MEDIA RELEASE

On behalf of Shearing Sports New Zealand

January 9, 2012

All go for shearing record bid near Taupo

It's all go today for New Zealand-based Irish shearing champion Ivan Scott as he tries to wrestle-back the World eight-hour lambshearing record at Opepe, just southeast of Taupo on State Highway 5.

Given the all-clear yesterday after a trial shear comfortably exceeded the minimum 0.9kg of wool per lamb, Scott will have to shear at a rate of a lamb every 38.8 seconds or quicker to beat the record of 742 shorn by World champion Hawke's Bay shearer Cam Ferguson in a King Country woolshed on January 10 last year..

Scott, who previously held the record at 736 shorn in December 2008, faces four two-hour runs, with half-hour breaks for morning and afternoon smoko and an hour for lunch.

Hit by a short power-cut soon after starting his record bid a year ago, Ferguson did runs of 183, 188, 187 and 184, while in his previous record Scott rocketed out from the start, with 192 in the first two hours, followed by runs of 185, 182 and 177.

Regular updates will be available today at www.shearingsports.co.nz

ENDS