NINE finalists will battle it out to be sashed winner of the 2016 Australian Livestock & Property Agents Association (ALPA) Victorian Young Auctioneer Competition.
The nine young auctioneers were selected after rigorous training and selection process, culminating in the ALPA school in Bendigo in June.
These finalists will take to the selling podium at the Victorian Livestock Exchange, Pakenham, with the proceedings kicking off at 10:30am on Monday September 19. The ALPA Victorian Young Auctioneers Competition has been running for 27 years. This year it will introduce something new – the competition will be livestreamed.
It is held in partnership with the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (RASV) as competitors auction commercial cattle assessed earlier as part of judging at the Royal Melbourne Show Prime Stock Competition.
One of the association’s main objectives is to provide training programs to its members and the longevity of these competitions is a testament to the education ALPA provides.
Being selected for the ALPA Victorian Young Auctioneers Competition gives these young professionals the chance to showcase their hard work in perfecting the art of auctioneering at this early stage in their careers and cement their position within the industry.
Two-time winner Zeb Broadbent will sell the first lot, and said he was looking forward to watching the new cohort compete for the title.
Zeb works with McKean McGregor, Bendigo, said participating in the competition had developed his selling skills, particularly the training by speech pathologist and senior auctioneers at ALPA schools.
“Senior auctioneers point out little things that you might not even realise you do and then you can make tweaks so you sell a lot more efficiently,” he said.
“I got a lot out of it and I suggest any young guys coming though to go for – the competition opened a lot of doors for me.
“It also helped me be more confident which translates to your performance every day in the saleyards.
“And I’ve made really good mates through the competitions.”
He’s excited to see his mates and a couple of new contenders vie for the title later this month.
The winner and runner up will represent Victoria at the 2017 ALPA Young Auctioneers Competition National Final, held at the 2017 Sydney Royal Easter Show.
The night before the competition, industry members and competitors’ friends and family gather for a dinner that includes a charity auction to raise funds for the Black Dog Institute.
