HAPPY WITH SITE FOR CONTEST

Press, 20 July 1979, Page 7

HAPPY WITH SITE FOR CONTEST

In the accompanying photograph our photographer has caught Mr Alfred Hall, on the left, who is secretary of the World Ploughing Organisation, with the president of the New Zealand Ploughing Association, Mr R. M. (Bob) Kingsbury, on the site of next year's world ploughing contest near Lincoln. The twentyseventh world contest will be held here next May. Last week Mr Hall took the opportunity of inspecting the site during almost two weeks in this country taking in the double national ploughing championships at Taieri earlier in the month.

Afterwards he described the location as “compact” — people would be able to see everything with the least possible inconvenience. It was also conveniently placed in relation to accommodation and practice areas. He said he was impressed with the soil. The land was well farmed and level. It would plough well, but would also show faults. He believed that it would provide a test for some ploughmen who were used to ploughing deeper than they -would be doing here. At Lincoln College, where officials and competitors will be quartered,

Mr Hall said that facilities would be better than last time they were there for the world contest in 1967. And of those who have the responsibility of handling the arrangements for the contest, he said he believed that this was in the right hands. He was impressed by the enthusiasm of everyone for the success of the contest and for ploughing. He added, however, that he hoped the weather would be more favourable than last time when the one-day national championships, which proceeded the world contest, were held on one of the most stormy and wintery days experienced for a national match. Mr Hall said at Taieri during the national cham-

pionships that be expected 38 ploughmen from 19 countries to take part in next year’s match, but before leaving Christchurch last week-end he said that it was possible that costs could result in only one ploughman coming " from some countries. Mr Hail does not expect any new country to be represented in New Zealand next year but he says that some countries are probably- not far away from taking part and there could be new faces in the Republic of Ireland in 1981. Questioned about the decision of the World Ploughing Organisation to permit individual ploughmen who qualify in national matches to plough in the world contest four times instead of three as in the past, he indicated that it was something that had been under consideration for some time. To the suggestion that the Organisation must be one of the few to place a restriction on the number of times that a competitor could take part in a world championship. Mr Hall said that he did not think this decision had been taken initially because Northern Ireland champion, Hugh Barr, had won the world contest three times in a row, but because it was wished to throw the contest open to as many as possible. Ploughing is one sport yhere age is not a limitation to entry — competitors in world, contests have ranged from 18 to 73 vears.