World shearing event awardwinning vision

IT was two strokes of luck for the World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships held in Invercargill this year as its organisers and hosts took away major honours at the New Zealand Events Association Awards this week.

At a gala event in Auckland on Wednesday night, the 40th annual world shearing and woolhandling championships was named ‘‘Best International Event’’.

The ILT Stadium, in Invercargill, was transformed into ‘‘the world’s biggest woolshed for a week’’.

It was named ‘‘best industry supplier for an event’’.

New Zealand Shearing Foundation chairman Tom Wilson was ‘‘flabbergasted’’ the event was named as the best.

‘‘It was a bit overwhelming to start with.’’

Mr Wilson was surprised the shearing championships came out on top considering the calibre of the other events named as finalists.

The other finalists were the Aon Youth Sailing World Championships, Crankworx Rotorua 2016, Royal New Zealand Navy 75th Anniversary and International Navy Review and the SingularityU New Zealand Summit.

Mr Wilson said there were a ‘‘whole host’’ of volunteers involved in organising the event.

As a former world title winner, Mr Wilson said the organising committee had ‘‘over 30 years’’ of experience in shearing and woolhandling championships which helped make it such a success.

‘‘We had that depth of experience within the group and we all had a vision for how we thought it should be.’’

To not only attain that vision but to also exceed it was a bonus, he said.

Mr Wilson lived in the Clutha District until ‘‘10 days ago’’ and was now in the process of moving to Waipukurau.

Other representatives from the championships present at the gala event were Shearing Sports New Zealand chairman Sir David Fagan and event manager and secretary Jude McNab.

Sir David said it was a big night for shearing as a sport and as an industry.

‘‘Rewarding not only those involved in running the event but those who had won the right for the event to be staged in the South Island for the first time and for Southland, its community leaders and the community itself.’’

The awards were among 13 presented at the Sky City Convention Centre in Auckland.

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Tom Wilson