Kirsty keen to make Tool Blacks to honour her dad

Kirsty keen to make Tool Blacks to honour her dad

20 September 2010

If 21-year-old Kirsty Lister competes at WorldSkills 2011 in London next year, she'll be doing it for her step dad.

“He'd want me to give it all I've got,” she says.

41-year-old Paul Hartigan died in Calgary last year, after going to Canada to support Kirsty, who was competing at WorldSkills 2009, an event that tests the skills of young people from trades, service and technical programmes.

The otherwise healthy New Plymouth man is believed to have died from complications of swine flu after contracting the virus while en route to Canada.

“He'd begun to feel ill a day after he and mum got to Canada,” says Kirsty. “We were doing a bit of sight-seeing and I could tell he wasn't well.”

After being admitted to hospital with pneumonia, Paul lapsed into a coma and died.

Just one day into the four-day competition Kirsty, an army private who was competing in the restaurant service category, withdrew from the competition to support her mother. They were both quarantined, although neither showed any symptoms of swine flu.

It’s been a tough year for the family but, partly in honour of Paul, Kirsty has her sights set on international competition again. She is hoping to make the Tool Blacks team going to London next year.

The international WorldSkills body has granted Kirsty a special dispensation to compete for a second time at WorldSkills 2011 next October.

“I know if Paul was here, he'd say ‘go for it’ so that’s what I'm doing”, says Kirsty.

Chief Executive of WorldSkills New Zealand, Peter Spencer, says he’s delighted Kirsty is being given a second chance.

“Normally you only have one crack at the international competition but I'm delighted the world body has seen fit to make a special case for Kirsty. Our hearts went out her and her family over Paul’s death and the extraordinary circumstances that forced Kirsty to pull out in Calgary.”

Kirsty still has one hurdle to jump before she can quality for WorldSkills 2011 –she has to win the National competition. WorldSkills National Finals are being held in Christchurch from September 22-26 after which the Tool Blacks team will be named.

Kirsty, stationed at Linton, joined the army four years ago with the intention of becoming a chef but decided instead to hone her skills in restaurant service. She trained at the Joint Services Catering School in Waiouru and is studying toward a stewards qualification through City & Guilds (London). She is currently stationed at Linton.

Paul’s death is the second tragedy in her young life. Kirsty lost her father in a car accident when she was three.

WorldSkills – some background

• WorldSkills New Zealand is part of a worldwide group (approx 60 countries) which organise trade competitions within their own countries and form teams to compete at the biennial international competition. • WorldSkills NZ’s mission is to challenge New Zealand to achieve world class standards by demonstrating excellence through workplace skills competitions for young people. • WorldSkills NZ currently caters for more than 20 skills categories covering everything from automotive and building trades to floristry and catering. • The WorldSkills National Finals are being held at Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology from 22-26 September 2010. • The Tool Black team that will represent New Zealand in London will be named in December. • WorldSkills London will be held at the ExCel London Exhibition and conference centre in London’s docklands from 5-8 October 2011. • There will be 45 official competition zones at WorldSkills London 2011, covering everything from bricklaying to hairdressing.

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