Intercollegiate Meat Judging Association (ICMJ) National Competition has wrapped up in Wagga Wagga with Jonty Hemmingway from the University of New England (UNE) taking out the title of Australian meat judging champion individual.
Jonty finished 18 points ahead of Sarah Hamblin from the University of Queensland, with a total score of 1178 out of a possible 1250 points, one of the highest scores ever achieved.
Her stellar performance also helped UNE secure victory as 2023 Champion team overall, ahead of the University of Queensland who finished runners up for the second year in a row. UNE were last champions in 2006.
This year’s competition also included industry participants for the first time.
Signature Beef’s Megan Bauman top scored in the overall industry category while Emily Lavis from Mort and Co finished runner up.
ICMJ President Dr Peter McGilchrist said the spirit of competition was alive and well during this year’s event and the training students had put in in the lead up to the contest was evident in the results on the day.
“I was very proud to see the UNE team take home the win this year, but I was impressed by of all of this year’s contestants for putting in such an outstanding effort across the two-days of competition,” he said.
“It can be quite daunting for many first timers to step into the chillers with the pressure of the clock and the number of classes they have to judge, but they all did a fantastic job.
“The best advice we can give them is: don’t overthink it, judge it as you see it and have fun.”
