New Zealand's world-beating shearers won't be resting on their laurels for long.
The new world machine shearing champions, Paul Avery and John Kirkpatrick arrived back in the country from Norway on Thursday.
Avery and Kirkpatrick took first and second places in the world machine shearing championship and also won the team event.
Sheree Alabaster and Joanne Kumeroa matched that success in the wool-handling championships.
Avery and Kirkpatrick have confirmed they will line up for the Great Raihaia Shears at the Hawke's Bay show on 24 October. Kirkpatrick will defend the open title he won last year.
He also expects to compete at the Poverty Bay Show in Gisborne next weekend.
Another of the New Zealand team, blade shearer Bill Michelle, will be back in action less than 48 hours after arriving back on Thursday.
He plans to be on the board in Waimate on Saturday morning to defend the New Zealand Spring Shears blade title he won last year.
Champion woolhandlers Sheree Alabaster of Taihape, and Joanne Kumeroa of Wanganui, are both still overseas.
Alabaster, the new individual champion, is travelling in Africa and expects to return to New Zealand on November 28.
Runner-up and two-time previous champion Kumeroa has returned to Victoria in Australia, where she works as a shearer.
