Tree climbing competitions: the events and how entry works

This page describes what the organisers say about tree climbing championships. For dates on this site, see the events page.

What the championships are

ISA runs the International Tree Climbing Championship, called the ITCC. Its event page says the competitions simulate the working conditions of arborists in the field. Male and female competitors take part, and each event tests how a competitor moves in a tree while doing work-related tasks in a timely way. The rule book adds that competitions promote safe working practices, show new equipment and techniques, and give climbers a chance to swap ideas with peers.

The 2026 rule book says competitors must be ISA members before the start of the competition. It also sets a minimum age of 16, and climbers who are 16 or 17 need the consent of a legal guardian. The book is valid from October 1, 2026. ISA offers a digital edition, and printed copies are to be sold through the ISA online store. ISA publishes the rules in English. Translations exist, but ISA warns they may not be the current version.

Sources: the ITCC event descriptions, the ITCC rules page and the 2026 ITCC rule book.

The five preliminary events

ISA names five preliminary events: Aerial Rescue, Work Climb, Ascent, Belayed Speed Climb and Throwline. Competitors are scored one by one in each. First, second and third place for men and for women are awarded in each event. Scores from all five are added together.

The Arboricultural Association in the UK describes each event on its competition page:

Ascent. It tests use of the competitor's chosen and approved ascent system, up to the bell. The descent is not part of the event. Points are earned for speed and for meeting set safety objectives.
Throwline. It is timed. Competitors try to place a line through two of eight targets in trees at about 10 to 20 metres, with unlimited throws inside 6 minutes.
Aerial Rescue. It is timed. The competitor climbs to a casualty and lowers them safely. The page says competitors do a risk assessment, a pre-climb assessment and a casualty assessment.
Work Climb. The competitor visits five work stations in a tree and does a set task at each. Judges give points for safety, control and style, and the time limit is 5 minutes.
Speed Climb. It is a timed climb from the ground to 18 metres, using a belayed climbing system for safety. The least time to the final bell wins.

Other organisers may set details differently, so the rule book and each organiser's own page are what count for a given event.

The Masters' Challenge

After the preliminaries, the man and the woman with the highest combined score move on to the Masters' Challenge. ISA says it is one event, scored on technique and skill. The rule book says finalists start fresh, with no preliminary points carried forward, and that 300 points can be earned. The Arboricultural Association says finalists are judged on knowledge, mastery of different techniques, use of equipment, poise in the tree and safe working practice. The top scorers are named champions: World Champions at the ITCC.

The rule book says this format dates from 1996. Earlier, the highest point total across the preliminaries simply won.

How a climber reaches the international final

ISA's events page says its chapters and associate organisations around the world hold their own competitions. The male and female winners are then invited to represent their organisation at the ITCC. Three regional events, Asia Pacific, Europe and North America, also each qualify one man and one woman. A fourth regional event, in Latin America, is listed on the regional events page.

The rule book sets the terms for the organisers:

Each chapter, associate organisation or regional event may send one male and one female climber to the international competition.
The world champions of the year before are invited back and do not count against their organisation's places.
To send climbers, a chapter must hold a competition of five preliminary events and a Masters' Challenge, and must state clearly how climbers are nominated onward.

So the route is local first: a chapter or national event, then possibly a regional event, then the ITCC. The ISA lists put the ITCC on October 9 to 11, 2026 in St. Louis, Missouri, and the 2027 edition on September 25 to 27 in Tournai, Belgium. The 2026 event is described as the 50th ITCC.

Each country

Country	Event	What the organiser says
US	ISA chapters, NATCC	NATCC 2027: March 19 to 21, Charlotte, North Carolina. Winners represent North America at the ITCC.
Canada	Chapter events	Prairie, Atlantic and Ontario each hold one. Terms differ by chapter.
UK	UK and Ireland TCC	September 5 and 6, 2026, Pittville Park, Cheltenham. Winners go forward to the European and international events.
Australia	ATCC	2027: April 16 to 18, Kings Park, Perth. Qualifies for APTCC and ITCC.
New Zealand	Regionals, then National	Four regionals feed the National Tree Climbing Championship.

