Interjú Craig "Ash" Vindin-nel, a Verseny Vezetőbírójával

• HOW MANY COMPETITIONS ? I’m not sure, about 10 (of which 2xETCC & 2xITCC)
• Being an event volunteer is only recent, I from 2019. I have been a technician, timer, scoring judge and head judge for French regional and French national comps.
  I have been involved with both the ETCC and ITCC for the last 2 years, acting as in-tree technician at the Ascent and Masters, Ascent head judge and Masters scoring judge.
  (My very first contact with the competition was when I was on the team who deadwooded the trees for the ITCC in 2011 in Sydney).

• HOW LONG AGO DID YOU START AS AN ARBORIST ? At the beginning of 2002
• I finished high school in 2001. I started an apprenticeship in arboriculture in February 2002. It was my first job. So I’m coming up on 22 years working as an arborist – I started as a ground worker, evolved to climber, returned to studies in 2011 to become a consultant and about 2017, I started teaching climbing and biomechanics.

• WHERE ARE YOU FROM / HAVE YOU WORKED ? Australia, France, UK, Germany
• I am born in Australia and learned trees in Sydney (fantastic urban forest management by the way). I have worked around my own country, but a few years ago I moved to Europe for family and I’m now based France. On the way there I worked in the UK. I’ve worked in the north and west of France but today I’m based in the south-east working for myself. I have recently worked in Germany and I would love to work more around Europe.

• ARE YOU A MEMBER OF THE ISA / TITLE ? ISA Member and ISA Certified Arborist
• I have been a member of the ISA at different times during my career, but I’ve been a regular member in recent years because of the great scientific journal they produce and the climbing competitions. During COVID I wanted to freshen up my tree knowledge so I became an ISA Certified Arborist (and very glad I did because it made me realise that I hadn’t forgotten very much and motivated me to return to studies again).

• WHY DO YOU LIKE THE COMPETITIONS / THE ARBORIST COMMUNITIES
• Trees and tree people That is a good question, but one I find difficult to answer.
  If you’re an arborist, then you already know the answer.
  If I have to use words to give an answer to a non arborist, then…
  The competitions are a collection of arborists doing arboriculture. It doesn’t matter what language, what you like to eat, what you look like, what you have; the priorities are the trees and safety. The competitions are a fantastic mixture of knowledge, skills, testing and learning.
  Trees grow everywhere on the planet. I have found that no matter where I am, good passionate arborists seem to share a certain understanding about; work, relaxation, cycles, listening, risk, responsibility, teamwork, learning, playing, laughing, control, chaos, humility and time.
  Dynamic and Static
  Life and Death

Craig ASH Vindin