Pictures and recap from the 2026 Florida Lineman Competition
Full panorama of the Florida Lineman Competition rodeo field
This past weekend, our Florida territory managers and our marketing manager were delighted to attend the 25th annual Florida Lineman Competition, hosted by FMEA in Tallahassee, Florida. It was a beautiful weekend for the event, and our team was grateful to shake hands with customers and associates alike in the presence of some truly capable, impressive competitors. The competitions this year included Apprentice and Journeyman Hurt Man Rescue (sponsored by Buckingham and Estex), Jack Jumper Fuse Replacement (exclusively sponsored by Hastings), Cross Arm Relocation, 78” Fiberglass Guy Link Change Out, and the staple Mutual Aid competition. A fantastic addition to the festivities this year was the Kids’ Rodeo, a brand new competition for children of attending families.
It was a joy to watch all of it unfold and to witness such incredible strength and skill from each competitor. We’re honored to have been in attendance, and even more honored to have been able to document so much of the competition with our own photos and videos. USA will be debuting some of the video content filmed on site at the rodeo throughout the coming weeks—in the mean time, please enjoy this collection of our best photographs from the event.
The above photos feature the opening ceremonies area for the competition. In the early hours of the morning on competition day, opening ceremonies kicked off with the national anthem and a simultaneous three-man climb of the three decorative poles pictured to mount the flags.
Before the opening ceremonies even kicked off on Saturday, the USA team was out at the crack of dawn to set up our tent displays. This presented the perfect opportunity to capture that beautiful sunrise behind the main competition area for the Hurt Man Rescue. Pictured are the many Rescue Randy dummies, mounted and ready to perform their role as the “hurt man” to rescue from atop their pole-top perches.
The first event of the rodeo was the mandatory Mutual Aid event; all competitors for the day were required to take part, with linemen being grouped into teams of three at random in order to perform collaborative, restorative operations. Because this event took place before any other, it was scheduled for shortly after the opening ceremonies while the sun was still on its way up—which of course made for some fantastic photo opportunities.
A range of photos from throughout the day are included in this collection: practice poles (used to warm up before competing) anchored by Polecrete Stabilizer, linemen in competition in a variety of events, several aerial shots of the rodeo field, and a handful of photos of our team at the USA tent.
The Kids’ Rodeo was a brand new event this year, and it premiered with great enthusiasm and attendance from competitors and families alike. A chorus of “Yes!” resounded from the crowd gathered at the end of the event when asked if the Kids’ Rodeo should return next year.
To cap off our celebration of another successful rodeo, we present to you a familiar but welcome sight from every lineman rodeo: custom shirts. If you’ve never been to a lineman rodeo before, competing teams will almost always be decked out in matching, custom commissioned shirts. Usually these shirts are unique to both the rodeo and the year it takes place. The artwork used for each shirt is a point of pride among linemen and always makes for a visual feast. Take a look at some of our favorites that we spotted this year!