Ontario Tree Climbing Championship: organiser, entry route, events and results page
ISA Ontario's provincial climbing championship: the host cities it lists back to 2018, what the host-site sheet says the event needs, the free public side of the weekend, and where the chapter posts scores and ascent records.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what ISA Ontario says on its OTCC page and in its host-site requirements sheet. The other Canadian events are in the table of championships.
Who runs it and what the weekend is
The Ontario Tree Climbing Championship, called the OTCC, is run by the Ontario chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. The chapter's page says the event brings arborists and industry members together, that the public is welcome to watch, learn about trees at educational sessions and visit a trade show, and that anyone can try tree climbing at a Fun Climb station under the guidance of a professional arborist. The host-site sheet describes the OTCC as an annual two-day event, usually held on the second weekend in September, and says it is free for the public to attend.
The chapter lists a committee chair, a head judge and a head technician for the event, and a page with past virtual forums, recorded on May 17, 2023, November 15, 2023, June 18, 2024, April 16, 2025 and March 25, 2026. The 2026 edition was held at the Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens, and the page gives no details of the 2027 edition.
Where it has been held
| Year | Host place |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens |
| 2025 | Kingston |
| 2024 | Mississauga |
| 2023 | Burlington |
| 2022 | London |
| 2019 | Burlington |
| 2018 | Sarnia |
Events and entry route
The host-site sheet lists five preliminary events: work climb, aerial rescue, throwline, belayed speed climb and ascent. The top male and female competitors go to the Masters' Challenge, and the sheet says the winners move on to represent Ontario in the North American and international competitions. The sheet describes the trees an event needs, for example a tree for the ascent event with an anchor at 12 to 25 metres, and a tree for the aerial rescue where the casualty sits preferably no higher than 7.5 metres above the ground.
Host site needs
The sheet asks a host for four days on the second or third weekend in September: a set-up day on Thursday where volunteers work with the municipal forestry crew to prune trees, event days on Friday and Saturday, and a rain day on Sunday if needed. It lists six competition trees and one or two trees for the Fun Climb, a trade show area with room for heavy vehicles, parking, power, utility locates, washrooms and nearby lodging. It says the chapter insures the event, assesses the risk of every tree, inspects gear, writes a rescue plan for each event and brings emergency services on site, and that a tree planting ceremony is held at each host location.
Results and records
For 2024 to 2026 the chapter posts a Masters' scores file and an overall score sheet. For 2022, 2023 and 2019 it posts one results file for the year. It also posts a volunteer list for each year from 2022 to 2025. It also keeps a list of past champions and states Ontario ascent records, set at the 2024 event: 17.87 seconds for women and 8.80 seconds for men. Those pages name people, so this site links to them and repeats no name: see the OTCC page.