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Ralph, the family dog – a massive Leonberger, was the inspiration behind Andrew and Ingrid McCracken’s Upper Hutt-based Big Dog Fencing.

“Ralph was awesome but had no respect for gardens. He was one of these big dogs that liked to make his mark on fences everywhere – so we called ourselves Big Dog Fencing. Our byline is ‘Leaving our mark on New Zealand’.”

Andrew started off erecting deer fencing in the 1980s with Frank Map in the Bay of Plenty.

“An amazing fencer, about 5 foot 2 and like a little bulldog. He was 65, and I couldn’t keep up with him as a 20-year-old.”
When Frank retired, the demand for deer fencing was still going and Andrew’s work grew. Set up with a Kinghitter bulldozer and a rammer on the back – he was in his element for a time until he drifted into a music and broadcasting career. Five years ago, he returned.

“Just before Covid, I went back to fencing. I just needed to get back to the land, and I am happy as hell.”

Andrew has a tight crew: Sean, Graeme, and Ingrid. They chug through an ever-changing list of projects: farms, lifestyle properties, forestry, and the odd job for companies across the greater Wellington region. They are currently completing the Level 4 Certificate in Fencing course, working toward becoming an Accredited Fencing Contractor with FCANZ.

HUHA, an animal rescue and shelter on Haywards Hill in rural Wellington, is a regular feature on the whiteboard.

What kind of deer fencing do you want?

Andrew says a year into Big Dog, he got a phone call from Jim, HUHA Operations Manager. “Jim asked if I did deer fencing. I said, ‘What kind of deer fencing do you want?”

“It wasn’t deer fencing that they needed, but it was deer fencing in height. They wanted dog-proof paddocks, down to a dog the size of a terrier. We ended up fencing with X Fence, top-to-bottom solid security fencing made by Summit Steel.”

X Fence is usually designed to go on flat land but parts of the HUHA block up off Transmission Gully are incredibly steep. The slope varies up and down 30-degrees.

“We cut the netting out, strain it back up and crimp it up tight. We might go 10m, then we have to do it again. Then another 30m and have to do it again. It is a bit like being a seamstress.”

Something that has made work at Big Dog Fencing a bit easier is a SoloNet dispenser. It’s a digger-mounted wire dispenser that lets the crew pick up and run big coils of wire and run it through a grab.

“You wire it off your first strainer and you can lift it over a strainer off the edge of a track and then pull it and clamp it tight with a digger, put tension meters on it and then staple it off. Then you can run it down the next bit of fence line. Imagine pulling a piece of cellotape. We wired up six-days of fencing, 600m, in a day and a half. I came home and said to Ingrid – ‘That thing’s not leaving!’”

The whole menagerie: deer, pigs, birds, dogs, lizards, turtles, guinea pigs

Since then, Big Dog Fencing has done three kilometres of X Fence and have turned their hands at all sorts: Post and rail fence for a small horse area for a mare with a blind foal, a fenced turtle and lizard enclosure and a current project building three barracks for 300 rescued guinea pigs.

“They asked the other day if we could turn the gully into an aviary. You just don’t know what will be next. As long as it’s a little bit like fencing, we will give it a go.”

Quite a lot of research and design work goes into delivering some of the unusual requests, looking at different products and pricing up jobs. And some jobs come up in winter that really should be tackled in summer. Because HUHA rescues animals or they have animals dumped on them, like after the Port Hill fires or when the cyclone hit in the Hawke’s Bay, jobs happen when they are needed.

Land, water, people and animals meet at the fence line

Andrew says the hardest thing is putting up something that animals will not destroy.

“HUHA are not interested in running electric outriggers on fences. So, that is a challenge.”

Instead, the crew avoids fencing across hillsides, where the animals can undermine the integrity of a fence very quickly. The work-around is to carve out a wide track, put the fence down the middle with a good flat space either side.

