Hopes are high for the return of competitive shearing events after two years of Covid-19 restrictions saw all but 14 events abandoned last season.
Champion shearer Sir David Fagan is advising shearers to make the most of opportunities and compete as much as they can. Photo: Photosport
Organisers are confident they can go ahead with all 59 shearing sports competitions this season, which runs from October to April.
New Zealand shearing legend Sir David Fagan, who's also the chairman of Shearing Sports NZ, said spots were also up for grabs to represent the country at the Royal Highland Show in Scotland next year.
"The places in the team up for grabs are two machine shearers, blades shearers and two woolhandlers in the Wools of New Zealand team," he said.
"And of course, the manager and the judges who will go over and get the team over to Scotland in June next year.
"So, it's pretty exciting for all of the competitors. They spend all year planning and trying to make that team, so it'll be good to have the competitions back on track."
Sir David said being forced to axe many of last season's events because of Covid-19 took a toll on some rural communities. In some instances, the shearing competitions were postponed or cancelled for the first time in their 50-year history.
"It's huge, firstly for the competitors - you've got all the small rural events, which is where people get the good grounding and experience," Sir David said.
"Then the bigger events that were cancelled, like the Golden Shears and the New Zealand Shears, where pretty much every competitor, it doesn't matter whether they're in the lower junior grades or up in the open grades, that's their dream, to get on that stage at those big events and that's been taken away from them.
"We've seen it in lots of sports, but to have all of that back this season ... these big events bring a lot of money into the small towns and rural areas they're held in. There's a lot of people that have missed out in the rural sector in New Zealand."
The Golden Shears in Masterton was founded in 1961 and ran every year until it was cancelled in 2021 and 2022. Photo: Peter Nikolaison
Sir David said all organisers were preparing for their events to be disrupted or cancelled again by Covid-19 restrictions.
And he had some advice for any shearers hoping to make to the Royal Highland Show in Scotland.
"Go to competitions, because there's only one way to get better at it and that's going every weekend, competing, getting competition-ready.
"Not just physically, but with the equipment you use and mentally. Going every weekend and competing, you just get better and better each week."
The calendar of shearing events is still to be confirmed, but the season will open with the New Zealand Merino Shears shearing and woolhandling championships in Alexandra on 30 September.