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FMEA Announces 2026 Florida Lineman Competition Winners
Yesterday in Tallahassee, the Florida Municipal Electric Association (FMEA) held the 25th annual Florida Lineman Competition, which brings together electric lineworkers from all over the state to demonstrate their skill and knowledge in the craft of line work.
Competitors took on various challenges such as replacing fuses and insulators, changing out fiberglass guy links, relocating cross arms, transferring equipment from pole to pole, and completing a simulation of rescuing an injured lineworker. Competitors earned points for completing the tasks as quickly as possible and lost points if safety standards and proper work practices were not followed.
There were two different categories of competitors. Journeyman teams, which included at least one lineworker who has been in the industry for five years or more, were made up of three lineworkers. Apprentices, or lineworkers in training, competed individually.
The 2026 Overall Journeyman Team Winners’ Cup was presented to Lance Rivenbark, Jordan Reddick and Jason Smith of the City of Tallahassee. Winning the Overall Apprentice Award was Dalton Gowdy from the City of Tallahassee.
This year, electric utility workers from 13 utilities participated in the 2026 Florida Lineman Competition. This included 156 lineworkers from 11 utilities registered to compete, comprised of 72 apprentices and 84 journeyman lineworkers competing on 26 teams, and 58 judges from across the state who scored the competition.
“This year marked the 25th anniversary of the Florida Lineman Competition and we were thrilled to bring together so many representatives from our public power communities to take part in this milestone event. Yesterday’s winners embodied the exceptional skill, precision and professionalism that define linework,” said Amy Zubaly, FMEA Executive Director. “Thank you to all who participated in the competition and a huge congratulations to our winners.”
Florida’s public power utilities are locally owned, locally controlled and locally operated, enabling them to quickly respond to the needs of their communities. They are also among some of the most reliable and affordable power providers in the state. For more information on FMEA and Florida’s public power communities, please visit www.flpublicpower.com.
Pictured are the 2026 Overall Journeyman Team Award Winners, which was presented to Lance Rivenbark, Jordan Reddick and Jason Smith of the City of Tallahassee.
Pictured is the 2026 Overall Apprentice Award winner Dalton Gowdy from the City of Tallahassee.