It’s auction competition season again and the news is all good. REIA appear to have relented from their previous stance and allowed auctioneers from Queensland and NSW back into the Australasian finals in September. All power to them and those who have worked behind the scenes (you know who you are). This is the fillip the competition needed after some victors of recent years have contemplated inserting an asterisk on the Cup, alongside their names.

The quality of callers from these two states is high with the Queenslanders renowned for their “get it done” attitude, while the troops from NSW are calling such large numbers of auctions that their improvements of recent times are palpable. These two Eastern seaboard states are bound to provide expertise and will inevitably be the ultimate challenge to Victoria and the Kiwis, as they both seek to extend their Australasian competition dominance.

Various franchises are running in-house events on either side of the Tasman while the time-honoured Golden Gavel recently had its heats in Adelaide. These precursors are packed to the gunwales as everyone seeks that critical edge, short of their big gigs.

The initiating of a State of Origin series has given auctioneering a bit more bravado, as the barbs fly either side of the NSW/Q border – each state determined to wrestle superiority after Queensland’s inaugural win last year. Remarkably, Queensland already have their duo bolted down for the Austros, with their qualifiers confusingly run in December 2015.

Several of the State Institutes are upping their training options, fine-tuning their orators, as the heats loom. The prize is a jaunt to Alice Springs 6-8 September, where the 18 representatives will assemble as Northern Territory host their second finals, under the excellent leadership of CEO Quentin Killian and auction guru Morgan Shearer.

While many individuals have changed their training schedules, some Institutes have invested in running auctioneering bootcamps for a day. These have been particularly well received and the results are finally starting to show.

Other auctioneers have run sessions with high calibre callers providing inspiration to the rookies and invaluable technical expertise to those looking for solutions to the plateauing of their calling.

The phones and Ipads will buzz nonstop as the heats in Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, Auckland and Melbourne unfold over the next 10 weeks. Everyone is looking for the winning line, the spark, the piece of cunning that might just make the difference.

Hopefully Perth, Darwin and Hobart can equally provide some grunt to the final field, as this age-old art starts turning new pages in its skill levels. The early word on the street, is that everyone might be chasing shadows, as 2015 winner Harry Li from Melbourne has apparently raised the bar to a new level. Favouritism has not always sat comfortably with any competitor, but this classy champion is the man to beat (if he can get out of the Victorian comp).