“If animals do track the fence line, they tend to wear holes where water runs down. You need to create drainage under the fence line and fence those off or put grills to cross the pipes. If you put a decent sized pipe in, it is just an escape route. If animals are undermining the fence, we come back with the digger, heap the soil, pack it and hope that it doesn’t happen again. It’s a lot like trying to beat the ocean.”

Another challenge is when animals get up close and personal. Most rescue animals have been raised by humans at some point and can be quite interested in people.

“They have a donkey, Franklin, he’s an orphan. He’ll steal the drills off your belt and run across the paddock. Then, their ostrich, who is not quite so friendly, he’ll stick his head in the ute door and steal the keys out of the four-wheel drive and stalk up behind you.”

The animals always have the right of way. That’s who HUHA are. They are all about the animals. So, it is a fine line between getting frustrated with the animals and trying to fence them in.”

They are also thinking about access ways into enclosures — that health and safety separation element.

The fifteen or so great big old sows and Kunekune are a good example. They’re quite fond of the sloppy hops donated from the local Panhead Brewery. While hay and other dry feed could be delivered over the fence, the slop needs to be carted and tipped from wheelbarrows – but if the volunteers open the paddock gate, there’s a good chance that some pigs “half the size of a small cow” could make an escape. So Big Dog Fencing are building walkways through the pig paddocks.

“Sometimes Sean will say, ‘I like seven wire and batten fence’— and I say, ‘This is good experience, you might never get asked to do this again’.”

HUHA Helping you help animals

Carolyn Press McKenzie, CEO of HUHA says, when it comes to fencing on the 157 acre sanctuary on the Haywards Hill property, they have a clean slate.

“We have an opportunity to do it once and do it right. We are lucky to have Andrew. We know he’ll build something that will last the distance.”

HUHA’s mission is all about protecting animals, many different species, but it is also about protecting the people who are working around them, or even just visiting them.

“We have to bring all those components together to build something that is going to work for the visitors, the workers and the animals as well – and then there’s the environment too.”

Carolyn says rescued animals are not always well socialised, some feel vulnerable and prone to panic and the X Fence predator fencing “tiny wee squares” provides a level of confidence.

“Having something that contains the animals well is very important, but you also don’t want people poking their fingers in or climbing in. We rescue deer and other animals that can be unpredictable, so we need to keep people out as much as we keep animals in.”

Andrew and his crew have just built an internal fence inside paddock fencing at HUHA so that the workers have something to leap over and stand behind if something becomes a little edgy.

Carolyn says HUHA had a big pig problem recently. “We had 30 free-range pigs come our way, we didn’t want to euthanise them, but we didn’t have the facilities. Andrew fenced off two acres of scrappy bush. It was quite a mission.

Today, Andrew is fencing around a great big turtle pond. “Turtles can compromise the environment, and they are great climbers. Andrew is building a stacked three-tier retaining wall and then a fence on top with a cap going inward. It is really important when you take in animals, that you make sure that they don’t get back out.”

Next week, Andrew will be coming back to build dog enrichment areas. He will be doing four large fenced off sections with a retaining wall so that the dogs in HUHA’s care can go out and play in small social groups.

Carolyn says enclosure design is all about experience, Kiwi ingenuity, good common sense and amazing problem solving strategies – but another layer for HUHA is speed.

“We do disaster response. We go all over the country when there is an emergency, so we have to build containment facililities that are temporary to get animals safely contained quickly. That’s our job. Coming home, it is the same mindset. We have to achieve safety for people and animals, we just have to unpack it and work it out.”

There’s extra touches that Big Dog Fencing adds, from helping design structural builds that are a little tangent to traditional fencing, to making sure the camber of the road is right. Carolyn says it is holistic approach. “Everything is considered.”

Article written by Megan Fowlie

Published in WIRED issue 73/JUNE 2024 by Fencing Contractors Association NZ

Building a set of miniature horse pens offered a few interesting challenges that required quick thinking for Burne Maxted of Manawatu-based Maxted Fencing.

The client was looking at installing a shed and wanted horse pens installed inside, similar to a horse stud stable development Burne had done for a friend of hers.

