Busy weekend of shearing competitions

March 9, 2018

Busy weekend of shearing competitions

A unique new shearing competition aimed at increasing competitor numbers at northern region shows ends tomorrow at Kumeu.

The comers during a busy weekend of shearing sports events throughout the country, with three others being held in the South Island, including the second round of a blade shearing series being held to select two New Zealand representatives for the 2019 World championships in France.

There will also be a New Zealand Rural Games Speedshear in Palmerston North on Sunday.

The ANZ Northland Shearing Championship final at Kumeu will draw together the best teams from series which started at Kaikohe two months ago.

Best performances from the five shows in the series are being collated, the other shows having been the Warkworth, North Kaipara, Northern Wairoa and Franklin shows.

Kumeu is an A-grade show, and some of the North Island’s top competitors are expected for what is the first competition on the Shearing Sports New Zealand calendar after the Golden Shears.

The 2017 competition was cancelled because of rain, the 2016 Open final was won by Rowland Smith, and there was no competition in 2015.

Fine weather, with southeasterlies to easterlies, is forecast for the Kumeu area tomorrow, when shearing starts with Junior heats at 9am. Winning prizes range from $320 in the Junior event to $1000 for the Open championship, while there is also a Veterans event with a first prize of $150.

Remaining competitions in the North Island this season are the 40th Anniversary Waimarino Shears on March 17, the Waitomo Caves Sports on March 24, the Royal Easter Show in Auckland on March 31-April 1, and the New Zealand shearing and woolhandling championships in Te Kuiti on April 5-7.

Points in the ANZ Northland Team Shearing Championship before the final round at the Kumeu Show on Saturday March 10 are: Warkworth (Danielle Boyd, Alan Boler, Eleonore Resneau, Steve Coop, Jack Fagan, Neil Sidwell) 248pts; Arapohue (Hazel Wood, Annette Boyd, Courtney Flower, Paikea Waller, Neville Osborne) 226pts, 2; Paparoa (Paul Finlayson, Rusty Campbell, Rex Finlayson, Jalle Resneau, Lee Cheyne, Thimoleon Resneau, Ralph Smith) 178pts, 3; Pukekohe (Kelvin Welch, Liam Lowry, Stefan van Oorschot, Barry Jones) 106pts, 4; Kaikohe (Callum Eagles, Ethan Thomas, Roger Cook, Jordan Wilson) 70pts, 5.

ENDS

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