Treating mock bush fire burn victims earned a Tauranga youth and his team the top place in an international St John competition.
Adam Van Leeuwen, a St John cadet of the Welcome Bay youth division, travelled to Sydney earlier this month to compete against teams from 11 countries at the International Cadets Competitions.
Mr Van Leeuwen, 17, and the other three members of the New Zealand team were the overall winners of the competition after taking out first place in pairs CPR, pairs trauma and the individual drill, second place for the team nursing test and third in public relations.
"In about September I got an email out of the blue saying I've been shortlisted for the team, it hadn't even crossed my mind to enter. I had to go and have an interview, then a couple of weeks later I got an email offering me a spot in the team. I was blown away by that."
Mr Van Leeuwen said he had two training sessions with his team members before heading overseas.