Southern competitors to fore
THE South put forward some tough competition in the first day of the annual Otago Shearing and Woolhandling Championships in Balclutha yesterday.
The twoday shearing competition started in the morning and continues today.
Junior and intermediate competitors took the stage at the Balclutha War Memorial Hall to compete for championship titles.
About 220 competitors are expected to take part over the two days and many have travelled from overseas.
Tiana Smith, of Milton, was the top scorer in the heats leading up to the junior woolhandler championship title, where she came second.
The winning junior woolhandler was Chenell Waihape, of Mataura.
It was the first time Ms Smith had competed since taking a break from work for a year.
She said the competition was ‘‘nerveracking’’ but she had better control over her anxiety than in previous years.
‘‘I loved it.’’
She had entered the shears three times before and it was the third time she made it to the finals.
Tia Potae, also of Milton, helped out with organising the event and competed in the senior section.
She said it was a tough day. The competition was good with more entries than usual, as the Otago shears leads up to the World Championships in Invercargill next week.
There was a lot of diversity, she said.
As a 16year veteran in the trade, Ms Potae had advice for those in the job.
‘‘Just go out there and go hard.’’
Judge Allan Paterson kept an eye on the shearing throughout the day and offered advice to new judges.
He was impressed by the competition and the shearers.
‘‘The quality of the sheep being shorn is on the improve,’’ he said.
About 2000 sheep will be shorn in the two days of shearing and woolhandling in the Balclutha War Memorial Hall, about 400 more than usual.
The Otago championships have been an annual event for more than 55 years.
The competition concludes this afternoon.
samuel.white@odt.co.nz