Shear grit unfolds at Katanning with world-class wool harvesting guns setting the bar high

The Great Southern town of Katanning has hosted a two-day shearing and wool handling competition featuring world-class competitors. The Katanning Shears Open Championships, held on Saturday, October 26, and conducted by the WA Competition Shearing Association, was a precursor to the Australian National Shearing and Wool Handling Championships on Sunday, October 27, conducted by the Sports Shear Australia Association. One of the ultimate goals of all the top guns in the industry was to qualify for their country’s national team. Setting the bar high was machine shearer Daniel McIntyre, of NSW, blade shearer John Dalla, of South Australia, and wool handler Alexander Schoff, of Queensland, who all won their respected open titles and qualified for next year’s Australian team. McIntyre, 43, said it was his seventh open title and this year it was down to “just hanging in there when it got tough”, and to “keep going as long as the body holds up”. “Young shearers should learn to get their positioning right and keep that quality up,” he said. “Competitive shearing helps the job out in the shed for the industry, helps the woolgrowers and lifts the industry standard. “The wool industry is a bit of a concern, not knowing where we end up in a few years.” Overall, there were more than 300 entries for both days that required 2000 woolly sheep kindly supplied by local woolgrower Mal Packard, who produces “white crimpy wool”. “It was a challenge to get the sheep in, it’s been a privilege, the wool is coming off nicely,” he said. “The cost of shearing is spiralling, but I think the hardest workers on the farm are the shearers and wool handlers, they deserve their money and should get a tax break,” he said. Sports Shear Australia chairman David Lawrence said the challenge of hosting the nationals was finding enough sheep and meeting all the logistics required to run an organised event. He said Australian Wool Innovation’s sponsorship of $170,000 was invaluable towards funding competitors’ transport to Katanning. AWI also sponsored the novice shearing and wool handling competition. The marketing and research body’s training manager Craig French said the talent at Katanning made the “future look bright”. The interstate team competitions resulted in a win for Tasmania, with NSW taking second and WA third. In the individual competitions, the best-placed WA shearer was Brock Morgan, who won the national intermediate final. Morgan’s parents run a shearing contracting business, and he learned his trade at an early age, shearing clean and fast with the right attitude to take on the best on the competitive boards. WA’s youngest best was novice shearer Zarah Squiers, of Quairading, who placed third on the boards in her first national competition. The 18-year-old works on her parents’ sheep farm and takes pleasure in helping in the shearing shed, “doing the job right”. Open shearer Luke Harding, of Boyup Brook finished a respectable sixth place on the boards after placing a promising third in heat one. Broomehill open shearer Damien Boyle, who was a member of the organising committee, placed second in Saturday’s Katanning Shears Open against the best in Australia, only to fail to make Sunday’s final. He was a shining example of sportsmanship, congratulating those that excelled with a friendly handshake for a job well done.