Central Otago Stud Merino Breeders Association president William Jones said they used to see three or four entries about six years ago, and in the past couple of years they had up to seven or eight.
"This year we had 18 people entered and it was good to see the interest has grown," he said.
The winners, Samantha Harmer, of Castle Ridge Station, Ashburton Gorge, and second place-getter Logan Bain, who works on Earnscleugh Station, will represent Central Otago at the Wanaka A&P Show in Wanaka on Saturday.
Ms Harmer (19) works for her parents, Paul and Kerry Harmer, on their 10,000 merino station as a shepherd and is studying for her wool-classing certificate.
"I was quite surprised I actually won," she said.
Before the competition she talked to her father for judging tips and information and in the lead-up to the finals competition will be doing further study.
Ms Harmer received a trophy and $200, and would usually represent the region in the judging finals at the New Zealand Agricultural Show in Christchurch.
However, it was decided to hold the finals at the Wanaka show this year as there were more merinos on show.
The winner usually goes on to represent New Zealand at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, but he did not know if that would go ahead this year or not.
He said they encouraged young judges to move from looking just at the outward, physical attributes of the sheep to visualising their structure, the carcass, and what their progeny might look like, as well as improving their understanding of breeding values.