“At first, I thought, we’ll get away with post-ramming the posts in before they poured the floor in the shed, but unfortunately, as the client had picked a steel-framed shed, it would have voided the warranty as the floor acts as a structural support.

“So, I came up with the idea of bolting a free-standing structure internally.”

The next step was the gate design.

“We threw ideas back and forth, and we came up with ordering custom made 1500mm Gallagher Bullmaster gates, and they were perfect. Solid yet light enough.”

With the client and builder’s approval, Burne put together a plan and came up with a six-pen 1100mm high rail fence with a plywood freestanding wall against the shed on all three sides.

The client owns four miniature ponies, but Burne set up the yards so they could be used for calf rearing if required, which helped resale value.

It was a couple of months later, he got the call saying the sheds were completed and ready for the yards to be installed.

He and another worker started with the back wall, with posts bolted down with galvanised U brackets and 125mm concrete screws. They then framed it out with 100mm by 50mm of railing and lined it with 12mm treated ply.

It was the first time Burne had used the brackets in nine years of fencing.

Using U brackets meant using square posts, which he said was not ideal for swinging a gate off.

“So, we came up with the idea of a no. 2 strainer post bolted down using big L brackets and screws. And surprisingly enough, once the rail was bolted on, it was very strong and handled the gate perfectly.”

Another odd challenge was getting to the shed, which was knee deep in mud, as the job was carried out in August while the Manawatu was experiencing unusually wet conditions. Wooden pallets were sacrificed in order to make a path.

“So, there was plenty of material to carry one by one to the shed,” Burne said.

The shed was a straightforward job. The only real challenge was getting the brackets in the correct spot before drilling holes.

They then marked out the front and started drilling, getting the brackets in and rails up.

Happy with the process, he rang the client to get approval and check if there were any changes.

“She trusted us and gave us plenty of freedom for which materials we needed to use, and we could build it any way we wanted to achieve a strong, well-built yard, just as long as we met the criteria of six stables recessed just slightly into the shed so they are out of the weather, and a kickboard to hold in the sawdust, until the matting was installed at a later date.”

The budget was set between $10,000 and $15,000 plus GST, which they managed to stick within.

Burne said the biggest costs were the custom-made gates and 50 galvanised brackets and concrete screws.

“All in all, it was actually a simple job.”

He was very happy with the result and showcased the project by posting some pictures on the business’s Facebook page, which caught some attention.

“(I’ve) got another shed to do, something very similar on the books now.”

Article written by Rosa Watson

Published in WIRED issue 73/JUNE 2024 by Fencing Contractors Association NZ

In Autumn 2023, Davies Fencing was approached by Western Bay of Plenty Council to help design and build a dog park in Te Puke. This was the first dog park to be built in the Bay.

The design phase was a lengthy yet important aspect, where we gave design advice in response to their unique and varied ideas.

We advised and priced numerous options; concrete or metal footpaths, timber or metal fencing, different obstacles for the animals, rocks, trees and shrubbery.

There were two key aspects: good drainage was important because the designated area was prone to bog. The other key aspect was safety; the entire enclosure (fencing, gates, and accessways) needed to keep in every type of dog, from a Miniature Poodle to a Great Dane.

The final design was a 300m perimeter area, with 1.5m high chain link (supplied by Bayonet) with 3.6 No1 strainers and 2.7 No1 round posts (supplied by PermaPine). The posts were longer than required, but they gave more stability in the anticipated boggy ground.

We designed a double access area at each end of the large enclosure: imagine a 3m x 3m square area, where you open a gate to walk in, and then another gate to walk out into the main dog park. The gates were custom-made and self-closing. This entrance square had five box stays, which was a design we had used with goat fencing to prevent climbing. There were approximately thirty box stays in the whole enclosure.

The chain link fence also had to be anti-climb, so along the top we used a plumbing material called congulate and ran a wire through it so it would just spin if a dog managed to jump up and put its claws on it. There were also two other gates for a mower and maintenance vehicle to enter.

