On a 40-foot wood pole in Bonner Springs, Kansas, a lineman climbs with a raw egg in a bucket and comes back down with the egg in their mouth. Crack it and the judges take 10 points. That is one event at the International Lineman's Rodeo, the yearly competition for electrical linemen. Lineman's Rodeo 2026 is scheduled for October 14 to 17 in the Kansas City area, per the ILRA's posted schedule. The competition itself is set for Saturday, October 17, 2026, at the National Agriculture Center & Hall of Fame.
Lineman's Rodeo 2026: who runs it and where it is
The International Lineman's Rodeo Association (ILRA) runs it. The ILRA is a non-profit funded by entry fees and sponsor memberships. Volunteer judges score every event. Its history page says one purpose is "to provide a forum for the public to better understand and recognize the technical craft skills the linemen have."
The free Safety & Training Conference runs Wednesday, October 14, and Thursday morning, October 15, at the Overland Park Convention Center, where the Expo is open Thursday afternoon and Friday. On Friday, October 16, apprentices take the written test. Friday night is the barbecue and trade night. On Saturday, October 17, the opening ceremony is at 7:00 a.m. in Bonner Springs and competition starts at 7:30 a.m. Spectators get in free, per the ILRA's FAQ page.
Bring a lawn chair. There is no seating.
The 2026 rules book calls this the 42nd annual rodeo. The first was held in September 1984, with twelve teams from Kansas and Missouri, according to the ILRA's home page. Dale Warman, one of the founders, says the rodeo began "by linemen, for linemen and about linemen." The quote ran in Amy Fischbach's February 4, 2025, roundup for T&D World.
T&D World counted 227 three-member journeyman teams and 380 apprentices in 2024, then 290 teams and 364 apprentices in 2025, with more than 5,000 people in attendance.
Lineman rodeo events: hurtman rescue, the pole climb and two mystery events
A journeyman team is two qualified journeyman linemen and a ground man. Teams compete in divisions for investor-owned utilities, electric cooperatives, municipals, contractors, seniors (every member 50 or older on rodeo day) and the military. Apprentices compete alone in the same divisions, minus seniors.
Each team works four events. Two are known ahead of time, the hurtman rescue and the pole climb. The rules book says nobody learns the two mystery events until teams pick up their packets at registration on Friday. Apprentices also take a 50-question written test drawn from the 14th edition of the Lineman's and Cableman's Handbook.
The journeyman hurtman rescue is a pole-top rescue on a 40-foot pole, with all three teammates working at once. OSHA names pole-top rescue as an emergency procedure line workers must be trained in where it applies to their work, under 29 CFR 1910.269(a)(2)(i)(B). Per the ILRA's known-events book dated February 24, 2026, one contestant first tells the judge an emergency call has been made, and the ground man opens the cutout with an extendo stick (a telescoping hot stick). Up top, in rubber gloves, one climber rigs the rescue block while the other ties three half hitches under the mannequin's arms. Judges test that knot by sliding a 3-inch piece of PVC conduit between rope and mannequin. The clock stops when the mannequin is down inside the 10-foot work circle and the ground man is on his knees at its chest, ready for CPR.
The mean time is 4 minutes.
The pole climb has no mean time. The climber transitions past the neutral (the grounded conductor, about 9 feet from the top) going up and coming down, then rolls the egg for the judge to prove it is not cracked.
In 2025, T&D World reported, journeyman teams had up to 13 minutes on one mystery event. The job was to replace one side of a double buck crossarm.
"What we do every day is great training," says Adam Beene, restoration field operations manager at Pacific Gas & Electric Company. Beene was competing in his 12th rodeo, Andrew Soergel reported in Electric Perspectives on October 22, 2025.
How safety is built into the scoring
Each field event is worth 100 points, and judges deduct from there. Time only breaks a tie. Running past the mean time costs 2 points.
Of the five things judges score, the rules book lists safety and safe work practices first. Free climbing is no longer allowed. OSHA has required the same on the job since April 1, 2015. Under 29 CFR 1910.269(g)(2)(iv)(C)(3), a qualified employee climbing or changing location on a pole must use fall protection unless the employer can show that is infeasible or creates a greater hazard.
At the rodeo, fall protection must be rigged so a climber can free fall no more than 2 feet. Climbers must recheck their adjustment at the working position and at the neutral or lose 2 points. Each time, they say "checking adjustment judge" out loud. The pole climb is the one event where they check without saying it. Dropping a tool from the pole costs 2 points, and so does losing a hard hat. Each climbing pole has a ring painted at the six-foot mark. Cutting out below it (a gaff pulls out of the wood) and reaching the ground costs 10 points; cutting out to the ground after both feet pass above it is a disqualification.
"Safety is important to everyone, and everything about this Rodeo is safety," says Warman, listed as ILRA co-chairman in T&D World's November 24, 2025, report on the 41st rodeo.
"I like the safety aspects of Rodeo competitions," Zackery Goff, then a fourth-year apprentice at Pedernales Electric Cooperative, says in T&D World's February 4, 2025, roundup.
How to become a lineman, and what the job pays
The Bureau of Labor Statistics calls the job electrical power-line installers and repairers. The median annual wage was $95,320 in May 2025, per the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook page last modified August 27, 2026. BLS projects employment to grow 10 percent from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,900 openings a year.
Most people come in through an apprenticeship. BLS says programs may last up to 3 years and that qualified apprentices reach the journey level after 3 or 4 years of work. The IBEW and NECA's Electrical Training Alliance says outside lineman apprenticeships are three and a half years, and the NW Line JATC describes a 7,000-hour program finished in approximately 3 1/2 years, with a Class A CDL required. Indiana Electric Cooperatives runs a four-year program open to co-op employees and approved contractors.
College is another start. Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City has a one-year lineman certificate, three semesters starting in the summer, and Cleveland Community College in North Carolina runs a 10-week lineworker academy that includes the Class A CDL exam.
The ILRA has already set the next International Lineman's Rodeo for October 13 to 16, 2027, with the competition on Saturday, October 16, 2027.
Sources: International Lineman's Rodeo Association home page, Future Rodeo Dates, Schedule of Events, Competition, FAQ and History (Association) pages (linemansrodeokc.com/2026, read October 6, 2026); ILRA 2026 General Rules book (footer dated 08/26, assets.swoogo.com/uploads/7404912-6a7ccba8483ea.pdf); ILRA 2026 Known Events book (dated February 24, 2026, assets.swoogo.com/uploads/7473637-6a8f09b6b6a9f.pdf); OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.269(a)(2)(i)(B) and 1910.269(g)(2)(iv)(C)(3) (osha.gov, read October 6, 2026); T&D World, Amy Fischbach, "Lineman's Rodeo Roundup," February 4, 2025; T&D World, Amy Fischbach, "2025 Lineman's Rodeo Rewind," November 24, 2025; Electric Perspectives (Edison Electric Institute), Andrew Soergel, highlights story on the 41st International Lineman's Rodeo, October 22, 2025; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers (last modified August 27, 2026); IBEW-NECA Electrical Training Alliance, Applicants page; NW Line JATC, Outside Lineman Apprenticeship page; Indiana Electric Cooperatives, REAP apprenticeship page; Metropolitan Community College (Kansas City), Lineman program page; Cleveland Community College, Electrical Lineworker Academy page (all program pages read October 6, 2026). Featured photo: Western Area Power Administration (U.S. Department of Energy), via Flickr, CC BY 2.0