Tyler Leonard had a successful weekend at the Ashburton Trust Junior Open. Photo Adam BurnsHome court advantage came to fruition for the Mid Canterbury young guns during the first major tournament over the long weekend

The locals did the business at the Ashburton Trust Junior Open, which began on Saturday, with a handful of the district’s prominent juniors finishing on the podium.

More than 100 players were on display for the three-day tourney which was greeted with scorching conditions on the opening day.

Tyler Leonard, who is largely seen as the one who may take up the mantle from the departed Diego Quispe-Kim, stormed his way to dual trophies in both the under-16/18s singles and doubles events.

Coming in as top seed, Leonard did not drop a set en route to his singles win, courtesy of victories over Jackson Wright (6-0, 6-0), Ben Sinclair (6-2, 6-0) and second seed Luca Landells (6-2, 6-2) in the finals.

Thirteen-year-old Jake Parsons continued his ascent, clinching the under-14 boys singles before he and Drew Gilbert finished as runners-up in the doubles.

The pair went down to a fellow local in the decider as Ollie Bubb took out the under-14s boys doubles alongside Ryan Watt 6-1, 6-1.

Bubb also finished on the podium in the singles with a third place finish.

It did not stop there, as Josh Gilbert secured the under-12s singles title with Ashton Cromie finishing in third spot.

Holly-Jayne Feutz also got on the act, with third place finishes in both the under-14 girls singles and the doubles with Angel Spooner.

“We also had a great showing from many other Ace players who are improving at rapid pace so well done to all players,” Mid Canterbury Tennis head coach Jack Tiller said.

“As a coach it is great to see all the players’ hard work paying off on the court.

“It was a pleasure to watch them all play.”

By Adam Burns © The Ashburton Guardian - 27 October 2020

The Finishing Company owner Craig Bishop with his awards from the recent Master Painter awards. Photo Jonathan Leask“They day I stop enjoying what I’m doing and do it solely for money rather than the passion is the day I’ll retire,” Craig Bishop says.

On the eve of 20 years in business, The Finishing Company has celebrated early after receiving numerous national awards in Rotoroa earlier this month.

Owner-manager Craig Bishop has been in the industry since 1983 and started The Finishing Company in 2000 but this year was the first time he entered the awards – not for the prestige, but for the judgement.

“It was not about the accolades or the trophies, I like outside audits,” Bishop said.

“It was about how other people, totally independent, judged what we do.

“It was a measuring stick for after 20 years in business, are we on the right track.”

The judgement they received was a big tick of approval.

At the National Awards for New Zealand Master Painters’ Association, The Finishing Company received Highly Achieved Residential Wallpapering, Gold Award for character home repainting, Gold Award for character home re-wallpapering, Gold Awards for new residence interior painting over $25,000, exterior new residence over $25,000, and were the overall winner of new residence exterior over $25,000.

Bishop is passionate about what he does and takes great pride in his company’s performance so was understandably thrilled with the results.

Being a company in a smaller community, Bishop said, meant they cannot afford to be mediocre.

“You are only as good as your last job.

“We always have to do a good job.

“Do a good job and 10 people know, but do a bad job and 100 people find out.”

Bishop has been in the industry since 1983 when he started out as an apprentice with Bradford’s, trained by Allan Wilkinson, and was a high achiever in receiving second best marks in the country in his trade certificate in 1987.

He worked at Bradford’s until November 2000 when he branched out on his own, starting The Finishing Company with his wife Sonia.

“In 2004 we started to get really busy, but there wasn’t the tradesmen around.”

That’s when Bishop ended up taking over another Ashburton firm, TH and TN Shaw, and shifted The Finishing Company to the site on Grey Street where they are still based 16 years later.

In his 37 years as a painter, a lot has changed in the industry.

“The whole industry has evolved.

“There were no water blasters when I started, so you cleaned roofs down with wire brushes and garden hoses.”

They now also have acrylic fillers, joinery is pre-finished, access to better tools and products, he said.

“It used to take us three weeks to paint a normal house and now we can go in and out in eight to 10 days.

Health and safety has also come a long way, with better products and safety equipment.

The industry has come a long way and after all these years, Bishop still enjoys his work.

“They day I stop enjoying what I’m doing and do it solely for money rather than the passion is the day I’ll retire,” he said.

By Jonathan Leask © The Ashburton Guardian - 24 October 2020

Leading the Sun Smart charge at Ashburton College (from left) sports committee member, Year 13 student Kotiti Patea, Cancer Society Health promotor Mandy Casey, sports committee member, Year 12 student Cathleen Anderson and college sports co-ordinator Darion Gray. Photo suppliedSummer is just over the horizon, and so is the need to be smart about protecting your skin when you head outdoors, says Ashburton’s Cancer Society health promoter Mandy Casey.

With more than 4000 New Zealanders diagnosed with either melanoma in situ or invasive melanoma every year, Casey said the Sun Smart message can never be repeated often enough.

“For every sunburn you get as a kid, it increases your risk of melanoma later on.

“It messes with your DNA, so the message is simple – seek shade, wear protective clothing, a hat and sunglasses and wear sunscreen.”

Another important Sun Smart tool was to have the UV app on your phone, and this would provide current UV levels and was another good awareness tool, Casey said.

Around 70 per cent of people with melanoma were over 50, but that did not mean younger people were immune.

It accounted for nearly 80 per cent of all skin cancer deaths and in a year more than 350 Kiwis die of melanoma.

While sun hats, sunscreen and sun shelters are now part of school campuses, when it comes to sports days, there needed to be plenty of reminders to apply and reapply sunscreen, she said.

The Cancer Society has a number of sun screen spikes and gazebos that schools use on sports days, but the goal is for as many schools as possible to have their own supply of sunscreen spikes.

And this week to kickstart the summer Sun Smart campaign, Casey donated a spike to Ashburton College.

This year’s campaign will also include the installation of sun protection information boards at every outdoor pool in the district.

Funds for the spike were raised by the society’s volunteers.

The spike will be added to the school’s store of outdoor equipment and will be well used on sports days and at outdoor events, the school’s sports co-ordinator Darion Gray said.

Sun hats are compulsory at most primary and intermediate schools and while caps and bucket hats are part of the college’s official uniform, it is not compulsory to wear these.

By Sue Newman © The Ashburton Guardian - 23 October 2020