27 June 2023
Carien Kruger
Two shearers from the Karoo ensured that South Africa won the hand shearing world championship on Sunday.
Proteas team members Bonile Rabela (37) and Zwelamakhosi Mbuweni (42) finished first and second on Sunday in the “blades” category at the Golden Shears world championships in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Their performance gave South Africa victory in the teams event for the first time, and Bonile’s gold medal means the individual world champion is once again a South African, as it was between 1996 and 2017. A shearer from New Zealand won the title in 2019.
Herman Archer, chairman of the South African Sheep Shearing Federation, says this is the first time the world championship has been held since 2019, partly due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bonile and Zwelamakhosi are shearers for the contractor Love Wool in Victoria West. Bonile finished third in the 2019 championship but Zwelamakhosi was participating for the first time.
“Hand shearing is still used in many places in our country, especially in the Eastern Cape, but also in the Karoo and other remote areas where there is no electricity,” says Herman.
“Hand shearing is an art and skill. The shearers practise their profession with pride. They have a passion for their work and take good care of their tools.
“A grain farmer can go to the cooperative and buy a combine harvester for R5 million to harvest his crops. It doesn’t work that way with shearing; we need people who are well trained.”
Herman says it is important for the South African industry to deliver a top-quality fleece and animal welfare is a priority. “Our shearers leave a little bit of wool on the sheep to protect them from the cold. It is also an important requirement in the championship, but then the shearer is judged based on the evenness of the wool that is left behind.”
That means local shearers are well-prepared for the criteria of the national championship, which are based on industry requirements:
– Cleanliness of the shearing, which is assessed while the shearer is at work.
– The general appearance of the sheep after shearing, such as whether it has been properly sheared and how even the remaining wool is.
– The time it takes to shear the sheep.
Great interest among shearers
Herman says South African hand shearers approach their profession with seriousness and professionalism and are usually humble people who work hard because they are paid for what they deliver.
Shearers look up to their peers who achieve high honours and there is great interest in the regional and national championships, especially when a Proteas team is selected to compete overseas.
“We had 900 participants in our nine regional competitions in the previous season, and there were 190 participants at the national championship,” says Herman, adding that there is already significant interest in qualifying for the next world championship, to be held in New Zealand in 2026.
