The Woollen Cwtch Company and Sustainable Rope have teamed up to support the 4 Nations shearing teams by creating beautiful dragonfly ornaments made from British Willow and Natural Wool Braid. The proceeds from the sales will help fund the teams' journey to the 2026 World Shearing Championship in Masterton, New Zealand. Throughout the rest of 2024 and 2025, you'll be able to find updates on the teams progress here! 

25 October 2024

Victory at the 2023 Shearing World Championships: A Journey of Dedication and Precision And a Very Special Comb

In June 2023, one of the defining moments of Gwion Ll Evans’ shearing career came to life as he clinched both the individual and team titles at the Shearing World Championships in Scotland. This achievement was the result of years of hard work, relentless dedication, and the discovery of a particular comb that made all the difference.

Preparation played a critical role in Gwion’s journey to the championships. Knowing that hands-on experience was essential, he devoted countless hours to shearing in the months leading up to the event. In May, Gwion joined Richard Jones in Buckinghamshire for a week of shearing practice. Then, returning home to North Wales, he continued to hone his skills, participating in every competition he could find and shearing locally throughout June.

One week before the Highland Show, Gwion headed to Scotland to work with Lance Armstrong. This experience was invaluable, as it allowed him to shear Scottish Black Face and Cheviot sheep—breeds that he would later face in the competition. During his time with Lance, Rhydwyn Price lent Gwion some combs to practice with, one of which stood out. On the final day of his Scottish shearing preparation, he found the comb he felt could be a game-changer.

Arriving in Scotland on Wednesday, he was buzzing with a mix of excitement and nerves as he prepared for the championship parade the following day. A team meeting with coach Alwyn Manzini helped him and his teammates focus on the challenging days ahead. But the competition itself would turn out to be a series of highs and lows. Initially talked out of using the comb he’d selected in Scotland, Gwion made the decision to switch to it partway through the first round, immediately noticing its improvement in performance. From that moment, he relied on this comb for every subsequent round and both finals.

Gwion knew he needed an exceptional performance to secure the title—and he delivered just that. With precision and speed, he had what he calls “the shear of his life” in the final round, culminating in his unforgettable victory on that Scottish stage.

24th October 2024

Spotlight on Audrey Aiken: A Champion Woolhandler!

Meet Audrey Aiken, a 43-year-old competitor from Lanarkshire, now living in Cumbria with her husband Johnny and their two young children, Jessica (2) and James (10 months).

Audrey works in HR for Nuclear Transport Solutions (NTS), with a diverse background in wool handling across the UK, Norway, and New Zealand.

With nearly 19 years of competitive experience, Audrey won her first major title at the Royal Welsh in 2008 and has since claimed victories at prestigious shows like the Royal Highland, Royal Ulster, and Royal Bath & West - her achievements speaking volumes.

Audrey has proudly represented Scotland in three World Championships, where she has seen her progress each time: she placed 9th in the semifinals in Invercargill (2017), reached 6th in France (2019), and finished 2nd in the finals in Edinburgh (2023). In team events, she achieved 2nd place in France (2019) and 3rd in Edinburgh (2023). Additionally, she has consistently ranked in the top three in the Six Nations for Scotland.

Despite Audrey’s busy schedule and dedication to both her family, work and shearing, she’s taken some time to sit with us to chat about the 4 Nations Journey.

“We’re 18 months away from the World Championship, are you making any changes to your training and workload?”

“Preparation for qualification begins by familiarising yourself with your circuit shows. It's important to identify any shows you can't attend and plan accordingly to ensure you can participate in others throughout the season. During early shearing at home, I focus on practicing throwing and rolling to get back into a rhythm and fine-tune my instincts for where I need to be, as if I were on the competition board. Day to day, I also evaluate my fitness and identify areas for improvement to enhance my movement and timing during competitions.”

“What does it feel like to compete in a world final and represent your country?”

“There is nothing better than pulling on that blue shirt of your country and hearing people cheering as you walk on the board. but you need not get caught up in it, as you have a job to do. Reaching the team’s world final at France was amazing, I was so proud of Rosie and I just to get that far. but to compete on home soil in 2023 and make the team and individual final just blew me away. It probably didn’t sink in until weeks later when talking to people properly after the event.”

26th September 2024

News from Northern Island 

Today we catch up with multiple machine shearing finalist Jack Robinson from Northern Ireland. 

From his hometown of Claudy, County Londonderry, Jack lambs 750 ewes, runs 100 ewe lambs over & winters store lambs to finish indoors. He first picked up a handpiece at the tender age of 17 and took his first steps in a professional and successful career in shearing when he attended an Ulster Wool shearing course. 

The father of 3 has represented his country at the Golden Shears held in Invercargill (2017) where he made his first world final. 

Despite his busy schedule, he took some time to give us a glimpse into what farm life entails alongside competitive shearing at a world level. 

“Getting ready for a world championship qualifying year is pretty much the same for me as normal farm life. I usually do the full show circuit anyway and now that I have a big shearing run over the winter and summer I am shearing all year round, apart from two and a half months at lambing time on the farm. In terms of training, I still train and play for the local football team. 

To compete in a world final is a big thing, the whole build-up to it leaves you more nervous than other finals and you have a lot more pride on your chest when you are up there. Sometimes it’s a good thing and sometimes you can put too much pressure on yourself and don’t perform to the standard you know you can because of nerves, but now that I’ve made a few it’s getting easier and I know what to expect”. 

Image courtesy of Nissa: Jack winning the Nissa Open Circuit 2024.