The Council then asked if we could price a similar but smaller dog enclosure attached to the big one, as a breakaway area for dogs who got overwhelmed in groups. This area also had a gated double-access entrance square.

Once we had the go-ahead and had committed to the deadline… it began to rain. And it rained and rained and rained.
The land became a soggy, swampy bog, but we started the project anyway and hoped for the best. The area became a mud bath, which quickly became our dog Buddy’s paradise. The dog park was a success before it was even finished!

We started by erecting the perimeter fencing to give us a shape and then began cutting the grass inside it for the footpaths. We brought in fill to mound up the footpath and make it higher, and then placed Geo-textile cloth on the fill and metal fines to create an all-weather walking track. Then, we brought in sub-contractors to install hundreds of meters of drainage while we were working on the entranceways.

Once there was a break in the weather we installed the dog obstacles, rock formations, seating, water fountains, planting and then laid grass seed.

The job took approximately three months, and we met the deadline for the official public opening.

One year on, we personally use the dog park with Buddy and often ask other dog owners for their feedback. We have only had positive responses. People travel from over 40 minutes away, sometimes weekly, just to give their dogs this experience. Dog owners have formed new friendships, and so have their dogs; some meet up regularly now.

From a contractor’s perspective, this is immensely satisfying. We have now been asked to replicate this for five more dog parks around the district. We’re happy, dog owners are happy, and the dogs are happy – a win for everyone.

Article written by Angelena Davies

Published in the Animal Enclosures feature of WIRED issue 73/JUNE 2024 by Fencing Contractors Association NZ

In a recent collaboration with renowned construction firm Calder Stewart, Vet South of Invercargill has unveiled an exciting addition to its state-of-the-art facilities in Invercargill, and D Roberts Fencing was the one to bring this great idea together.

Following extensive renovations to its Invercargill clinic, Vet South has introduced an enclosure designed specifically for dogs. This unique space offers our furry friends the perfect balance of freedom and security, allowing them to enjoy the outdoors while remaining safely contained.

Calder Stewart had the idea, and Daniel from D Roberts Fencing made a few suggestions and ideas, and a plan for the enclosure to work efficiently. Featuring a concrete base for effortless maintenance, this canine sanctuary is a testament to both practicality and innovation. The enclosure came together without any problems, and all parties were pleased with the end result.

Gone are the days of worrying about muddy paws or difficult cleaning routines – with Vet South’s new enclosure, pet care has never been easier.

Client satisfaction, attention to detail and a damn good team.  That’s basically the motto for the D Roberts Fencing team. Daniel and Kirstin Roberts and their team are passionate about their work. Understanding client needs is the first box to be ticked when an appointment is booked.

Daniel, a perfectionist at heart, started fencing in 2020 after leaving his full-time job.

He leapt at the opportunity to buy the business that he used to help with on the odd occasion through the years.

D Roberts Fencing started as a one-man band, with Daniel installing industrial fencing, working out of his garage at home, but quickly increased to seven full-time staff and purchasing a yard in the CBD. In the beginning, Daniel was calling on friends, Kirstin and their two sons Deacon and Mason to help out when needed.

‘‘Without the help of friends, we couldn’t have done it in the beginning”.

The team is skilled at erecting multiple fence options – particularly specialising in commercial and residential. D Roberts Fencing source a majority of their materials from Boundaryline, Steel and Tube and Edgesmith.

It’s all about coming together and working with everyone to come up with an idea of what will work best for the client and their budget.

“Our team is the backbone of our company, without them we would not be where we are today.”

Article written by: D Roberts Fencing Ltd

Published in the Animal Enclosures feature of WIRED issue 73/JUNE 2024 by Fencing Contractors Association NZ

Most farm fencing is about keeping valuable livestock in. But increasingly, fencing is being installed to keep pest animals out.

Last year, a 2-metre high deer fence was installed along 1.2km of undulating land on Brent and Antonia Mountfort’s sheep and beef farm at Manawahe, just up the coast from Matata.

