Flinders Christian Community College show team doubling in size every year

The Flinders Christian Community College, Tyabb, sheep show team is doubling in size every year.

That's according to the woman at the helm, Tess Runting, who manages the school's program for year 7-12 students.

"It's almost doubling every year," she said.

"It's becoming cool and that's really exciting.

"Not that we need it to be cool for it to grow, but students are starting to realise that there are a lot of careers in agriculture, and it's also a lot of fun to be part of our team."

The students had their largest outing ever at the Australian Sheep & Wool Show in Bendigo at the weekend.

Preparations started 12 months ago, long before show day, according to Ms Runting.

"Preparation starts a year in advance, really, because you have to plan the joining for the show team that you want to bring along and the feeding," she said.

"It's been a very tough season for everybody.

"We only have a very small plot of land, so we're always feeding our sheep anyway, but with the lack of rain and a lot of rain right before the show, we've had sheep in and out of sheds, trying to keep everyone dry."

The tough conditions meant her students had to work twice as hard to get their sheep in top shape and ready for the ring.

"The students have to learn how to handle sheep and prepare them," Ms Runting said.

"A lot of work goes into getting the students and the sheep here.

"It's not just about the actual show prep."

She said the team's size meant it was always a case of all hands on deck.

"They all work really well together to get the job done," she said.

"It's certainly been a tough challenge, feeding the sheep through the dry season and being able to source things like hay.

"It's become increasingly difficult and more costly.

"Certainly, it made it a lot more difficult to get here, but also made the reward even greater.

"It's exciting."

A number of students had only joined the show team in recent months and Bendigo was their first event.

"We had a few good [ribbon] places and they all did a great job helping each other," Ms Runting said.

The program offered the teenagers plenty of opportunities and that was the key to the team's success.

"They get a lot out of it and they learn so much," she said.

"There are so many opportunities that come from this program - lifelong friends and career opportunities, all that experience."

Ms Runting said that experience included sheep handling and judging, livestock nutrition, public speaking, finance and teamwork.

"It's pretty much every life skill they're ever going to need," she said.

"At the end of the day, they're all learning about life as well, full stop.

"They're learning about breeding and genetics, and they're learning that where there's livestock, there is dead stock, as it is with any farm.

"It's probably one of the best programs that a young person can do to learn life skills, develop within agriculture and find a career that they're interested in."

Ms Runting planned to keep working to improve the genetics of the school's Corriedale flock and subsequently, improve the students' chances in the showring.

The college was also connected to the Flinders Christian Community primary school, and expansion to these younger kids was on the cards.

A number already helped out their secondary school siblings on the college's show circuit.

"That's probably where our next main expansion would be, increasing opportunities and availability for those primary students as well," Ms Runting said.