Aria Sets The Scene For Three Weeks Of Shearing Sports International

A month of international shearing and woolhandling competition in New Zealand culminating with the World championships in Masterton on March 4-7 kicks-off in at the Aria Waitangi Day Sports in remote southern King Country tomorrow (Friday).

It involves a three–test New Zealand and Wales shearing series in the North Island, and in the South Island the transtasman woolhandling and shearing tests traditionally held at the Golden Shears in Masterton, but relocated this year to make way for the World championships events.

Toa Henderson, of Kaiwaka (Northland), and Te Kuiti shearer Jack Fagan will face three shearing tests against the Welsh team of Llyr Jones and defending World champion Gwion Lloyd Evans, with Friday’s Aria test followed by matches at the Franklin A and P Show’s Counties Shears on February 22 and the Taumarunui Jamboree Shears on February 27.

Wales won the three-test series in Wales last July, although Henderson and Fagan claimed victory in the last match at Corwen. Wales has never won a series in New Zealand, with only just a single test-match win downunder, and the black singlets dominated their home series last year with a 3-0 win completed t the ew Zealand Shears in Te Kuiti.

The transtasman woolhandling test will be held on the first day of the Otago Shears at Carterhope Estate Woolshed, Te Houka (south of Balclutha) on February 13-14 and the transtasman shearing test will be held on the second day of the 60th anniversary Southern Shears in Gore on February 20-21.

Woolhandlers Joel Henare, of Motueka, and Ngaio Hanson, of Eketahuna, and shearers David Buick, of Pongaroa, Angus Moore, of Seddon, and Chris Vickers, of Palmerston (Otago) will be out to avenge their defeats in the Australia legs of the annual home-and-away series’ in October at Jamestown, South Australia.

Australia has won three transtasman shearing tests in a row since New Zealand’s last win in the series’ at the 2024 Golden Shears.

Representing Australia will be woolhandlers Racheal Gutchinson and Alexander Schoff, and shearers Sam Bacon, Daniel McIntyre and Sam Byers.

Shearing Sports New Zealand chairman Warren Parkers says shearing sports give small towns and remote loclities chnce to see international competition, highlighted by Friday's test at Aria, a farming community about 20kms south of Te Kuiti in the Waitomo District.

The Aria Sports stage shearing and woolhandlinng competitions throughiout the grades, as will the Rangitikei Shearing Sports in Marton on Saturday, part of a busy two days in the central North Island, that also includes speed shear events at Aria tonight (Thursday), Te Kuiti on Friday and Halcombe on Saturday.

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