It’s not that Brent, the Federated Farmers Bay of Plenty president, was diversifying into venison production. Instead, in a combined project with Bay of Plenty Regional Council and QEII National Trust, the Mountforts were out to protect 6ha of bush full of rimu and four or five different varieties of rata, including some quite rare specimens.

This 6ha is in addition to another 30ha already under covenant on their property, as well as gullies, slopes and relatively unproductive areas the Mountforts have augmented or entirely planted out themselves.

Brent says some of the other bush areas are conventionally fenced, and it’s not too difficult for feral deer, pigs, goats and wallabies to get in and out. The BOP council and QEII Trust came to the party over the latest $66,000 fencing job, not just because of the bush biodiversity values, but also to monitor just how much the higher and more robust fence offers by way of keeping out the pests.

The difference is already noticeable, Brent says.

“The deer fencing was only finished eight months ago, but I’m already seeing plants growing to an extent I don’t see in the other bush blocks.

“It’s quite incredible how quickly the seedlings and ferns have come away because they’re not being chomped by feral deer.”

Brent credits fencing contractor Scott Graham of Specialist Rural Services with doing a “gold standard” job.

“It’s important to find the right fencer; we’re talking about a considerable capital expenditure. “I had a few come and look at the project, but Scott really impressed me. He wore me out walking the site and put a lot of effort into researching what was needed.”

The Mountfort’s wanted a traditional 13-wire fence rather than the increasingly common netting fence, out of concern that ewes and lambs could get their head stuck in the latter, and on quite a remote part of the farm, their predicament might not be noticed in time.

He’s loath to point the finger because he understands the funding constraints, but Brent says too many browsing ungulates are coming out of DOC and council public estate to graze bush and paddocks on farms.

“We’d be in even deeper trouble pest-animal wise if it wasn’t for the efforts of farmers, hunters, volunteers and organisations like QEII.

“It’s not just the cost of fencing, there’s all the money and time that goes into planting areas out.

“It’s hugely frustrating to dig in young trees and shrubs and do your bit on pest control, all the time knowing the pests are breeding on adjacent public land and are likely to re-invade,” Brent says.

Two farms away from the Mountforts, another landowner is also in the process of installing a deer fence to keep out ungulate invaders.

Just before last year’s general election, Federated Farmers joined with Forest & Bird NZ to urge political parties to boost control programmes targeting feral deer, pigs, goats and wallabies, to stop growing mobs of the pests undermining farmers’ livelihoods.

QEII Trust Team Leader Operational Services, Ben Johnston, says they’re also seeing the negative environmental impacts of rising feral ungulate numbers in the landscape.

In recent years, QEII covenantors on bigger stations on the East Coast of the North Island have reported herds of over 140 eating grass intended for sheep and cattle. Covenants that were in great condition in Canterbury have had years of regeneration chewed out in a few years. In Southland, one landowner removed 650 deer from their property over 18 months.

“We have heard reports from covenantors of feral ungulate pressure coming from adjacent council reserves and public conservation land, but the reality is that it is a landscape-wide issue that needs cooperation, leadership, investment and meaningful action to solve,” Ben says.

Fencing contractors and specialists have an obvious role.

QEII shares the cost of conventionally fencing new covenants equally with landowners. Due to pressure from feral ungulates, it’s becoming increasingly necessary to fence covenants with ungulate-proof fencing as opposed to ‘standard’ stock-proof fencing, which is considerably more expensive and often prohibitive for landowners.

Where landowners are willing to install ungulate-proof fencing and agree to permanent exclusion of domestic and feral ungulates from the protected area, QEII will share fencing costs 60:40.

“We’re also supporting existing covenantors to “top-up” their existing stock-proof fencing to deer-fencing through our contestable fund, the Stephenson Fund, and through our Jobs for Nature-funded deer exclusion project,” Ben says.

QEII was fortunate to receive $2 million of Jobs for Nature funding via DOC, to deer-fence and eradicate deer from selected, already established covenants where feral deer exclusion is considered the highest priority management intervention. It involves engaging fencing and ungulate-culling contractors to exclude pest deer and upgrade conventional fencing to deer-proof status in participating covenants.

