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Year Eleven Calvary student Erin Lee has won the Queensland Chamber of Agricultural Societies Inc. (QCAS) state championship ‘Young Judges, Meat Sheep’ category.
The very talented Erin, and her siblings are forging a name for themselves and Calvary Christian College in the Agricultural Science field.
Erin took the title from last year’s state champion, her sister Georgia (Year Twelve).
This year Georgia placed second and Erin’s twin brother Aiden (Year Eleven) also qualified to compete.
To compete in the state level ‘Young Judges, Meat Sheep’ category, competitors must have won a qualifying show where there is often stiff competition from all over Queensland and New South Wales.
Seven young judges between the ages of 15 and 25 were invited to compete at this year’s state championship. Three of these were the Lee siblings. Well done!
In the competition Erin had to judge White Suffolk and Border Leister sheep. We only have Suffolk’s at Calvary so these are unfamiliar breeds for many of our students, but Erin has built a significant amount of knowledge on a variety of breeds through her efforts at shows around the state.
Participants have to inspect the sheep and judge them based on their production characteristics. Once they have placed the sheep in order from 1st to 5th they give a speech that explains their decision. They are then judged on the sheep order and the way in which they handle and inspect the sheep. Participants are also judged on the speech itself and how they conduct themselves in the ring.
At 15 years of age, Erin is a young competitor for this competition and she was able to beat a number of older and more experienced competitors. This is a testament to Erin’s dedication to learning new skills and exploring the world of sheep production. She has had an excellent role model in her sister Georgia and the next few years could see fierce competition between the two of them.
As the new state champion Erin takes home a significant cash prize, a plaque and most importantly the right to compete at the national titles to be held at the Ekka in 2014.
As last year’s state champion Georgia will compete at the national titles, held in New Zealand later this year.
The aim of the competition is to help develop the judging and parading skills of young people, to ensure a selection of experienced judges in the future for agricultural shows. Competitors also improve their communication and presentation skills.
All members of the Calvary Agricultural Show team compete at various Young Judges and Young Handlers competitions. The competitions allow students to build strong skills in sheep handling and an excellent knowledge of sheep production. It also presents a unique opportunity to compete on a stage where age and gender aren’t restrictive. As a result participants can develop physical skills as well as self-confidence and a number of personal skills including communication and decision-making.
Agricultural Science Teacher, Mrs Kirsty Hart says, “The competition encourages young people into the world of agriculture and with predictions that agriculture will have to double its production by 2050 in order to feed the world this is vitally important now more than ever.”
All three of the Lee students have been involved with the Calvary’s show team since Year 7. Erin and Georgia are currently seniors in the team and take on a significant mentoring role within the team. Erin has also picked up Agricultural Science as a senior subject this year.
Well done Erin and Georgia – we are very proud of you! It’s a wonderful achievement. |