National blade-shearing titles

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33067, 7 November 1972, Page 24

National blade-shearing titles

Attractive prize money has drawn 64 entries for four shearing titles to be held in the Alston Pavilion on Thursday and Friday. The premier event will be the national blade-shearing title for the Caltex Golden Blades and the Wool Board’s gold medal. Prize money amounts to $440. There will also be a junior blade shearing title, open to shearers under 23, for prize money of $lOO. The heats of the Golden Blades will begin at 9 a.m. on Friday, followed by the national junior blade shearing title at 1.15 p.m., and the final of the Golden Blades event at 3 p.m. Thursday’s shearing programme will open at 9.30 a.m. with the Young Farmers’ Clubs’ shearing and wool-handling competition.

This is the Canterbury area final. The winners of the senior event will go on to compete in the national Y.F.C. final at the Golden Shears contest at Masterton. The prize there will be a trip to Australia at the expense of the Wool Board. MacEwans Machinery, Ltd, is again offering a handpiece to the competitor with the best pen of sheep in the young farmers’ section. The Canterbury open ma-1 chine shearing champion-! ship will be held on Thursday afternoon. This year, an | intermediate class has been: introduced. It will be open: to shearers whose maximum tally has not exceeded 225 sheep in an eight-hour day. The judging panel is: Blade shearing: Messrs M. Casey, Ashburton; B. Loffhagen, Waipara; A. Roffey, Timaru; W. Gibson,

Lees Valley; and F. J. Loffhageh, Waipara. Machine shearing: Messrs J. Gibson, Waimate; K. Sutherland, Oamaru; A. Black, Hawarden; G. Fleming, Scargill; W. K. King, Gore; R. Taylor, Temuka; and E. Carr, Waikari. Wool-handling: Messrs M. A. Collins, Ashburton; J. Collier, Sheffield; J. Fronting, Mesopotamia Station; D. Glass and E. Glass, Methven.