KENT, Ohio — Dozens of arborists from across the country, as well as Mexico and Canada, have descended onto Davey's SEED Campus as part of The North American Tree Climbing Championship this weekend.
It's a competition where the best professional tree climbers on the continent are competing high in the treetops on the campus of the nation's oldest tree care company.
The event, which is held annually by the International Society of Arboriculture, takes place May 15-17 at The Davey Tree Expert Company's SEED Campus, 1500 N Mantua St., Kent, OH 44240.
"This is the first time it's ever been held on a private property," Don Roppolo, vice president at Davey, said. "It's always held at a public park, and to have it here at the Davey SEED campus is really amazing."
Competitors face off in five tree climbing events, including work climb, aerial rescue, ascent, belayed speed climb and throwline.
"It's a combination of skill and poise and the ability to stay calm in the moment," Roppolo said.
"This is huge," Dan Herms, vice president and general manager of the Davey Institute, said. "These are the best tree climbers in North America. They've qualified to compete here."
For Isabel Krueger, who traveled from Madison, Wisconsin, the championship is about more than just who ends up with the best times and scores.
"It's not necessarily when I'm up there, it's talking people to people when I get down and seeing community members, familiar faces, new faces show up and get me excited in the environment that we're in," Krueger said.
From here, the best of the best are set to compete in St. Louis this fall at the International Tree Climbing Championship.
The event runs through Sunday and is free and open to the public.
Clay LePard is the Ashtabula, Geauga and Portage counties reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on X @ClayLePard, on Facebook ClayLePardTV or email him at Clay.LePard@wews.com.
