All 18 competitors will compete today. A final five will be selected for the finals, which will be held tomorrow afternoon; the winner will be announced at a gala dinner on Thursday night.
The Australasian Real Estate Institute's Auctioneering Competition kicked off in Alice Springs today.
The order of competitors is decided by a ballot, and all 18 auctioneers are restricted to a single room from 8am until their turn.
Each auctioneer is given the same brief and bidding sequence, and is judged by a panel of nine, one from each participating state or territory and one from New Zealand.
All 18 competitors will compete today, and a final five are selected for the finals, which will be held on Thursday afternoon.
The Australasian champion will be announced at Thursday night's gala dinner in the desert.
The sequence of auctioneers is as follows:
1. Edward Riley (NSW)
2. Karl Secondis (NT)
3. Mark Larmer (ACT)
4. Justin Nickerson (QLD)
5. Michael Fenn (SA)
6. Bronte Manuel (SA)
7. Sam Woolcock (TAS)
8. Daniel Coulson (NZ)
9. Andrew South (NT)
10. Andrew North (NZ)
11. Tom Roberts (VIC)
12. Gordon Macdonald (QLD)
13. Harry Li (VIC)
14. Josh Hart (TAS)
15. Peter Walker (ACT)
16. Tom Esze (WA)
17. Frank Torree (WA)
18. Gavin Croft (NSW)
This year's judges are:
- Morgan Shearer, Chief Judge (REINT)
- Matthew Knight (NT)
- David Lynch (WA)
- Mark MacCabe (QLD)
- Jonathon Moore (SA)
- John Abbott (NZ)
- Michael Walsh (TAS)
- Bob Jury (NSW)
- Neil Laws (VIC)
- Andrew Potts (ACT)
Blogger and previous winner, Mark Sumich, summed up the proceedings as at around 10am.
"Underway here at the Convention Centre, and Mr Ed (Edward Riley) from NSW has confirmed his potential winning prospects with a compelling call. The 1 barrier has often been the bane of a competitor's existence, primarily due to the bidder's struggles.
"We are in for a riveting day and Darwin's Karl Secondis is now second up. Love it."
See also:
Justin Nickerson is Australasian Auctioneer of 2016