WorldSkills New Zealand - Newsletter - June 2009

As I write this there are only 74 days until the competition starts in Calgary. Just when it seems we have some breathing space, suddenly it is all go as we prepare for the home straight. The competitors‟ tool boxes are leaving the country on 24 June, team mem-bers are being measured for their uniforms, and both Competitors and experts are now on high alert as they fine tune their training for Calgary.

The Tool Blacks were recently invited by WorldSkills Australia to take part in a Mock International Competition in Newcastle. Ten competitors and trainers were able to at-tend. This was primarily a training exercise and the opportunity for competitors to ex-perience a 4 day competition, but of course the normal Trans-Tasman “friendly” rivalry came to the fore. The good news is that the Tool Blacks did very well in the competition and I have heard from the Australians that we gave them a good run for their money. The bad news is that the Australians will have taken stock from this competition, will increase their training efforts and be far more competitive when we meet in Calgary. Tool Blacks should take heart from their Australian performance but recognise that that they need to keep up the training to remain competitive.

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