2010 Golden Shears World Shearing & Woolhandling Championship
History of the Golden Shears World Council and Championships
For the Royal Bath & West of England Society’s Bi-Centenary Show in 1977, John Davis came up with the idea of a first Golden Shears World Championship. Following considerable planning and approval from the Golden Shears International Society of New Zealand the competition got underway. Entries for this first ever Golden Shears World Championships attracted teams from twelve countries – Australia, Austria, England, Falkland Islands, France, Germany, Libya, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Southern Ireland and Wales.
In the quarter of a century that has passed since the inaugural Championships, the event has developed into an important part of the shearing calendar. Today, there are 9 countries that form the core of the World Council – Australia, England, Ireland, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Scotland, South Africa and Wales.
View the previous Golden Shears World Champions here
Plans for 2010
The World Championships will be staged as part of the Royal Welsh Show between 19-22 July in 2010. This will be the second time that the Royal Welsh will have hosted the Championships and the Shearing Committee are already busy rescheduling the popular shearing programme for the 2010 show to incorporate the World Championships.
The Shearing Section is a key component of the Show itself, always attracting huge crowds into the purpose built shearing pavilion. Plans are underway to upgrade the facilities for 2010 and the committee are seeking support and sponsorship funding to achieve this goal.
The Royal Welsh Show is arguably the biggest and most successful event of its type in the UK and is a celebration of the best in British Agriculture.
The four day event has attracted over 200,000 visitors every year since 1989 with a record 240,140 attending the 2006 event. As well as the ever popular shearing section, the crowds can enjoy a range of rural attractions and activities including over 7,500 livestock entries and up to 1,000 tradestands. Browse the Royal Welsh website for more information on the event.
