Organisers are now in the final stages of implementing in-house competitions, and finalists from four states, both male and female, are honing their skills.
 
There are five female finalists so far, with more eligible to compete in the next 50 days. Companies have seen the benefits of this safety and skills initiative, hosted by the Australian Warehousing Association.
 
National coordinator Bill Henman has seen a significant increase in competitor skills, although a number of bad habits exist. The championship is based on the National Load Shifting Standards and Australian Standards, which form part of the national forklift licencing process. The judges for the competition are approved by governments to licence forklift operators in their state of residence and can identify a competent operator within the first few minutes, providing nerves do not set in.
 
Bad habits for many of the competitors include the failure to look over both shoulders prior to reversing with and without load. The forklift tynes are regularly tilted too far forward and not kept horizontal, which makes it difficult when placing loads in and out of pallet racking at various heights - a requirement of the competition.
 
There are still five in-house heats and one public heat to complete the round before the Grand Final on 28 October at the Sydney Safety Show and Materials Handling Exhibition.
 
The organisers look forward to the Grand Final with eager anticipation to see who will be the 2010 Female and Male Champions. The 2009 champions, Mark Gray and Anita Maliu, will defend their titles in Sydney.