By ALAN PERROTT
Tree climbing has graduated from the backyard to the international sports calendar, with Andrew Harrison in its top branches.
The 32-year-old Blockhouse Bay arborist is New Zealand's best. He finished 14th in the recent international tree-climbing competition among the lofty white oaks of Baltimore in the northeast United States.
CBS television filmed the event and plans to screen it during its coverage of the Olympic Games.
Competitive tree climbing in New Zealand is barely five years old, but Mr Harrison says it has been going strong in America since the 1970s as an alternative to rock climbing.
He expects the sport will soon take off here. "It's still low profile, you don't get a lot of coverage, but I was still proud to represent New Zealand. Unfortunately, I didn't get to compete in the black singlet, they gave everybody the same T-shirt."
Mr Harrison discovered his vertical tendencies at an early age and claims never to have fallen out of a tree.
"I could climb out of my cot as a baby, and then I taught my brother how to climb over the front gate."
From climbing races against his mates, it was a short swing to a career as an arborist.
While there are many ways to race up a tree using ropes, knots, gadgets and fingernails, competitions involve four styles.
There is footlocking, where you drag yourself up a vertical rope; speed climb, a vertical limb-to-limb sprint up the tree; work climb, leaping about a tree lopping off dead limbs and dropping them on to a target; and the rescue climb, a mission parents may do for their children at one time or another.
According to Mr Harrison, tree climbing has different philosophies.
Americans favour the John Wayne approach - furrowed brow, bulging biceps and fancy gadgetry - show the tree who's boss.
But the national champion prefers the zen-like style of the Germans, the All Blacks of tree climbing.
"The Germans have a way with the tree, they almost dance with it. When you watch them, they are so smooth and graceful it's almost art."
Brad Cadwallader, chairman of the New Zealand Arborocultural Association, said there were about 80 competitive climbers in the country and numbers were growing.
"We get a couple of hundred people to watch the regional competitions now without trying, so the interest is there.
"We're slowly transforming it from a social event to something more spectator friendly. Who knows, if synchronised swimming and horseriding can be at the Olympics, we might get there one day as well."
Today at Auckland's Cornwall Park, about 25 climbers will be shinning up trees in the Auckland regional competition.
A leaf out of Tarzan's book
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.