At last a great news story to tell! Where there is a will, there is a way and through dogged determination ALPA members have paved the way for this year's time honoured ALPA Young Auctioneers Competitions to go ahead.
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COVID-19 has put a stop to many of life's celebrations whether it be weddings, graduations, school formals, overseas and interstate travel, to name a few, but smart, nimble thinking has delivered an ingenious means to ensure the show must go on.
The RNA beef committee had the foresight to continue with the prime beef competition and sale which provided the opportunity for the Queensland competition to proceed. Obviously, things will be a little different this year, but you work with what you have been given and we are grateful for the opportunity for the competition to proceed.
To ensure social distancing protocols can be met, the event will be pared back considerably with no presentation dinner and the inability to have a full gallery of spectators on hand to cheer the young auctioneers on. The level of professionalism and integrity that the competitions are renowned for, however, remain steadfast.
Accommodating these compromises ensures two young Queensland auctioneers have the opportunity to continue their auctioneering odyssey and compete in the 2021 ALPA National Young Auctioneers Competition at the Sydney Royal Easter Show and possibly continue on to the international stage and compete at the Calgary Stampede International Livestock Auctioneer Championship. This means that the Sunshine State will be represented by four young auctioneers in the 2021 ALPA National Young Auctioneers Competition with Liam Kirkwood and Jack Henshaw automatically taking their places.
In normal years, auctioneers attend a two-day auctioneer school at Rockhampton where at the end, 10 finalists are selected to go on and compete at the Ekka. As this is not possible this year, technology will play an important part in the selection process. Livestreaming of sales has been successfully implemented at many selling centres to allow vendors to see their cattle sold. Borrowing from this success, the cameras will be turned, and the young auctioneers will be videoed selling their designated lots on a nominated sale day, which will be judged remotely to select the 10 finalists.
The ALPA Young Auctioneers Competitions are the showcase events for ALPA across the nation with the opportunity to shine the spotlight on the young, up-and-coming talent from the industry. The pandemic put the kibosh on the ALPA National and NSW Young Auctioneers Competitions back at Easter with the cancellation of the Sydney Royal Easter Show. Over the coming weeks, Brisbane and Melbourne Royal Shows followed, which impacted the Queensland and Victorian competitions. 2020 was looking like a whitewash for the ALPA Young Auctioneers Competitions, but with some positivity, great support and a determination that the show (or in this case sale) must go on, the 2020 ALPA Queensland Young Auctioneers Competition will proceed and will be held Thursday August 6, at Silverdale Saleyards.
