Gearing up for the grand final.

The 2010 forklift championship will culminate next week in the national grand final to be held at the Materials Handling and Safety Show on 28 October in Sydney.

Organiser Bill Henman tells Forkliftaction.com News that the last in-house heat was held on Monday this week at Coles Eastern Creek DC.

The competition has produced 19 finalists in total, five of whom are females.

"Many have years of experience and are keen to prove their knowledge and skills under pressure," says Henman.

The contestants come from Nestle, Uncle Tobys, Coles, Bevchain, Tooheys, Woolworths, K Mart, Boral, Sydney Markets, Target and some private entries not representing their employer.

The judges for the championship are coming from Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney. Each contestant will have two judges grade their performance and the person with the fewest penalties within the set timeframe will win the prize money. Five judges will be available on the day to allow for breaks.

A novelty event will also take place at the competition involving 10-pin bowling with a forklift.

"The operator will be required to pick up a bowling ball with the fork, line up with the pins and tilt the mast to send the ball forward. Anyone can win this event as it’s mostly based on luck," says Henman.