Using a 13-tonne excavator to dunk a basketball, paint a picture and traverse a stack of logs would be a herculean task for the average mortal. Not so for Stratford’s Jarrod See, who dug deep on Saturday to claim top spot in the Civil Contractors New Zealand CablePrice Taranaki Regional Excavator Operator Competition, held at the Infrastructure Training Park in Bell Block.
His win over eight other operators in Taranaki’s regional event has earnt him a spot in the national finals in Feilding next year, where he will cross excavator blades with 12 other champion operators from across New Zealand.
“I was in Auckland for Coldplay last night so flew back first thing this morning to take part in the competition,” said See, who works for Taranaki civil construction company Graham Harris Ltd.
“I’ve never done anything like this before but the moral support of my mates definitely helped.”
This year’s Taranaki competition included an array of eye-catching and challenging tasks, from dunking a basketball through a manhole using an excavator bucket to painting a picture by carefully controlling a paint brush mounted on an excavator boom.
In a quirky take on the childhood ‘buzz wire’ game, another task challenged operators to use their excavators to deftly guide an electrified hoop along a four-metre-long serpentine wire without touching it. The task was a test of pure precision, requiring operators had to extend, retract, raise and lower their machines’ booms to avoid making contact and setting off an alarm.
“I managed to get through that one without setting off any buzzers,” said See. “I think there was only one other operator that got through it and didn’t beep.”
Other challenges included more conventional tests of operator ability, including the ability to dig a trench precisely, based on a template provided beforehand, along with tests of theory, including health and safety awareness and knowledge.
Civil Contractors New Zealand Taranaki Chair Joe Ingram said this year’s event was held in windy conditions but under blue skies, after rain the day before when volunteers were setting up the course.
“It just went really well thanks to all the helpers, supporters and sponsors. It was great to bring everyone together and the competition courses are right beside the main road so we certainly turned a few heads,” he said.
Ingram said this year’s competition had featured a star-studded lineup complete with three former champions – John Northcott, Shaun Curtis and Callum Critchley – making See’s victory in his first attempt all the sweeter. Northcott, who also works for Graham Harris Ltd, and Curtis, from I&D George both finished second equal.
The CCNZ CablePrice Taranaki Regional Excavator Operator Competition has been running since the 1990s and has become a mainstay of the region’s civil construction landscape.
Sponsors this year included CablePrice, Attach2 Equipment, Humes, Firstgas, Hirepool, Connexis, OPS Ltd, I & D George Contracting, Whitaker Civil Engineering, Hynds, Fulton Hogan, Graham Harris Ltd and Topcon.
Taranaki’s top excavators (L_R): Shaun Curtis, Jarrod See and John Northcott.
Video: Taranaki competitors in action
>> More photos from the event can be found on Facebook.