Mr Burleigh will be climbing into the cab of a 13-tonne excavator to represent Canterbury-Westland at the Civil Contractors New Zealand CablePrice national excavator operator competition.
He will be one of 13 regional champions from around New Zealand to rumble on to the competition course at Manfeild Park tomorrow and Saturday during the Central Districts Field Days.
Mr Burleigh worked for Thompson Construction and Engineering, building foundations for commercial developments and would be celebrating his 10-year anniversary this year.
He said he was looking forward to checking out the other operators’ excavator skills and was feeling "pretty nervous".
"It’s an honour to represent my region — it’s not something everyone gets to have a shot at."
This year’s event marked the competition’s 30th anniversary and competitors would face a host of never-seen-before challenges, as well as crowd-pleasing tests of precision that have been popular in the past, such as pouring a cup of tea using a specially engineered excavator attachment.
Mr Burleigh qualified for the event after a strong placing in the Canterbury Westland regional competition in October 2023 where he finished third in the competition but was chosen to represent the region at the nationals after the competition winner, William Mikaere of Rosco Contractors in Reefton, suffered a broken leg after a fall.
Civil Contractors New Zealand chief executive Alan Pollard said the annual competition provided a chance to celebrate New Zealand’s excavator operators and inspire young people to consider careers in civil contracting.
"The eye-catching tests of precision always bring the crowds but there’s a more serious side to the event as well, with plenty of traditional tasks such as trenching, operating around underground services, and tests of operators’ health and safety knowledge."
Mr Pollard said
the infrastructure challenges across New Zealand were becoming increasingly acute.
"We need more machine operators and many other roles across the industry and this is a great way to shine a spotlight on the talent required and the opportunities available in civil construction."
