The Mitre 10 Great Apprentice Race 2018

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The Mitre 10 Trade Great Apprentice Race

If you were given just four hours to design and build a fully functional catapult that could accurately shoot balls at a target, how do you think you’d go? which included, a DeWalt Cordless Drill, Circular Saw and Jigsaw, which they got to take home. After a few hours of hard work, 18 catapults and hobby horses were ready and conference delegates were asked to vote for their favourite entry based on design quality and workmanship. A big congratulations goes to Kelvin Haywood of Southland, who received the clear majority of votes to claim the Best Designed Catapult and score a DeWalt Heavy Duty Table Saw!

Next up was the true test, the race. The apprentices had to ride their newly constructed hobby horses, with catapults in tow, to different firing positions, where they were required to shoot balls into buckets and complete building related tasks before they could progress. The first task was to strip and re-assemble a hand plane, which proved a little tricky and really separated the field. Next, they had to shave an arris on a timber block, then gallop off to fire more balls, before returning to put a screw flush into the block – using a hand screw driver.

1st place – Michael Laursen-Muagututia; 2nd place – Matt Hatchard; 3rd place – Thomas Ashley.

That’s what 18 top notch apprentices competing in the Mitre 10 Great Apprentice Race were tasked with at the annual NZCB conference & expo, held in Rotorua on 25th May.

As you might expect, there was a fair bit of chaos, but it highlighted that there is some top talent coming through the ranks. We were thrilled to return for another year as sponsor and round off the apprentice challenge with this lighter-hearted race featuring each of the regional finalists.

While the nature of the build ensured the race served as good entertainment for the 700-odd conference attendees, it was pleasing to see a great deal of skill and creativity from the apprentices who had to think fast on their feet. Only the night before, were they informed what the build was and handed a basic description of a catapult, and only that morning were they briefed on a minimum size, and told the device had to have wheels, a firing mechanism, a towing eyelet and somewhere to stow the projectiles. They also then learnt they had to build a hobby horse, which they’d have to ‘ride’ to tow their catapult into position.

To help get the job done, and in the interest of fairness Mitre 10 Trade supplied each apprentice with an identical pack of power tools, hand tools and materials,

There was certainly plenty of action, and amid balls flying everywhere, three of the guys actually hit their targets, scoring bonus prizes of Mitre 10 chiller bags, umbrellas and beanies.

Manawatu can be proud of Michael Laursen-Muagututia, who won the overall race and earned a $750 Mitre 10 gift card. Northland’s Matt Hatchard came second, winning $500, and Thomas Ashley from Nelson rounded out the podium and received $300.

Well done and congratulations to all the apprentices that took part. The standard of the competition steps up a notch every year, and this year was no exception.

Derek Heard Mitre 10 General Manager Trade

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