North American Tree Climbing Championship: organiser, entry route, events and results page

This page reports what the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) says on the NATCC pages of its ITCC site. The other regional finals and the world final are in the table of championships, and the world final has its own page.

What it is and when it is held

The NATCC is one of four ISA regional finals, with the Asia Pacific, European and Latin American events. ISA describes it as a chance for working arborists in North America to swap climbing techniques, equipment and safe work practice, and to give the profession public exposure in the region. The winners of the NATCC represent North America at the annual International Tree Climbing Championship. The ISA events page puts the number at one man and one woman from each regional final.

The NATCC page lists the 2027 edition for March 19 to 21, 2027, in Charlotte, North Carolina. The page also carries score files for the 2026 edition: all score totals, women's ranked scores and men's ranked scores, and top scores with the Masters' Challenge included.

Who can enter

The competitor information page sets out the 2026 terms for entry. Invitations go to the North American chapters, which submit the names of their representatives. Only after that does ISA send eligible competitors the registration link.

Who they represent. A competitor represents an ISA North American chapter or associate organisation, and is an ISA member before acceptance.
Team size. Each chapter or associate organisation may send up to three competitors, no more than two of them men. The page lists the mixes it allows: two men and one woman, two women and one man, or three women.
Chapter placing. The representatives must have placed in the top five at the chapter competition in the year of the NATCC or in either of the two years before it.
Chapter approval. The chapter's tree climbing championship chair must approve the names. The page says no competitor may apply on their own for a place.
Champions. The reigning NATCC champions already have a place and do not count as part of their chapter's team.

Guest climbers

Climbers from outside the North American region may enter the preliminary events as international guests if their own chapter or associate organisation asks and confirms a top five placing. Guests cannot enter the Masters' Challenge. They register and pay their entry fees before the event. There are at most five guest places, and no more than three of them can go to men. If more than five apply, places go to the first to apply. The NATCC committee can also invite extra climbers if places are vacant.

Rules that apply

The page says the NATCC follows the most current ITCC rules, and that competitors, not the committee, are responsible for reading them. The committee keeps the right to make extra rulings and change an event for the safety of competitors, volunteers and the public. The 2026 rule book adds that a chapter sending climbers to a regional final must hold its own competition with five preliminary events and a Masters' Challenge. See the NATCC page for the score files and the competitor information for the 2026 entry terms.