Kiwi World Champion Again

16 August 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kiwi tree climber, Scott Forrest, was awarded his fourth world title at the International Tree Climbing Championship (ITCC) earlier this week in Knoxville, Tennessee.

More than 90 male and female tree climbers and arborists from 21 countries competed at this year’s ITCC event, that ran across three days, between 9 – 11 August. Forrest emerged from the preliminary round of events in fourth place, securing himself a place in the final Masters’ Challenge round and an opportunity to compete for the world title. An impressive performance in the gruelling Masters’ Challenge, saw Forrest pull through with a convincing win.

Forrest has competed in the ITCC competition nine times previously. He was also International Men’s Champion in 2011, 2013 and 2014. Forrest won the Husqvarna New Zealand Tree Climbing Championship in November 2018, earning himself a place in the international competition along with two other New Zealand climbers.

In the ITCC Women’s competition, the 2018 New Zealand Champion, Stephanie Dryfhout, pulled off a close second behind UK competitor, Josephine Hedger.

Forrest was very happy with his win. When asked about his advice for anyone considering competitive tree climbing, he said “Do it.”

Will Melville, president of the New Zealand Arboricultural Association (NZ ARB), the main sponsor of the NZ tree climbing team and organiser of New Zealand’s national competition series, said Forrest’s performance was exceptional. “Arborist like Forrest climb trees every day at work as part of their job role, but it takes dedication and skill to compete and dominate a world championship competition so successfully over so many years.”

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