2 minute read
A recap of the Southern challenge
Words by Chris Arvidson
It was a dark and stormy morning heading towards SIT on Saturday... Luckily we were having the event indoors with SIT once again providing a fantastic venue for the event, with the Kelly brothers (Allan and John) both instrumental in setting the site up and ensuring we had clean workspaces and surrounding classrooms for the theory, electrical and emissions parts of the programme. Nitrogen, welding gases, workbenches and more were all supplied.
The six apprentices were enthused and ready to go when the whistle went, and all put their best foot forward for the day, and after a frantic run around trying to sort Wifi connections and reclaim cylinders after said whistle, everything settled down and ran smoothly. With a short timeframe for the whole competition, the apprentices were under pressure, especially on the fabrication exercise, which proved the most difficult. Having said that, the physical side of the competition is something that seems to generally be handled well by all competitors, with the biggest impacts on total scores being seen in the theory section and fabrication.
With competitors registered from Blenheim to Dunedin, we had the largest catchment area in years, and that was reflected in the number of supporters and sponsors who attended on the day which was fantastic to see! A big thank you to those who made the extra effort to drive all those miles to get here!
It was certainly worth it to Dylan from McAlpine Hussmann in Dunedin who took out top honours on the day, followed by Matt Jackson from Active Refrigeration in second place. Both competitors will be taking part in the finals to be held at Steelforts premises in Palmerston North in September.
A huge acknowledgement once again for the sponsors Realcold, CCCANZ and IRHACE, without whose support this event could not run, and the volunteers who helped on the day (Rodger Wyatt, Martin Lightfoot, Lee Todd, Allan and John Kelly). We had additional and welcome help from Dave Higham and Ben Dalton who turned up on the day and offered their help as well.
Looking forward to seeing the finals, and aiming for next year’s competition.
