Competition Purposes

The 2025 Spring Hunting Competition aims to bring together the passionate sika hunting community to celebrate ethical hunting, herd management, and the sustainable use of wild resources.

This year’s competition has 5 key purposes:

1. TO PROMOTE OUR PARTNERS WITHIN THE SIKA HUNTING & OUTDOORS COMMUNITY

We aim to highlight and support our main partners – Stoney Creek, Helisika, Our Backyard Trust and the Sika Foundation – by showcasing our innovation, company values, products, services and contributions to sustaining a healthy Sika Deer resource and environment. Through our combined efforts and initiatives, we look to use this competition and event to engage with the community and increase education, promote conservation efforts, support our local businesses and communities and ultimately preserve and protect our passions within our own backyard for future generations to come.

2. TO PROMOTE THE SIKA FOUNDATION'S SIKA HERD MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

A big objective within this Spring Hunting Competition is to help better engage, educate and inform our hunting and outdoors community of the Sika Foundation’s vision and effort to create “A healthy Sika hunting resource, thriving in resilient natural habitats, valued by stakeholders”. At this stage, we have an important role and responsibility within the hunting community to help reduce the older hind population, within our Central North Island Sika herd. At the same time educating our hunting community to let our Sika Stags grow and feed up throughout the spring period. Giving them the best chance to enter the roar in good condition, maximising antler growth and educating hunters to make better decisions around letting stags grow to reach maturity and their full potential.

3. To Champion the Back Country to Plate Ethos

We want to inspire our hunting and outdoors community to fully utilise and view Sika Deer venison as a high-quality, organic and wild food resource that can feed their whānau and wider communities. Through this competition and event, we want to help raise awareness and educate our community on the value and nutritional benefits of wild Sika Deer venison and embracing a back country to plate approach that honours the animal and the hunt.

4. To Bring Hunters and communities together

We are hosting an inclusive prizegiving and community event for hunters, fisherman and the local community to come together, share stories, and watch their harvest transformed by professional butchers, chefs and more into delicious meals, fostering knowledge, respect, and connection within our community. These events are designed to provide a platform to educate, inspire and share, with a key focus towards protecting our resources and passions for future generations to come.

5. TO SET THE PLATFORM TO GROW THE STONEY CREEK OUTDOORS AND OBT EVENTS

Stoney Creek are dedicated to maximising experiences and supporting communities. This event will set the stage to evolve and grow the event for the future and will look to incorporate more hunting, fishing, conservation, community and outdoors centric initiatives, that are all unified by a central passion and respect for the outdoors, and that gives back to the community and protects our own backyard.

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More sponsors and prizes coming on board

Trout Fishing Comp

Watch this space! More details to come

Here at Stoney Creek we are obsessed with the outdoors, that’s where our passions are and what we staunchly want to protect for future generations. That’s why we are looking to grow this Hunting Competition to include a Trout Fishing Competition. We are in discussions with the local community and governing bodies, and look forward to bring the region a premier trout fishing competition to make this a truly spectacular outdoors event which promotes the outdoors, the community and conservation efforts to protect those things we care about most. So, watch this space!