Asked how he felt about Reid's success in the caber and sheaf events, Hellier said: "I never like getting beaten. I will be doing my darndest to make sure he doesn't do it again."
Among the dozen men expected to compete this year will be 33-year-old Peter Mayne, a former policeman who runs a masonry business in Whangarei.
He won the emerging heavyweight division at the Waipu Games last January and has been honing his Highland skills at the Paeroa games last February and at a fundraiser in Christchurch where he competed with Hellier, Reid and other top sportsmen.
Mayne is a big unit with strength honed by carrying concrete blocks. He's been training with property management consultant Craig Walker, who will compete in the emerging heavyweight division next Monday,
Waipu Caledonian Society chairman Don Ewan said the games were being held on January 2 because New Year's Day, when they were usually held, was a Sunday.
"Waipu's early Scots settlers held communion services on Sundays. After the games were started in 1871 it was decided that if New Year's Day fell on a Sunday the games would be held on January 2," he said.
However, society chief Bain McGregor said the top solo bagpipers in the country would compete in the Helen McGregor Memorial Medley in the Coronation Hall at Waipu at 7pm on Sunday.
The medley enables competitors to show their flair with sliding notes and other finger moves frowned on in traditional piping.
Clan Stewart will host the 2012 games, which will get under way at 9am on Monday at the Caledonia Park in Waipu. Admission will cost $15 for adults, $5 for children aged 5-15, and $35 for a family ticket for two adults and two children.
At 12.15pm there will be a mass performance by all pipe bands, and a mass fling by all dancers.
New Zealand dancing championships later will feature traditional and Scottish Official Board competitions.
There were also be fiddle-playing and demonstrations of Scottish country dancing, which has enthusiasts in clubs at Whangarei, Kamo, Dargaville, Kerikeri and Kaitaia.
Tartan in the Park will again be held so men, women, boys and girls can show off their fashion design skills or costumes that contain tartan material.
If the weather is kind, the expected crowd of about 6000 should also enjoy children's running races and a host of other entertaining events.
Families can take a picnic lunch or purchase food from stalls.
And, of course, traditionalists will be able to obtain a wee dram of whisky to steady their nerves during the games excitement.