Article written by Federated Farmers of New Zealand

Published in the Animal Enclosures feature of WIRED issue 73/JUNE 2024 by Fencing Contractors Association NZ

Asked to build a set of five-way lamb weighing and drafting yards with no prototype to work with, fencer Michael Conijn of Custom Fencing had to use basic ingenuity to bring it to life.

And the end result ended up being his ‘Magnus Opus’.

The yards, built near Dunback in Eastern Otago in 2022, are 45m long, 28m wide, with a height of 1100mm, and include 43 gates in the yard and 27 gates on the lane and pens. The drenching race measures 15m by 900mm.

Built on a lamb finishing farm, the yards needed to be able to process tens of thousands of lambs a year.

Michael said the yard’s main purpose was designed around a Prattley five-way portable weighing and drafting trailer, with the main focus being a flawless flow that required only one person to weigh and draft many thousands of lambs.

“We also needed to have the ability to drench and vaccinate all these lambs.”

This was no easy task, as five-way drafters involve challenging angles for smooth stock flow.

“I asked the client if he had any rough sketches or pictures of such a yard. He had found a couple that had a curve for three-way drafting but none of a five-way, so we did our best to come up with a pen layout that would have as many options to shift stock around within the yards, to be able to have large numbers put across the scales and taken away with ease.

“It’s got as much functionality as I could conjure up.”

Michael used a quality finish wherever he could, round edge routing the top rail on both sides and tops of posts in the main stock sorting zones – the weighing, drenching, and drafting zones – and routed one top edge of the top rail everywhere else.

“We also incorporated a full-length tray in the centre of the twin drenching race, to be able to have vaccines and to have animal husbandry tools close at hand whilst sorting stock.”

The main stock use areas were also boxed and had concrete pads poured in the main stock feed curve, which covers right under the Prattley five-way drafter and twin drenching races, to aid sure footing for stock and staff while processing thousands of stock units, plus a level surface for the scales.

In the main curved forcing pens, they also incorporated the ability to divert stock flow to a race that can have a conveyor backed up to it or an electro dip to dip stock or capsule ewes.

The race also allows stock to be run through the twin drenching race, which has an expanding race that can expand from 400mm wide to around 800mm, by way of two inlaid square steel pipes with a smaller diameter pole that slides inside at finished post height.

This can be removed and slide back in at the two different widths, which allows the drenching races to be fed from either end of the yards depending on which mob is needed to be processed first.

“The twin drenching races have five gates at each end for stock to easily fill and be let back out with ease, with the ability to either be released out of the yards or into the yards at each end.

“The project wasn’t expected to be quite as big as it ended up!

“I was told there was a bit of an outside yard to do, and then the yard became that. It just evolved from there.”

Michael had a good team behind him to get the job done.

“This project was not solely done by me. I can claim driving every strainer and post, but I have to give a lot of thanks to my offsider at the time, Charlie Mullooly, who did a lot of board fixing by himself and helped me with the entire project, and suggested good ideas along the way.”

Michael was also grateful to Garry Jones from earthmoving firm Skevingtons.

“He cleared and laid all the river gravel and spread all the lime chip dust, to aid in drainage and dust suppression in the yards.

“He also finished all the earthworks around gateways to give water runoff and smooth any humps and bumps out to make a safe free draining site for stock and staff.”

Considering it was his first crack at it, Michael was chuffed with the completed yards.

“Thanks to the Tomlinson family for letting me cut loose on them! I personally am very proud of the end result, and thought, it’s not bad for the first one I built from scratch.

“And to quote Charlie Mullooly, “that might be your Magnus Opus to date!’”

Article written by Rosa Watson

Published in WIRED issue 73/JUNE 2024 by Fencing Contractors Association NZ

Specifications and Rules

• Pre driven strainers;
• 3 wire electric – 1 and 3 hot connected in parallel at each end;
• Overall height of fence: 1175mm. Wires located at 75mm, 450mm and 800mm from the top of the post, or, match Y post holes. Rammed to a height of 1175mm
• Triplex (in-line strainer) 3 ways in the third panel
• Tension wires 1 and 3 at 100kg; dead wire at 150kg
• Crimp second panel
• Figure 8 fourth panel

Time allocation and penalties:

So how did we go?

