INSTALL, the North American leader in floorcovering installation training and certification, announces the winners of its 2023 Drywall & Flooring Olympics. The finalists, who had competed at the local and district levels, traveled to the United Brotherhood of Carpenters’ (UBC) International Training Center (ITC) in Las Vegas, Nevada, to take part in INSTALL’s National Conference. The recent multi-day event included the Drywall & Flooring Olympics, as well as presentations by industry leaders, and tours of the ITC—which encompasses over 1 million square-feet of training space.

Stacking Up the Competition

Each Drywall & Flooring Olympics participant first competed at local competitions, which took place in over 40 different INSTALL markets. Local winners then advanced to one of the five district competitions, with district winners ultimately meeting up at INSTALL’s National Conference.

The final competition at the ITC was a timed event with two distinct components. First, floorcovering installers took part in a flash coved, integral base installation of linoleum sheet goods with one outside corner boot-plug with a mitered finish. All seams were cut net with no heat welding. The second component was a heat welded field seam on a flash coved, integral base homogeneous sheet vinyl installation that was pre-installed.

Competing installers were judged on the quality of their work and their completion time. If any installation errors or flaws occurred, including miscuts, or if personal protective equipment (PPE) wasn’t used properly, time penalties were added to the final completion time. The final winner was determined by the fastest time completed after any penalties were included.

Over 550 contractors and UBC staff were in attendance to watch the event and cheer on the participants.

Winners of the 2023 Drywall & Flooring Olympics

• First Place: John Sawyer, Messina Floor Covering, represented the Midwestern District and the Indiana / Kentucky / Ohio Regional Council
• Second Place: Scott Nolte, Re:Source New Jersey, Inc., represented the Eastern District and the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council
• Third Place: Julio Cervantes, Kaiser Flooring, represented the Western District and the Southwest Mountain States Regional Council
• Fourth Place: Brandon Ladouceur, Bousada Inc., represented the Canadian District and the Carpenters’ Regional Council
• Fifth Place: Ernest Henry Nunes, F.A. Wilhelm, represented the Southern District and the Southeastern Carpenters Regional Council

Honorable Mention went to the following semi-finalists:

• Glenn Knoeck – North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters
• Scott Stauffer – Indiana / Kentucky / Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters
• Alex Stauner – Mid-America Regional Council of Carpenters
• Richard Olsen – New York City District Council
• Rui M. Pedro – North Atlantic Regional Council

Leading the Industry

Highlights from the National Conference included presentations by the Drywall & Flooring Olympics’ guest judges: Mark Bischoff, CEO and President of Starnet Worldwide Commercial Flooring Cooperative, and Don Styka, Director of Field Services with Tarkett. Former INSTALL Executive Director John McGrath served as the third guest judge.

In his welcoming speech, INSTALL Executive Director David Gross reaffirmed his commitment to growing the organization’s collaborative spirit while expanding its outreach.

“INSTALL’s hallmark is our training,” said Gross. “No other entity trains on our level. They do not possess the organizational structure, the investment, the facilities, nor the professionally trained staff to implement the top-quality programs we have developed.”

Learn More To learn more about INSTALL’s mission visit installfloors.org. To learn more about INSTALL apprenticeship programs, visit INSTALL Training.

About INSTALL

INSTALL, the International Standards and Training Alliance, is an association of professionals representing the entire flooring industry: installers, contractors, manufacturers, associations, and consultants. By bringing together stakeholders at every level of floor covering installation, INSTALL has the resources, capability, and commitment to deliver work we can all take pride in. Rigorous standards, comprehensive training using manufacturer-directed curriculum, and the industries only free, extended, and non-proprietary third-party warranty on labor demonstrate our commitment to long-term value. For more on INSTALL, visit www.installfloors.org

Feature Image Courtesy of INSTALL Flooring