A group of six journeyman and three apprentices from OUC will travel to Jacksonville on February 23 for the 2024 Florida Municipal Electric Association’s Lineman Competition. Drawing competitors from utilities across the state, it will take place downtown over a period of two days at the waterfront Metropolitan Park.

Held since 2001 and popularly known as the Lineman Rodeo, the event tests skills, speed and safety awareness as competitors complete tasks that line technicians typically see in the field (working with non-energized lines). Some categories assess their ability to rescue an injured line technician and work with other utilities to render mutual aid, which is important preparation for real-world post-disaster response. Details on a “mystery event” for journeyman are not revealed until the day before the competition begins. Apprentices, who are line techs with four years or less of experience, also must complete a written test as part of the competition.

Brendan Laflamme, line technician 1, practices for the 2024 Florida Lineman Competition.

Participants are timed in each event, with judges also monitoring for strict adherence to competition guidelines and deducting points for “gigs” (faults). Although the lines are not energized during the events, the voltage a line technician would encounter in a similar real-life situation is specified. In 2023, OUC won seven trophies overall, including first, second and third place in the mixed-competitor Mutual Aid event.

“Being a lineman, you’ve got to be able to work hard and work through a lot of adversity,” said Evan Englert, line technician II, who started competing three years ago. “I feel like that’s what this competition shows – the ability to, when something goes wrong, work through it and still do it efficiently and safely and get the job done.”

Englert is part of one of OUC’s two teams of three journeymen. His teammates include Austin Houk, line technician II, and Nelson Rodriquez, distribution operator. The other journeyman team includes Matt Coakley, line technician II, and Chase Englert, line technician II, and Brendan Laflamme, line technician I. The apprentice team is made up of Garrett Accomando, line technician II, Salvador Martinez, line technician III, and Eli Venn, line technician III.

They will take part in the following events:

Apprentice Events

  • Horizontal Hurtman Rescue
  • Loadbust Tool Operation
  • Mutual Aid Event
  • Polymer Bell and Fuse Change Out
  • Secondary Wire Replacement for Open Wire Secondaries
  • Written Test

Journeyman Team Events

  • 4kV 600 Amp Disconnect Change Out
  • 35kV Suspension Bell Change Out
  • Horizontal Hurtman Rescue
  • Mutual Aid Event
  • Mystery Event
  • Wire and Transformer Relocation

OUC team members perfect their skills before heading to Jacksonville.

Led by OUC team foreman Richard Boley, lead line technician, the group has been practicing since November at OUC’s Pershing training facility.

Boley has been a member of OUC’s team since 2001, competing in state, national and international rodeos up until 2015 when he moved into the foreman role. He said that while OUC is looking to bring home trophies from Jacksonville, the competition and the training leading up to it also help reinforce skills and safety procedures that a lineman uses every day in the field.

“We also have camaraderie with the other utility companies. When storms come, we’ll know the people who are working with us for mutual aid. We can rely on them. We know how they work,” said Boley.