For the first time in its 47-year history, the Waimate Shears will include a New Zealand v Australia contest.
About 150 competitors are expected to converge on the town for the start of competition which starts next Friday.
Some of the country's best shearers and woolhandlers will be competing in Waimate, part of the PGG Wrightson National Shearing Circuit, including Tony Coster, David Fagan, Grant Smith and Nathan Stratford.
Brian Thompson and Tony Dodds will be representing New Zealand against Australia.
Their Australian competition is yet to be confirmed.
Waimate Shears president Warren White said there would also be about 12 locals in the competition.
The Waimate Shears officially starts on Friday night with a speed shears competition from 7pm and a challenge for Young Farmers groups.
On Saturday, the competition starts with open woolhandling at 7.15am.
Saturday's events were once spread out over two days, but are now all in one, making it possibly the biggest one-day shearing show in the country - or southern hemisphere, Mr White said.
''We push everything along - it takes a fair bit to get it ticking over,'' he said.
Today will be spent preparing the 1300-1400 sheep, and the Waimate Stadium, for the event.
For those not exposed to a rural lifestyle, the Waimate Shears was a chance to watch the ''skilled jobs'' of shearing and woolhandling, he said.
