The competition is designed to mirror real-world arborist work. Both male and female participants compete in preliminary events, each evaluating their ability to carry out tree-climbing tasks safely, efficiently, and with professional skill.

Tree climbing competitions take place globally under International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) standards.

Winners of the 2026 Master’s Challenge in both the men’s and women’s divisions will earn the opportunity to represent the Southern Chapter at the ISA 2026 International Tree Climbing Championship (ITCC), to be held October 9–11, 2026, in St. Louis, Missouri.

Important Stuff

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

Deadline: May 22, 2026

Register Now - Click HERE to register to compete.

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

There are some great sponsorship opportunities available for the 2026 competition.

Check out the sponsorship opportunities HERE. It takes a village! We appreciate your support!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

We are looking for some great volunteers, but we need you to register in advance to make sure we have all competitions staffed.

Sign Up to volunteer HERE!

Questions? Contact Keenan Baird at keenan@greenrootstree.com

Schedule of Events

Schedule of events is subject to change.

Thursday, June 18, 2026

All Day | TCC Preliminary Setup Day

TBD | Volunteer Training

Friday, June 19, 2026          

2:00 – 4:00 PM | Mandatory – Contestant roll call, gear check and event walk thru with Judges

4:00 – 5:00 PM | Mandatory – Meeting for Judges and Officials

5:00 – 6:00 PM | Mandatory – Meeting for Judges, Officials, and Contestants

Saturday, June 20, 2026     

7:00 AM | Final briefing & roll call, light breakfast provided

7:30 AM - 3:00 PM | Preliminary Events

Evening | Climber & Volunteer Dinner & Preliminary Awards

Sunday, June 21, 2026         

9:00 AM – 3:00 PM | Masters’ Challenge and Awards Ceremony

Resources


GEAR CHECK FOR TCC VIDEO

Check out this great video published by ISA! It covers best practices for a gear check prior to a TCC.

ITS FREE TO WATCH: https://youtu.be/MHgnaP6o1kI