World Pole Climbing Championships in UK
- 12 years ago
Pole-climbing had its championships on Saturday in Warwickshire, England, where competitors had to sprint 25 meters - up a timber pole.
While the sport is around two decades old, it has its roots in lumberjacking, according to Terry Bennett, the organizer of the championships.
[Terry Bennett, Organizer]:
“It stems back from the large tree felling in America and Canada where the lumberjacks would scale up some of the largest trees in the forest.”
However, the field carries much more than foresters, now with even graphic designers in the mix.
Current world record holder Grant Haller was crowned the world champion with a time of 10.13 seconds.
The most interesting entrant, though, was probably George Tipping, whose age, at 79, is just shy of the 80-year-old tree he climbed.
George uses pole climbing to raise money for cancer charity, having done for over 14 years, after losing his wife to cancer.
For him, it’s the first climb that’s the hardest.
[George Tipper, 79-Year-Old Competitor]:
"I am out of breath when I get to the top, I am really out of breath. I'm even out of breath when I get down. But going up it doesn't seem to bother me. It's always the first climb of the show that I'm worried about and I find hard. Once I've got the first one over I'm alright."
The World Pole Climbing Championships will be held again in the UK in two years.
For more news and videos visit ☛http://ntdtv.org
Follow us on Twitter ☛ http://twitter.com/NTDTelevision
Add us on Facebook ☛ http://on.fb.me/s5KV2C
While the sport is around two decades old, it has its roots in lumberjacking, according to Terry Bennett, the organizer of the championships.
[Terry Bennett, Organizer]:
“It stems back from the large tree felling in America and Canada where the lumberjacks would scale up some of the largest trees in the forest.”
However, the field carries much more than foresters, now with even graphic designers in the mix.
Current world record holder Grant Haller was crowned the world champion with a time of 10.13 seconds.
The most interesting entrant, though, was probably George Tipping, whose age, at 79, is just shy of the 80-year-old tree he climbed.
George uses pole climbing to raise money for cancer charity, having done for over 14 years, after losing his wife to cancer.
For him, it’s the first climb that’s the hardest.
[George Tipper, 79-Year-Old Competitor]:
"I am out of breath when I get to the top, I am really out of breath. I'm even out of breath when I get down. But going up it doesn't seem to bother me. It's always the first climb of the show that I'm worried about and I find hard. Once I've got the first one over I'm alright."
The World Pole Climbing Championships will be held again in the UK in two years.
For more news and videos visit ☛http://ntdtv.org
Follow us on Twitter ☛ http://twitter.com/NTDTelevision
Add us on Facebook ☛ http://on.fb.me/s5KV2C