Waipā eyes the win at next week’s lines competition

They keep the lights on in Waipā, and now they’re stepping into the spotlight at the prestigious Annual Connection lines competition at Canterbury Agricultural Park in Christchurch next week.

From 21 – 23 October, Waipā Network’s team of line mechanics and cable jointers will join more than 100 of New Zealand’s best as they demonstrate their world-class talent and compete in a series of skills-based challenges.

Annual Connection is organised each year by Connexis, the national training provider to the energy sector.

This year, Waipā Networks is one of 16 electricity distribution businesses entering line mechanic crews, and Zak Ramsey will return to the cable jointer competition, where he finished third last year.

Our lines crew team will include several new faces representing Waipā Networks at Annual Connection. They are team leader Adam Jaques, Kaiden Empson, and Chinno Panganiban. Meanwhile, team manager Mark Mita and Leighton Hemara return, having competed in last year’s event in Te Awamutu.

Leighton’s father, Tom Hemara, will be returning to support Zak in the cable jointing competition.

Tom Bromfield and Piri Bennett will also travel to Christchurch next week to participate as judges for the second consecutive year.

Mark Mita says Annual Connection is a chance for individuals to get out of their bubble, showcase their skills and do what they do daily.

“It’s also an opportunity to connect with others within the industry. It pays dividends to your company as it increases your knowledge base, and you now have more people to bounce ideas off to bring back to the business,” says Mark.

“I am constantly reaching out to people for various reasons, and the majority of them I met at this competition over 15 years ago,” he adds.