Arborist Seth Mischeski. Photo Susan Sandys.Twenty-seven-year-old Seth Mischeski of Ashburton has overcome his fear of heights as he fulfils his dream career of being an arborist.

And it is just as well, as he scales mammoth trunks and their untamed branches up to more than 30 metres above the ground.

“When I started, I hated heights,” he said.

But in those early days of his apprenticeship he found he began to get used to it, and he could get higher and higher as his tolerance grew.

“And once you are working up there, you don’t have time to think about it, you just have stuff to do,” Mischeski said.

At the same time, he believed it was good to have some degree of nervousness about being so high up, as this just made him all the more careful and made sure he took extra care for safety.

Mischeski is an arborist at Four Seasons Tree Care. He and colleague Sami Baker are currently gearing up for the South Island Regional Tree Climbing Competition at the Ashburton Domain tomorrow.

Tree climbing is a competitive domain within the arboriculture industry, and the events planned are set to test arborists’ skills.

They will include an aerial rescue event, where the climber ascends the tree to rescue an injured person, in the form of a dummy, as well as a work climb where a climber has to reach four different stations, and a speed climb where the climber has to get to the top and ring a bell as quickly as possible.

All climbers are harnessed.

The New Zealand Arboriculture Association holds four regional tree climbing competitions each year, with one in the South Island.

The top climbers from each event gain entry to the National Tree Climbing Championship.

At first both Mischeski and Baker were on the waiting list for the event, until recently news came through they could now compete.

It is the first time the competition has been held in Ashburton, and Mischeski said it would also be the first time he would be competing in a tree-climbing competition.

“It’s sort of rude not to attend an event in your home town, and it’s a good opportunity to meet other arborists and learn new skills,” he said.

“My goal is just to do it and have fun.”

He also thought it was great that such events could raise awareness of arboriculturalist careers, particularly with a strong demand in New Zealand and a shortage of trainees.

“There’s a lot of people you talk to and you say ‘I’m an arborist’, and they are like: ‘What’s that?’,” he said.

That had certainly been the case for him when he was younger.

Upon leaving Ashburton College he was undertaking an apprenticeship in horticulture at the Ashburton Domain, when he noticed the owner of Four Seasons, Lyall Jemmett, undertaking some tree work nearby.

“It’s the first time I had ever seen or heard about an arborist,” he said.

When he completed his horticulture apprenticeship he began at Four Seasons and has now added an apprenticeship in arboriculture to his CV.

For Mischeski, it is a dream job.

As he undertakes the tasks of trimming, removal and tree care, he gets a bird’s-eye view of the world each day.

By Susan Sandys  © The Ashburton Guardian - 11 September 2020

An injury-ravaged Mid Canterbury Combined outfit will be hoping to muster its last scraps of energy with plenty still to play for in its final two games.

Combined play their final home game today in Ashburton against St Bede’s College, who themselves have a lot at stake amid moving day in the UC Championship.

The Christchurch school sits in sixth spot on the championship ladder after being held to a 27-all draw at Marlborough Boys’ College last week.

The side is well placed to gun for a top four berth ahead of a final week meeting with Timaru Boys’ High and will be steeled for battle today.

Mid Canterbury Combined meanwhile limp into this week off the back of a heavy injury toll, with some key personnel gone for the season, and an 80-point humbling at the hands of a ruthless Christchurch Boys’ High side.

Avoiding the spoon will be an accomplishment for the young contingent, compared to the bigger and more experienced lineups it has squared off with this season.

The MCC boys are two points ahead of the bottom placed Lincoln Combined and on season form and considering Lincoln’s remaining opponents, it should be enough.

Although it would be a massive ask and would probably require at least a bonus point today and again next week in Blenheim, catching Roncalli Aoraki Combined on the ladder is a feasible objective, and one which gives the Spartans next two hitouts some purpose.

Roncalli overtook Mid Canterbury on the ladder last week after picking up a bonus point when the side was pipped 27-26 by Waimea Combined.

If Mid Canterbury Combined were to somehow overtake Roncalli, it would put them in line for a UC Championship bowl final playoff.

The Guardian understands however that in the midst of a largely makeshift rugby season. the need for playoff matches outside the top four is under review by Canterbury Rugby.

By Adam Burns © The Ashburton Guardian - 5 September 2020

Liam Sullivan in action. Photo supplied.It might not have been the fairytale finish they were hoping for, but there were plenty of high points for the Ashburton College boys basketball side to take from their season as it concluded during the week.

The team, who went on a hot run of form last week, winning three matches in as many days, took on the might of Christchurch Boys’ High School on Tuesday night in Christchurch and while beaten 88-70, they were far from disgraced in their final match of the Thomson Trophy.

Coach Brian Kerr said that while losing this week was a tough way to put an end to the competition, the youthfulness of the side, and the efforts shown during the competition, were encouraging for the future.

“Overall, this young College team has come a long way over the season, especially on the defensive aspect,” Kerr said.

“They almost pulled off a massive upset against the top dogs, St Andrew’s College, as well as coming close on a number of occasions.”

On Tuesday night, College started well against CBHS and both sides traded blows for the opening quarter, going basket for basket.

In the second quarter it was the hosts who made the early play, but College negated their two-to-three zone play and started to string some plays together to stretch out to a five point lead.

A couple of key turnovers through, turned things back around and the two sides went into the break at 42-all.

The third quarter was tough for the young College side.

With CBHS readjusting their zone play and upping their intensity, scoring baskets became a real struggle and the visitors were forced into making shots while also being unable to secure the rebounds.

This put CBHS on the front foot, and they used to it advantage to stretch out to a 14-point lead.

Things got worse as the College defence fell right away and by the end of the third, College were down by 22.

In a not completely unfamiliar situation, College found themselves chasing the game heading into the final quarter, and initially they did very well.

Switching to a full court man-to-man approach they turned the ball over and got their shooting range in line and drew the game back to 14 points.

But a timeout by their hosts steadied the ship, and they rounded out the game well winning comfortably.

Liam Sullivan led the way for the College side with 16 points, including three from beyond the circle.

Riley Sa was solid again with 14 points, considering he was given plenty of attention when he had the ball in hand, and Thomas Patterson, Jacob Swan and Kambell Stills all claimed 10 points.

“They played well for periods, but were guilty of not boxing out when the shot went up,” Kerr said.

“On the plus side they continued to fight hard and when they got things right, they looked good. “

Ultimately, Kerr said a six minute lapse in the third quarter left them with too much work to do.

By Matt Markham © The Ashburton Guardian - 4 September 2020