Who’s the best backhoe operator you know? Do you see yourself as the best? Well, there’s a way to prove your chops: Compete in the National Backhoe Roe-D-Hoe at the 2012 Pumper & Cleaner Expo, Feb. 27-March 1 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.

This skills competition takes place in the exhibit hall, where a new national champion will be crowned again this year. The venue may be new, but the skills you need to become the next Casey Mallon remain the same: Calmness under pressure, accuracy, a feel for the controls, and the ability to put it all together when it’s on the line.

 

Challenging course

Those are the skills Mallon demonstrated by following up his Roe-D-Hoe victory earlier in the year at the Iowa Onsite Waste Water Association with the national championship at the 2011 NOWRA competition.

Mallon beat out more than 200 competitors at the 2011 Expo in Louisville, Ky. It was the largest group of competitors in the event’s history. About 100 people tested their skills in each of the first two days of last year’s Expo. Competition was spirited, as each participant tried to complete the course fast enough to qualify for Saturday’s finals.

It wasn’t easy, as the course was set up by “Mr. Backhoe Roe-D-Hoe,” Mick Heibert of IHI Compact Excavator Sales. Various competitors came up with high-risk strategies to complete the three events – basketball, bowling and golf.

For example, in the basketball event, the goal was to pick up three basketballs with the backhoe bucket and drop them through a hoop. The safe route was to go for the balls one at a time. Several competitors tried to pick up two or three at once and drop them through. Those who succeeded (not many) shaved precious seconds off their times. Those who failed lost any chance of a good score, since dropping even one ball meant a do-over.

 

Volunteer support

By Saturday morning of the Expo, the pretenders were gone and the bleachers were filled with spectators cheering on their favorites. Champions from NOWRA-affiliate state associations that held sanctioned Roe-D-Hoe events automatically qualified for the finals, so 11 finalists competed for the $1,000 grand prize and the Roe-D-Hoe Championship Belt.

The tension was thick as the score to beat went lower and lower. In the end, Mallon came up with the best time, followed by Josh Reading of Illinois, and Timothy Boswell of Virginia.

In addition to the support provided by IHI, which supplied the electric backhoes, the Roe-D-Hoe was also supported by NOWRA Business Benefit Program partners Jet, Bio-Microbics, Infiltrator Systems, Norweco and Presby Environmental.

Volunteers also spent considerable time helping: Tom Fritts (who organized the overall event), Jessi Wood and Jason Vaughn from Residential Sewage Treatment Company; Allison Blodig of Bio-Microbics; Greg Graves of Norweco; and Dr. Randy Miles of the University of Missouri. Jennifer Cisneros of Bio-Microbics put together the electronic leaderboard and related graphics. Finally, the support and space provided by COLE Publishing was invaluable.

The 2012 competition promises to be even bigger. Competition will likely be tougher with more competitors and more state champions. To get a better sense of what’s involved in the Roe-D-Hoe, visit the NOWRA YouTube page (www.youtube.com/user/NOWRAVIDEO) for scenes from 2011, including the finals.

Join NOWRA in Indianapolis for the 2012 National Backhoe Roe-D-Hoe!