It’s not easy hosting the prestigious National Fencing Competitions every year.
The team at NZ Fencing Competitions does an incredible job, with the following being just a small insight into the precision planning and dedication of the voluntary judges and committee.
Monday 10th June, 7.00am: the gate to Yellow Car Park at Mystery Creek is unlocked. It’s heats day; fencers drive their loaded Utes in, eager and hoping that by the end of this crucial day, they have achieved a place in the prestigious Golden Pliers® by WIREMARK® Singles and/or Fieldays® Silver Spades™ Doubles competitions, held at the end of the week.
The caravan is in place, fence lines are laid, and the food tent is up – the chief judge and his crew of helpers have been preparing since Friday. Fencing judges have attended their meeting the afternoon before; everyone is ready to go, the weather just needs to hold. Fingers crossed.
There are 24 singles heats entries, with 15 teams for the doubles heats, featuring many familiar faces and a number of newcomers, including a team from the South Island and the USA. A big day of judging is ahead.
Today, the difficult task of competing for a place in the finals is performed, with eight fence lines available in the Golden Pliers® by WIREMARK® Singles final, and space for six teams in the Fieldays® Silver Spades™ Doubles final. There is automatic entry for the teams from the South Island (Craig Sinclair and William Pei) and the USA (Jason Day and Alexander Masser).
6pm: The gate is locked, the heats are done and the finalists have been notified. It will be another full day tomorrow, pulling the fence lines down and moving everything to the fencing site at the Fieldays.
Wednesday 12th June
7.00am: The site is looking great, all laid out for its week of fencing. The WIREMARK® tent is centrally placed, where sponsors, judges, fencers and their families will gather to eat and catch up.
8.30am: The Fieldays Silver Staples competition commences with two cadet teams entered from Smedley Station, Geraldine High School and Pukemiro Station.
9.00am: The Bill Schuler competition kicks off; a consolation round for six of the singles fencers from the heats, who have missed qualifying for the Golden Pliers.
Anchoring for the week are Craig Wiggins and Craig Graham, whose information and knowledge abound over the microphone during the competitions, amusing spectators and setting the tone.
4.00pm: The WIREMARK® tent is full as we hold the Silver Staples prize giving. Congratulations to Smedley Station’s Bradley Anderson and Cameron Chambers. The Bill Schuler contestants have to wait until Friday.
Thursday 13th June
7.00am: Eight finalists are setting up for the event of the week, the prestigious Golden Pliers® by WIREMARK® Singles Competition. Borers roar to life at 8:04am, with a marathon of fencing ahead – the competition is capped at 6.5 hours to finish. A generous crowd of spectators gathers over the day to witness the physical and mental effort of the fencers to build a quality fence in the fastest time.
Line 5 calls time first at 1:24pm, finishing in 5h:20m:06s. A time penalty of 1 point per 2 minutes is now on the mind of the remaining contestants.
7.00pm: In the caravan, the result reveals only slightly more than half a point difference between first and second place. There is much double and triple-checking to ensure that nothing has been missed!
Friday 14th June
7.00am: It looks like the task of building a deer fence for the Fieldays® Silver Spades™ teams is going to be done in the rain! The teams from the South Island and the USA are about to compete at their first ever NZ National Fieldays Fencing competition, they are unknown adversaries for the other qualifiers.
Comments are heard from spectators nearby; they are pleased to see the challenge of building a 2.1 metre high netting fence again. This style of fence was last built at the 2004 Fieldays® Silver Spades™ competition. The rain eases a little as the judges begin their task, some armed with waterproof paper!
There are busy times in the caravan finalising results and preparing for the main prizegiving in the pavilion at 5pm. Fencers disappear to the showers and return, smart in their Golden Pliers Jackets, displaying badges showing years of participation and their wins. New finalist Cameron Hamerton will receive his jacket and first badge today, with hopefully many more to come, and always the potential for a win on the horizon.
Congratulations to Tim Garrick for winning his first Golden Pliers® by WIREMARK® Championship. Tim also collected the Fieldays® Silver Spades™ Doubles Championship trophy with partner Cory Twigley. The Bill Schuler trophy was lifted by Michael Trott.
It was another superb week showcasing New Zealand’s unequalled fencing prowess. There had been huge organisation and input behind the scenes for this to happen, and our grateful thanks go to all who are involved, including Leanne Stanger, Joeline Bouskill and Debbie White.
The Judges team comprised of Chief Judge Owen Peterson, Craig Shortall, Paul Van Beers, Warren Herlihy, Mark Lambert, Shane Tilson, Campbell Bryce, Wayne Newdick, Nick Liefting, Colin Brown, Owen Petersen and Kim Petersen. Technical Judges comprised Richard Broughton, Craig Graham, Cambell Clark, Pete Anderson, Victoria Power and
Marty Hepburn.
A special mention to our sponsors WIREMARK®, Goldpine, Cyclone, Stockade, Stihl, Strainrite, Steel & Tube/Hurricane, Revolution Postdrivers and FCANZ, without whom there would be no event!
COMPETITION FINAL RESULTS 2024
Golden Pliers® Singles Championship by WIREMARK®
1st Tim Garrick
2nd Jeff Joines
3rd Cory Twigley
4th Tony Bouskill
5th Shay Robertson
6th Jared Nicholson
7th Cameron Hamerton
8th Wilton Weeks
Best Quality: Tony Bouskill
Nick Liefting First Off The Line Trophy: Tim Garrick
Fieldays® Silver Spades™ Doubles Championship
1st Tim Garrick & Cory Twigley
2nd Shane Bouskill & Tony Bouskill
3rd Jeff Joines & Craig Smith
4th Shay Robertson & Cameron Hamerton
5th Wilton Weeks & Burne Maxted
6th Martin Leveridge & Troy Brooky
7th Craig Sinclair & William Pei (South Island Team)
8th Jason Day & Alexander Masser (US Team)
Bill Schuler
1st Micheal Trott
2nd Craig Sinclair
3rd Murray Graham
4th Troy Brooky
5th Tom Dingle
6th Burne Maxted
Best First Year: Craig Sinclair
Best Second Year: Cameron Hamerton
Fieldays® Silver Staples Cadet competition
1st Bradley Anderson/Cameron Chambers (Smedley Station 1)
2nd Thomas Batty/Lachie O’Connell (Geraldine High School 1)
3rd Jackson Marriott/Cullen Gordon-Wilson (Geraldine High School 2)
4th Ryan Craw/Holly Bird (Pukemiro Station 1)
5th Harry Peacock/Ben Solomann (Pukemiro Station 2)
6th Jordan Miles/Angus Kopua (Smedley Station 2)
Written by Kim Petersen
Photos reproduced with permission of NZ Fencing Competitions
Published in WIRED Issue 74 / September 2024 by Fencing Contractors Association NZ
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