenager. He was fascinated by videos showing how fast people would climb up and down the poles. As an apprentice lineman at Duke, Orr’s job mainly consists of changing poles, but there’s still overlap between his work and the competition.
“Even though there is difference between our day work and rodeo, and this is a sport, we're still doing the same things,” he said. “We're still climbing poles. We're still stringing wire, moving things around, and so just being familiar with the tools, being familiar with our equipment. And we may be going at it with more speed … but we're still staying familiar with the job.”
Beyond that, he likes the rush of competing.
“A lot of guys, they go to high school, and they play sports in high school, and that last game comes, and it's super emotional, because they never get to compete anymore,” he said. “Here, I'm a grown adult, and I still get to compete, and that's fun to me. It's going to keep me coming back to doing the rodeo.”
Next year, Orr will compete as a journeyman in a team of three.
