Public invited to watch OTC’s lineworker rodeo

LEBANON, Mo. – The Ozarks Technical Community (OTC) Lebanon Center will be hosting a rodeo in the sky on Monday, April 29, 2024, beginning at 10 a.m. The competitors will be first-year students from OTC’s lineworker programs.

Four competitions will test student’s skills.

• Fuse change out: Students will use “hot sticks” to change out a fuse from the ground. This process is similar to what a lineworker would do in the field when a pole transformer fuse is burned out.
• Pole top rescue: Participants will start on the ground. As quickly as possible they will put on their gear, climb the pole, and safely lower a dummy to the bottom, and then climb down to render first aid.
• Obstacle climb: Students will climb a utility pole, all while navigating obstacles that will be found on job sites.
• Cross arm hang: Teams of students will work together to install a cross arm horizontally on the utility pole while suspended in the air in their climbing equipment.

The students will be judged on the four competitions. The judges will be professionals from Laclede Electric, Ozark Electric, Southwest Electric, Co-Mo Electric, Intercounty Electric, and White River Valley Electric.

The Lineworker Rodeo will be held at the OTC Lebanon Center at 22360 Highway MM. The event is free, and spectators are encouraged to bring a lawn chair. In case of severe weather, the event will be rescheduled to Monday, May 6, 2024.

In 2018, OTC debuted the lineworker program at the Lebanon center. Because of student demand, the college expanded the program to Nixa’s Richwood Valley campus in the fall of 2021.

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