http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/life_and_entertainment/2012/08/09/ohio-trimmer-ascends-in-global-tree-contest.html
By Ken Gordon
The Columbus Dispatch Thursday August 9, 2012 6:37 AM
Jacob Sauer is known as the finest Ohio tree climber, with a title to prove it.
Yet, as the Columbus resident prepares to compete this weekend in an international competition, his confidence sometimes wavers.
“I’m going up against some pretty big names,” said Sauer, 29, of the Clintonville neighborhood.“ I’m watching YouTube videos of some of these Swedish guys. . . . It’s going to be a challenge.”
Jitters aside, he is thrilled to be traveling to Portland, Ore., for the International Tree Climbing Championship on Saturday and Sunday.Sauer, who qualified in May by picking up the Ohio championship in Cincinnati, numbers among 41 men from seven nations who will vie in Portland. (Nineteen women will participate in their category.)
“It has been very exciting to realize I’m competing in an internationalevent,” he said.
The contest, begun in 1976, is sponsored by the International Society of Arboriculture. It is designed to test the proficiency of competing arborists — professional tree trimmers — in five areas.
Speed is considered a factor, but technique and safety also play into the scoring.
In the “work climb,” which Sauer calls his best and favorite pursuit, competitors start at the top of a tree to complete a series of tasks on the way down — such as reaching out to the end of a limb to ring a buzzer, touching several stations with various handsaws and landing in a designated target area.
The event “is the most relevant to our industry,” he said, “because it’s about being able to maneuver through the tree quickly.”The contest coincides with the annual society conference.
“The purpose is for competitors to learn from each other, to work more efficiently and safely,” said Sonia Garth, a spokeswoman for the society.“But they also get to see the latest equipment and try it out.”
Sauer, a 2001 graduate of Bishop Watterson High School, has worked in the business for nine years, with the past six as owner of Jacob Sauer Tree Care.
In the May competition, his first, he outperformed the rest of the field of 25 men and won about $800 worth of new gear and the Oregon opportunity — with the society covering his travel and lodging expenses.
His success didn’t surprise friend and fellow arborist Tom Taber, owner of Trapper’s Tree Service in central Ohio.
“He has a natural ability that exceeds most people who have been in it for 20 years,” Taber said. “He loves what he does, and he pours himself into it.”
Sauer expects to have a cheering section this weekend of about 15 people, including wife Bess Schaefer; daughter Kayla, 5; and son Guthrie, 21 months.
He seeks to place in the top five in at least one event and leave with more equipment.
“I’m just hoping to learn a lot,” he said. “This is pretty awesome.”
kgordon@dispatch.com
@kgdispatch
