Castle the key to a competition win

Building castles is not as easy as fairy tales would have you believe.

Dunedin carpentry apprentice Jeff Bell made that discovery pretty quickly while competing in the regional heats of the annual New Zealand Certified Builders Apprentice Challenge at Otago Polytechnic on Saturday.

He was one of six apprentices in the Dunedin regional heats and a similar number of Central Otago apprentices competing in the Cromwell challenge, who were given eight hours to construct a 1.5m-high children’s castle playhouse, complete with a turret and working drawbridge.

Most importantly, their structures had to meet minimum safety standards, because they would be donated to  early childhood education providers and other community groups after the competition.

A panel of judges assessed a range of building elements, including the quality of the workmanship and accuracy.

The Dunedin challenge was won by Gray Brothers Builders apprentice Sam Paris.

The challenge was among 15 held around the country on Saturday in association with the Industry Training Association Building, ITM and Apprenticeship Scholarship Trust.

The winner of each regional event will progress  to the national final at the 20th Annual NZCB National Conference and Expo in Rotorua on May 25-26.

john.lewis@odt.co.nz