Surprise support in online entries

Judges of the Finley Show’s online pavilion and agriculture competitions have been given a tough task with applications far exceeding expectations.All judging for the annual Finley Show was moved online this year in response to the Coronavirus pandemic, with the committee not expecting a large number of entries.The show attracted 95 entries from 30 different exhibitors for its livestock judging and more than 450 pavilion entries.Helping to guide the committee through the process are members Amanda and Scott Watkins, who have entered in online show competitions this year.The Watkins were also given the task of organising the agriculture categories, while committee members Victoria Kennedy and Amy Snowden managed the pavilion.Scott Watkins said they were surprised by the support for the show’s online format.‘‘We were hoping to get about 20 entries (in our livestock events) as we weren’t sure how our regular entrants were going to go with the video and photo submission,’’ Mr Watkins said.‘‘We were worried some of our older exhibitors wouldn’t be able to enter with the online format but to our surprise, our oldest exhibitor was our first.‘‘All the younger entrants came to us at the last minute, which was the opposite of what we predicted.‘‘It’s been a big learning curve so far and hopefully we can get back to a live show next year, but if not, at least we’ll be prepared.’’The livestock events are currently being judged online with beef, dairy and sheep, and a fun livestock section for juniors has been introduced to get younger members of the community involved.Pavilion entries will also be judged online, with a reduced number of sections.Miss Kennedy said while pavilion entries aren’t as high as previous years, local schools and community members have surprised her with how many entries she’s received.‘‘Pavilion entries have been amazing and the numbers have definitely been more than we were expecting,’’ she said.‘‘We have 375 pavilion entries, plus colouring competitions and work done by our three local schools, which pushes us well over 450 total pavilion items.‘‘Compared to nearly 950 pavilion entries in 2019, which also doesn’t include colouring competitions or school work, it’s a great result.‘‘Although we’ve not been able to see entries from some of our older and long-time exhibitors because we’ve changed the format or removed some of the classes, it’s a fantastic result.‘‘It’s also been good to see many new exhibitors get involved and we hope they’ll be back next year.‘‘Everyone has been really supportive of moving things online and being able to still give our community some kind of show event, particularly for the kids.‘‘Given the times we are now living in, they’ve enjoyed being able to still get involved with the show.‘‘Even those who don’t really understand the concept of being able to judge an exhibit just off of a photo, have been really appreciative of the work we’ve put into being able to put all this together.’’President Matt Mueller said the success of the show competitions could not have happened if it wasn’t for the hard working team of committee members.‘‘I want to say a big thank you to Amanda, Scott, Victoria and Amy who have been a big help in leading the way for our show this year,’’ Mr Mueller said.‘‘It was quite easy for us to do nothing but we wanted to give the community activities and ways to engage with each other.’’Results will be announced on Sunday with Mr Mueller addressing the community via live stream on Facebook where the Supreme and Champion exhibits will also be awarded.