International Back to Back Wool Challenge

Media Release - World Results Sunday 8 June 2003

Australia Closes the Gap on World Wool Record

A team from Merriwa, NSW, took only 5 hours 33 minutes 30 seconds to handspin and knit a jumper from sheep's back to theirs in a day to win this year's International Back to Back Wool Challenge; just twenty four and a half minutes off the world record time of 5 hours and 9 minutes set by the Shetland Isles in 1997.
They also smashed their own Australian Record time set last year .

Twenty three teams of blade shearers, handspinners and knitters competed at seventeen different venues around the world in the ninth Challenge on Sunday 8 June 2003.

Each team consists of a blade shearer, a country of origin sheep, seven handspinners (with spinning wheels), and knitters who follow the identical Challenge rules and an
adult size jumper pattern .

The teams not only promoted wool world wide, but also raised substantial funds for Cancer Research. The New South Wales teams of Merriwa & Maitland have raised well over five thousand dollars.

Countries competing with Australia this year included Canada, Japan and New Zealand.