Chairman of Retrieving and Field Trialling (RAFT), Mr Tony Palmer, visited East Gippsland to announce that Bairnsdale has been selected to host the 2024 National Retrieving Championships in September this year.
These championships have been held on an annual basis for many years. Last year’s event was held in Western Australia.
Retrieving trials seek to set up an event to replicate hunting. Animals are not harmed at the trial. “Game” is thrown and placed by the judge, guns are fired using blank ammunition and dogs and their handlers are required to work together as a team to located and retrieve the game.
Labradors are by far the most popular dog breed due to their hunting instincts and trainability. However, all gundog breeds are eligible to compete, and it is common to see German shorthaired pointers, golden retrievers and spaniels in the field.
Competing dogs are highly trained by their owners and love doing what comes naturally to them.
Mr Palmer expects entries to be received from every state with up to 150 people visiting the area for the event. As the nationals are run in conjunction with the Victorian State Championships and the Labrador Club of Victoria lead-up event, it is expected that most of these people will be in the area for up to three weeks which will bring quite a financial boost to Bairnsdale at a time of year that sees low tourist numbers.
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Mr Palmer and his organising team toured the farm sites that will host the event. He said they were delighted and impressed with the terrain that is available to be used. As the three events will be held on a number of farms in the Bairnsdale area, he is confident it will be a great event due to the variety of suitable terrain that is available.
The judges require water, gullies and cover and Mr Palmer says Bairnsdale “has it all”.
He is delighted to see the cooperation of the local farming community to allow these events to be run on their properties.
