Let The Games Begin!

Media Release
3 September 2009

Let The Games Begin!

The international competition said to be the Olympic Games of trade skills has just begun.

More than 800 competitors from 50 countries took part last night in the opening ceremony of the 40th WorldSkills Competition in Calgary, Canada.

The WorldSkills Competition is held in a different country every two years.

The competitors are all aged under 23 years, and events are being contested across 41 trade categories.

New Zealand has a team of 17 competitors, contesting 17 of these categories.

At the previous WorldSkills 2007 Competition, the New Zealand team was placed 14th overall.

““We hear a lot about international competitiveness,” says Peter Spencer, chief executive of WorldSkills New Zealand.

“Well, this is it!

“Our young team of Tool Blacks will be tested against tough international standards - and individual top performers from other countries!

“They are New Zealand’s representatives in international competition, and they are proudly wearing the silver fern.”

The competition takes place over four days in front of crowds set to pack out the enormous Stampede Stadium, an iconic landmark of Calgary.

Lofty ideals have driven the spirit of WorldSkills throughout its 55-year history.
“WorldSkills is a powerful means for building a global skills respect culture. It enables the best of the world's young skilled people to motivate and inspire successive generations to see that vocational skills can lead to secure and fulfilling lives in a fast-changing, competitive world," says WorldSkills International board president, Jack Dusseldorp.

ENDS

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