Roy Bickel to receive ESTA Lifetime Award
- Details
The ESTA Board of Directors and Technical Standards Council created this award in 2017 to recognise individuals whose technical contributions have had a significant impact on our industry. The criteria include significant and sustained technical contributions for at least 25 years. The 2021 award will be presented by Rocky Paulson and Chris Schmidt, who have made the following statements about this year’s winner:
Rocky Paulson writes of Roy’s storied career, “Roy was a circus rigger and performer prior to being hired as the head rigger for the first Disney on Parade show in 1969. He continued until 1974 when he left for Broadway to work for Pete Feller. After a time there, he went on to do the Rolling Stones tour in 1975. That was the beginning of a long career as a ‘rock & roll’ rigger. Roy currently lives in Las Vegas where he has been a fixture in the trade show world for over two decades.
“As the first head rigger on the Disney on Parade shows, he trained people like me in climbing techniques, rigging procedures, and physical fitness regimens to keep us in great shape. Though my direct experience of working for him was limited to a year in the seventies, I know his techniques were taught to many of the first-generation entertainment riggers. This training very much helped the rapid expansion of the industry during the rock & roll explosion. More recently in his career he was on the ETCP Arena Rigging Certification development team.
“Roy was and is a true innovator. Perhaps the two most notable contributions that changed the rigging world to what it looks like today was the introduction of slings with screw pin anchor shackles around 50 years ago. Along with the sling development, he specified the orientation and sizes of shackles used with the slings; these methods are still in use today.”
Chris says Roy deserves the award “for his tremendous contributions and innovations to the early days of the arena rigging industry”. He adds, “Many of Roy’s contributions developed in the early 70’s are techniques that are now standard practices in an industry that makes a living using some of the oldest tools known to humankind. He’s mentored countless arena riggers as well as many experts in the arena rigging field.”
