New Zealand Farmers Want Sheep Shearing to Be an Olympic Sport

This is a sport that has no place for the sheepish among you. You’ve got to be tough, fast, and precise with the clippers. That’s why shearing is a competitive event in New Zealand, and some people there want the Olympic Games to host it as a demonstration sport:

Maxwell said men’s and women’s world record-holders, Ivan Scott of Ireland and Kerri-Jo Te Huia of New Zealand, showed the athleticism necessary to reach the top of world shearing.

“Ivan regained his world eight-hour solo lamb title by shearing 749 lambs, seven more than the previous world record,” she said.

“Kerri-Jo smashed the women’s eight-hour solo lamb shearing world record by shearing 507 lambs, 37 more than the previous record.”

To be accepted on the Olympic program, a sport first must be recognized by the International Olympic Committee by being widely practiced around the world and administered by an international federation that ensures that the sport’s activities follow the Olympic Charter.

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