Young volunteers in the Howlong team finished first in this year’s NSW Rural Fire Service cadet field day, held for the second year at Holbrook Race Course over Saturday and Sunday.

Participants had their firefighter skills tested across 10 different events which were judged on time.

RFS Division 13 chairman David Turner said it was a close competition between the winners and the Young-based South West Slopes in second and Thurgoona in third.

“There was something like 10 seconds between first and second,” he said.

“The whole championship is about doing this correctly in a quick time.”

Teams from Corowa, Jindera, Table Top and other parts of NSW also competed in the event.

It started last year as an extension of the training offered in the RFS’s secondary school cadet program for those aged between 12 and 18 years.

Mr Turner said the championships were also about introducing young people into emergency services and encouraging them to volunteer.

“They should consider doing something for the community and not get paid for it,” he said.

“It’s something that gives them a bit of relation to the real world … The kids see the need for their brigades.”

The competition doubled from five to 10 teams this year and Mr Turner said many of the young competitors have already committed to coming back to the event in 2019.