Play ball - the rodeo action.

A six-event rodeo competition involving forklifts and other equipment was part of an observation of National Public Works Week for the neighbouring Texas cities of Carrollton and Farmers Branch. Each municipality is a suburb of Dallas.

"The forklift basketball was swept by the Carrollton 'wanna-be' [National Basketball Association] stars as Sean Murphy, Fred Mahan and Bobby Clay showed the best times and excellent dunks," says Robert Kopp, Carrollton director of public works.

Teams from the two cities' public works departments competed on 19 May at the large Tommy Standridge Stadium, which is used by four high schools for football, soccer and track events and by the communities for civic activities.

"This community outreach activity included a number of educational displays and a primary focus on the competitive courses," he says. In addition to forklift basketball, the timed-obstacle competitions involved precision operations of a backhoe, front-end loader and dump truck, the installation of a sign and the splicing and re-lamping of traffic signals.

"At the conclusion, the Carrollton team prevailed, but good times were had by all," Kopp reports.

There was no indication whether a team from Carrollton or Farmers Branch might choose to compete in the 16th annual US Open Forklift Rodeo & Safety Expo being held on 29-30 October in Springfield, Ohio Forkliftaction.com News #463).