Bendigo is playing host to the best shearers in the land - and across the Tasman Sea - with the staging of the National Shearing and Wool Handling Championships this weekend.
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There are 180 competitors in action, comprising 100 shearers, 65 wool handlers and about a dozen blade shearers.
In total, competitors will be shearing 2000 sheep courtesy of O'Sullivan's Transport.
Competition started in the Bendigo Exhibition Centre at the Bendigo Showgrounds on Friday at 8.30am.
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In the open event, three shearers from each state compete with the best six making the final and the top three being selected to represent Australia in the Trans-Tasman Shearing competition against New Zealand on Friday at 5pm.
Saturday night sees the National Open Wool Handling and Open Shearing finals take place.
The top two wool handlers, top two blade shearers and the best two machine shearers will represent Australia at the world shearing championships in Scotland in June next year.
The national championships is an annual event with the last one being held in Western Australia before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
It was last held in Bendigo in 2017 and was slated to be at the same venue in 2020.
"Bendigo is a good venue," Sports Shear Victoria president Paul McCormick said.
"It's a huge event. We hope locals come along and watch."
Australia has won 36 of the 67 machine-shearing tests since the annual home-and-away matches started in 1974. New Zealand last won in Australia at Hay, NSW, 12 years ago.
In the blades test, New Zealand defends an unbeaten record in 14 tests since the first in 2010.
New Zealand has won 34 of the 44 wool handling tests since the first one in 1998.
Entry to the championships is free.
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