Olds College played host to Hans Spieker, secretary general of the World Ploughing Organization, who was visiting Aug. 8 to inspect the fields and observe facilities that will be used during the 2013 World Plowing Championship.
“We help to transfer the knowledge from one year to another by these kinds of visits,” said Spieker.
“From the organization's perspective, there's always more to see and to organize.”
Spieker was welcomed by a handful of Olds College and Canadian Ploughing Organization dignitaries, including Tom Thompson (president of Olds College), Lynn McDonald (president of the Canadian Plowing Organization), Jim Sache (Canadian WPO board chair), Joel Gingrich (chair of the college's School of Land Sciences) and Mark Kaun (chairman of the organizing committee).
Some of the officials accompanied Spieker around the college grounds and out to a 220-acre plot east of Hwy. 2A that will serve as site for the plowing contest.
“We discussed a little bit about the field layout, soil conditions, the depth of plowing,” Spieker said.
Spieker said the current plowing depth at Olds College must be considered, which is currently about 18 centimetres.
“You can only see that if you dig it up. If you go too much deeper, that means you plow stuff up that is not that good. We have to take that into account. Most likely, we will have a plowing depth between 15 and 19 centimetres.”
Thompson said it was good to have Speiker at Olds College so he could have a chance to see the grounds.
“I think it is very fitting that the Olds College hosts the World Ploughing Championship during its centennial year,” he said,
“It's been about three years since we started the process with provincial and national plowing organizations to see if it was possible to put a centrepiece into our centennial year celebrations.”
Typically, the host country does the vast majority of the organization (in this case the Canadian Ploughing Organization), and then Spieker, on behalf of the WPO, approves it.
Other items discussed that afternoon were transportation, time schedules, eating facilities, lodging facilities, and meeting rooms for the competitors and officials of the 2013 competition, Spieker said.
The program runs about nine or 10 days in July, and is host to about 300 to 400 people, comprised of 60 competitors and 30 world board members, originating from 30 countries.
“The organization actually expects (that figure) to be closer to 400 than 300. But that really is depending upon the interest.”
Spieker said he is confident the interest is there.
Some competitors are so dedicated, they even bring their own equipment over by ship, he said.
“Some will ship a container with plows, and some will even bring their own tractor,” he said.
Thompson said Olds College is excited about the addition the plowing championship will be to the college's centennial celebrations in July of 2013.
“I know it's going to be a wonderful year, and it's going to profile so many of our programs and our people, but we were looking for a centrepiece, something that would capture the imaginations of Albertans, and I think we found it in the World Ploughing Organization.”
Olds College last played host to the WPO's annual championship in 1986, and the 2013 event will mark the WPO's 60th championship.