Name: Caleb Eady
Course: Certificate in Fencing (Level 3)

“I’m doing the course to get a benchmark of where I’m at and improve from there. I’m the owner/operator of my company. I work for myself, and saw it as a way to upskill.”

Caleb Eady is a fencer who owns and runs his own business, Eady Rural Contracting. He’s currently undertaking the NZ Certificate in Fencing Level 3 with NorthTec, with plans to continue and complete the Certificate in Fencing Level 4 as well.

“I’m very supportive of what FCANZ (Fencing Contractors Association NZ) is trying to do with accreditation. When you’re in business for yourself, you start to realise that there are people out there who maybe don’t know as much as they should, or don’t take as much pride in their work, so it’s important to have a standard to work to. Making people do the work and learn the skills to get accredited is important.”

“I’ve been fencing for four years, pretty much always for myself. However, before that, I was working on farms and had done a lot of fencing. I already had a lot of knowledge on how fences need to be set up, where they need to go, and how the process works.”

With a wide range of experience at his fingertips, you might think there wasn’t much for Caleb to learn on the course, which is primarily aimed at people just starting out or a few years into fencing.

“I’ve definitely still learnt a lot. It’s still worth it. There are a lot of people on the course with different experiences, so there’s always something for people to learn. It’s been good, and I recommend it to people. I haven’t regretted doing the course at all.

“The tutors are really supportive. The only difficulty was trying to take days off to come in and do the course. I’ve got a lot of work on, and I work for myself, so no one else can do it. I had to prioritise it.”

“ I’ve definitely still learnt a lot. It’s still worth it. There are a lot of people on the course with different experiences, so there’s always something for people to learn

Article supplied by NorthTec

Published in the Training & Events Section in WIRED Issue 73 / June 2024 by Fencing Contractors Association NZ

You may also like: NorthTec Student Profile: Emile De Greeuw

What kind of person is motivated to take unpaid leave from work for up to a week, travel many miles, volunteer themselves during this time, receive some cost remuneration, and stand around in the elements to judge an industry showcase? An NZ Fencing Competitions (NZFC) Competition judge.

NZFC organises and/or supports local and regional level competitions, and there are a number of NZFC judges who travel to these events. They are a dedicated bunch, with many being ex-competitors or those who run fencing companies, ex-builders, and industry sales reps (yes, that’s you, Warren Herlihy and previously Hugh Morrison).

Fieldays® National Fencing Competitions

The set-up for Fieldays® National Fencing Competitions starts for Chief Judge Owen Petersen on the Friday of the week prior, with layout for both the heats and the finals. Helping year after year are Fieldays® volunteers like Pete Anderson and Campbell Clarke. Norwood loans a tractor and front-end loader, delivering this on site, which is greatly appreciated in the busy, congested environment of Fieldays®.

On Sunday, there is a judges’ meeting to go over judging standards and to allocate judging aspects to the individuals on the judges’ team. The judges’ team normally consists of eight judges, plus four technical judges who carry out the strainer push test.

On the Monday of Fieldays® week, the qualifying heats take place, with the singles finals in the morning and the doubles heats in the early afternoon. While judges stand on hand observing safety, tidiness, or if a competitor calls out if they strike something in the ground, there is also some leniency in giving new competitors some direction, if required.

Once the first competitor finishes, some of the judging aspects can commence. Tension gets tested when the competitors have finished, appearance judging starts, moving along the lines. Then the technical judges come along; testing strainer push, and testing footings via an apparatus that lifts the posts and assesses the holding of the foot in the ground. There is also a sideload test on the ramming of the post, with a weight on a frame off the side of the post to measure defection.

