Shears season opens with Kiwi crack at Aussie merino maestro

MEDIA RELEASE

On behalf of Shearing Sports New Zealand

October 3, 2013

Shears season opens with Kiwi crack at Aussie merino maestro

Shearers and woolhandlers from throughout New Zealand and Australia are gathering in the Central Otago town of Alexandra for the 52nd national Merino championships which kick-off a new Shearing Sports New Zealand season tomorrow(Friday).

A feature of the two-day championships will be the Kiwi shearers’ bid to wrest back the Open shearing title, being defended by West Australian shearer Damien Boyle, who last year won the title for a third year in a row, with a 7pt margin over runner-up Chris Vickers, of Palmerston, North Otago.

The most likely New Zealand threat this year is Southland gun Nathan Stratford, who shorn 10 of the the 6-man, 12-sheep finals in the last 11 years. He won in 2006 and 2008, when the runner-up was Boyle, who first reached the final in 1998.

Organising committee spokesman Graeme Bell says the organisation nominated Stratford this year for Master Shearer status and was disappointed to see the recommendation overlooked at national level.

The Open shearing and woolhandling classes have each attracted almost 50 entries, with the shearing heats also constituting the compulsory first round of the PGG Wrightson National series, incorporating the McSkimming Memorial Triple Crown, which was first presented in 1973 and of which the final has been an annual feature of the Golden Shears in Masterton ever since.

Also at stake is a place in the New Zealand team for the first leg of the annual Transtasman series, in Warrnambool, Vic., on October 26.

Among the entries this weekend is Napier shearer John Kirkpatrick who made up for missing out on a fifth Golden Shears Open title last March by winning the National series final.

Like most North Island shearers, he’s never shorn in an Alexandra merinos final, his best chance having been last year when he qualified for the semi-finals, but missed shearing in the event having headed for home believing he had missed out.

King Country icon David Fagan has shorn in the Alexandra final just once, in 2009 – the last North Island shearer to make its top 6.

Up to 180 shearers and woolhandlers are expected to pass through the Molyneaux Sports Stadium for the 2 shearing classes and 3 woolhandling grades. Over 1200 sheep have been prepared, with a finewool clip of over 5-6kg each.

ENDS

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