Lineman Rodeo Competition Held in Bonner Springs, KS on October 14.
(KANSAS CITY, Kan.) — Five linemen from the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities
(BPU) will compete against hundreds of other utility workers from across the nation
and as far away as Canada and the United Kingdom at the Annual International
Lineman’s Rodeo in Bonner Springs, KS, testing their professional and trade skills in a
unique competition that is open to the public. Hundreds of utility professionals will be
in town for an annual trade show and expo in Overland Park, KS, with the highlight
being the “Lineman’s Rodeo”, a series of competitions testing various lineman skills
and safety techniques.
The 39th Annual International Lineman’s Rodeo & Expo will be October 11-14, 2023 in
Overland Park, KS at the Overland Park Convention Center and in Bonner Springs, KS at
the National Agriculture Center & Hall of Fame. Evergy and BPU are the host utilities.
The Lineman’s Rodeo attracts the best linemen from around the world to compete in
events based on traditional lineman tasks and skills. After more than 30 years, the
International Lineman’s Rodeo & Expo still proves to be the industry’s most valued
premier event of its kind for the electric utility industry. The first Lineman’s Rodeo
was held in September 1984, with twelve participating teams from Kansas and
Missouri. The Rodeo has grown to over 200 teams and 300 apprentices.
BPU will be represented by one team and two apprentice linemen.
Jake Janes, Trenton Overton, Josh Cook, Garrett Gilbert and Dawson Crouss this year,
will be competing against more than 900 linemen representing over 200 teams from
various private and municipal utilities.
The rodeo competition will occur on Saturday, October 14th, 2023 at the Agricultural Hall of Fame in Bonner Springs, kicking off at 7:00 am. An Awards Banquet will be
held at the Overland Park Convention Center at 7:00 p.m. that evening.
The International Lineman’s Rodeo was first held in 1984, and was created to maintain
a focus on safety and safe work practices and to recognize the technical craft skills of
utility lineman. One other purpose has always been for the participants to have fun
while sharing work knowledge with others in their trade from different companies and
different parts of the country. Go to www.linemansrodeokc.com for more information
about this event.