The atmosphere inside the War Memorial Stadium “is as good as it ever was”, according to Golden Shears president Sam Saunders.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s all running smoothly. Everyone is pulling together and getting the job done.”
The world’s premier shearing, woolhandling, and woolpressing championship, which kicked off on Thursday, enters its third and final day today.
Saunders is anticipating a nail-biter for the New Zealand-Australiana shearing test tonight.
“There’s not much in it. Shearing is very competitive, and when you get tests between countries, it doesn’t take much to make it go either way.
“She’s all pretty exciting.”
Yesterday delivered some surprising results in the open woolhandling championship, which narrowed the field from 40 to eight for today’s semi-finals.
Locals Cushla Abraham, Jasmin Tipoki, and Ana Braddick were among those who made it through. And while bookies favourite Joel Henare was in top form, several significant hopefuls were eliminated in the opening round and quarterfinals.
The first day of the competition on Thursday also brought some exceptional results, with 14-year-old Maaka Nikora taking out the novice shearing final, finishing two sheep in a blistering three minutes and 26 seconds for 20.304 points.
It was Maaka’s first week of competitive shearing, having won at his home Taumaranui Shears last Friday. Maaka said he was currently enjoying attending the “school of shearing” and noted it’s in his blood [the teenager comes from a family of shearing greats, with relatives taking out intermediate and junior titles in the ’90s].
Martinborough novice shearers William Clarkson and Flyn Innes also placed in the novice shearing final, taking out second and third places respectively.
Locals Tom Clarkson and Ged Biling rounded out the final in fifth and sixth places.
Clinching the novice woolhandling title was 28-year-od Eleri Bradley.
From a family farm near Woodville, Bradley said woolhandling was a hobby that gave her a break from theatre nursing at Palmerston North Hospital.
King Country woolhandlers Crystal Newton and Bryndyll Pinkham came in second and third place respectively, with Masterton local Ana Mason taking fourth place.