United States

Entry runs through the ISA chapter or the regional event, under the ISA rule book. The NATCC is listed for Charlotte in March 2027, and the Asia Pacific and European events are listed for April and May 2027 in Auckland and July 2027 in Riga.

Canada

Canadian chapters run their own events under the ISA structure, and the terms are not the same. The ISA Prairie Chapter lists its 2026 competition for August 21 to 23 in Winnipeg, with a fee of CA$120 for chapter members. It says climbers need their own individual chapter membership, and that out-of-chapter climbers may enter the preliminary events but not the Masters' Challenge. It caps the field at 44 paid registrations, and its Masters champions go on to the ITCC. Its page also lists a gear check form that climbers must bring, with a gear check FAQ. A separate line says 12 places in the women's competition were held back until July 3, 2026.

The ISA Atlantic Chapter lists its 2026 event for September 12 in Moncton, New Brunswick. It says only climbers whose main residence is in Atlantic Canada are eligible for the Masters' Climb or to represent the chapter at the NATCC or ITCC. The ISA Ontario chapter runs the Ontario Tree Climbing Championship and says the event is open to the public. See the pages for the Prairie competition, the Atlantic competition and the Ontario championship.

United Kingdom and Ireland

The Arboricultural Association runs several competitions through the year, using volunteers. It says they are open to members and non-members. Its ARB Show Open has Novice, Expert and Premier categories. The UK and Ireland event is run under ISA rules, with working practices that follow UK and Ireland technical guidance, ATG1 Tree Climbing and Aerial Rescue. The page says the top placed eligible competitors can represent the UK and Ireland at the European and international championships. Spectators need no booking, and the page lists a free children's climb for ages 6 and up where booking is needed. In 2026 the event was split from the Association's annual conference. See the UK and Ireland competition page.

Australia

Arboriculture Australia's policy says the ATCC qualifies climbers for the Asia Pacific and International championships. To enter, a climber must have qualified for the Masters round of a state competition within 12 months, or be approved as a wildcard or invited as a guest. The policy also says climbers must have lived in Australia for over 2 years and must not have represented another ISA jurisdiction at an international or regional event. The first and second placed men and women from each state qualify automatically, up to a maximum of 50 competitors. The 2027 timeline lists state nominations, invitations, wildcard applications, a gear check, preliminaries over two days and the Masters Challenge on April 18. The policy says the event is run in line with the Minimum Industry Standards books. See the ATCC page and the ATCC policy.

New Zealand

NZ Arb says it holds four regional tree climbing competitions a year, and the top climbers gain entry to the National Tree Climbing Championship. Its page calls NZ Arb a chapter of ISA and has a form to register as a volunteer. See the NZ Arb tree climbing page.

Gear inspection and safety

ISA's equipment page says all competitors, and all volunteers who work at height during a competition or its set-up, must have all equipment and systems inspected before they enter an event safety zone. ISA expects competitions to use its guidelines and inspection form. It publishes a mechanical devices approval list, with an update dated April 2026, and encourages climbers to ask for pre-approval of new gear or techniques. Chapters, such as Prairie, put the same gear check form on their own pages. The current list is on the ISA equipment page.

Volunteers and judges

ISA says volunteer committees work with its staff so that events are run safely and to industry best practice. The rule book names head judges for the ITCC and for each regional event, and says judges, technicians and officials must read and understand the rules. Arboriculture Australia's policy calls volunteers the backbone of the ATCC, and lists registration, equipment checks, scoring and runners as their work. Its climbing page says volunteers need not be climbers or arborists, but must register. NZ Arb and the ISA ITCC site also take volunteer sign-ups.

For the groups behind these events, see associations and reading. For the women-focused programmes that sit alongside them, see groups and training for women in tree work.