New Zealand Campaign to Make Sheep Shearing an Olympic Event
Posted by Unknown in New Zealand, News, Raw Milk, Sheep, Wool on Monday, 28 January 2013
It
probably had to come, from a country with almost ten times as many
sheep as people: New Zealand wants sheep shearing made into an Olympic
event.
The
New Zealand Farmers Federation, a rural lobby group, claims wool
shearers should be recognised alongside the world's finest athletes for
their "sport".
Jeanette Maxwell, a spokesman for the federation, describes top shearers as "athletes who take it to another level".
She said: "I can testify to the physical effort shearing takes.
"Surely, the time has come to elevate shearing's sporting status to the ultimate world stage.
"One way would be to make shearing a demonstration sport at the Commonwealth Games, if not the Olympics itself."
In March the small North Island town of Masterton will host the World Shearing Championships.
The
event, which attracts competitors from Britain, Ireland, Australia,
South Africa and a handful of other countries, sees large numbers of
fleeces shorn at frantic pace.
Many
of the world's best shearers also take part in New Zealand's own
national Golden Shears contest, which attracts wildly enthusiastic
crowds and extensive coverage in the country's media.
Shearing contests are divided into men's and women's categories.
Both offer considerable prize money and even greater prestige.
Ms
Maxwell pointed out that Irishman Ivan Scott, the current men's world
record holder, gained his world eight-hour solo title after shearing 749
sheep.
Kerri-Jo Te Huia, the women's champion, smashed the previous world record by 37, shearing 507 sheep in eight hours.
Shearing
is already recognised as a sport by SPARC, the government's Sport and
Recreation Council, which provides grants to help run competitions.
New
Zealand's human population of about 4.4 million is outnumbered by a
national sheep flock of almost 40 million, with most lamb meat being
exported to Britain, the Middle East and Asia.
By Paul Chapman in Wellington
