(September 26, 2013) Jackson, Tenn.- The tagline for the National Gas Rodeo is “Great Crews Don’t Just Happen.” The successes had by the two teams that represented Jackson Energy Authority prove the moniker true.
At their board meeting on Thursday morning, Jackson Energy Authority board members were updated on their rodeo teams.
JEA sent two teams, the Sharpshooters and the Patriots, to the 2013 National Gas Rodeo in Fairview Heights, Illinois.
When you think rodeo, you think of bull-riding and horse lasso-ing. In the National Gas Rodeo, there's a lot more to it.
The two teams competed in multiple events. One of these events was the pipe cut in which teams had to cut through a four inch length piece of 6 inch-.219 wall pipe using only a manual 4-wheel cutter.
Then there is the hand dig in which teams must dig a 50/50 mix of sand and “pea gravel” out of a box to expose five yellow dots on the bottom.
They also have the service installation event and the meter set where participants must set up a meter to pre-specified standards. These are all just qualifying events to get to the main event.
The Relay.
The relay is a series of difficult events meant to challenge each of the skills of the team members.
The first leg of the relay is the truck and trailer back-up. It sounds simple, but it’s anything but.
A truck and a trailer has to be maneuvered and backed up into an alley of cones. The truck has to back into a cone that has a golf ball on it without knocking it off of the cone.
Following that, the team has to participate in the egg pick-up. It is similar to the egg and spoon race that children play during school field day.
However, instead of using your mouth to pick up the spoon, you have to use a backhoe. Instead of putting it into a bucket, the operator has to put it in an 8 inch weld cap.
After completing that, the teams must transfer a basketball, a soccer ball, and a baseball into a large bucket using a mini excavator. After the regulator bypass and water cooler events, the relay is completed.
Once the competitions were completed, the Sharpshooters placed 8th and the Patriots placed 7th out of the 24 teams that competed in their division.
After hearing of the successes had by the teams, the board saluted the competitors with a round of applause.