Once a judge has finished marking their particular aspect, they collate the scores, double-check and submit their judging booklets to the scorer, who enters the results into a scoring computer system that was developed with the help of Wendy Morgan.

Over the past decade, NZFC has designed judges’ booklets for information resources and recording the scores into column grids. There has been much work on developing the judges’ booklets, instigated by Paul Van Beers, who is on the NZFC Judges Committee, and the process to streamline the judging standards is ongoing.

Owen Petersen, NZFC Chief Judge, comments “What’s required to be a NZFC judge is a willingness to give back to the industry, be consistent in their pattern, and not biased – the focus is on judging the line number, they are not judging the person. The ability to pick up and spot the details and see something easily. Much of the judging is done by measuring, gauging and a lot of detail by eye.”

Owen goes on to say, “Fencing competitions are highly recommended to help with workmanship, self-satisfaction and improving your approach to your everyday work and systems. It’s rewarding to see these fencers develop and turn up to competitions around the regions, they seem to get a lot out of the effort.”

Written by Debbie White from NZFC

Published in WIRED issue 73/JUNE 2024 by Fencing Contractors Association NZ

You may also like: Development of a World Championship Doubles Competition at Fieldays®

NZFC has been working over the past three to four years on the development of an international Doubles Fencing Championship Competition, which is proposed to be held within the Fieldays® Fencing Competitions.

The concept behind the incentive is to keep a focus on the New Zealand fencing industry and help promote the strong emphasis on industry best practice that the New Zealand fencing competition scene has embraced over the past 50 years.

With the advent of social media, we have seen an increase in the sharing online of fencing workmanship, and fencers connecting with each other from the other side of the world. We are noticing standards are lifting overseas, and there is strong interest in information sharing and improving systems.

As part of our planning, NZFC has built up relationships with several overseas competitions, who are working towards their competition winners competing in our World Championship, alongside the development of a winner’s exchange program whereby our Fieldays® Silver Spades™ Doubles Championship winners receive a prize of competing, on a rotational basis each year, in one of the overseas competitions.

While work is being undertaken to accommodate this World Championship, relationships have been, or are being, developed with several overseas fencing competitions, including those in England, the USA, Scotland, and Ireland. We aim to discover other competitions in Australia and European countries. In the meantime, we are using the Fieldays® Silver Spades™ Doubles Championship to host these overseas winning teams in our competitions.

England competitors

The winners of the 2022 UK Tornado Fencing competition at Malvern, Mark Evans and Nic Quan, competed in the Fieldays® Silver Spades™ Doubles Championship in 2023. They were very well received by the New Zealand fencing competitor’s community.

This is a biennial arrangement and this year’s Tornado Fencing competition winners, as part of their first-place prize package, will receive a trip to New Zealand to compete in the Fieldays® Silver Spades™ Doubles Championship in 2025.

USA competitors

The winners of the 2023 U.S Platinum Strainer Doubles Championship at the East Coast Fencing Rivalry, Alex Masser and Jason Day will be coming to New Zealand and competing in the Fieldays® Silver Spades™ Doubles Championship this year, as part of their sponsored prize package.

Reciprocal arrangements

In July 2024, the winners of the 2023 Fieldays® Silver Spades doubles championship – Jeff Joines and Mark Lambert, will travel to the UK and compete in the Tornado Fencing competition on 30th July in Malvern.

The following day, they will attend an AFI (Association of Fencing Industries) Fencing Field Day and carry out demonstrations on New Zealand techniques and workmanship. Along the way, they will be meeting UK fencing contractors.

It’s proposed that the 2025 winners of the Fieldays® Silver Spades™ Doubles Championship, or the top New Zealand team, will compete at the East Coast Fencing Rivalry in Virginia in August of that year.

NZFC, as organisers of the Fieldays® Fencing Competitions, welcomes the positivity we’ve received from the global fencing community around the introduction and development of the World Championship Doubles Competition. We are very grateful to our competition sponsors for supporting this opportunity.

Written by Debbie White from NZFC

Published in WIRED issue 73/JUNE 2024 by Fencing Contractors Association NZ