Fitter of the Year - Carpet - 2024 – The Final
We are pleased to announce that the winner of this year's competition is Richard Long.
Fitter of the Year - Carpet - 2024 Final
The grand final of the Fitter of the Year 2024 – Carpet took place at The Flooring Show in Harrogate on the 15 and 16 September.
This year the Fitter of the Year final was without a doubt hard-fought. Judging once again had to be uncompromising and precise as the standard and quality of fitting was so high. The judges for 2024 were Ian James, Brian King and Richard Renouf.
The five finalists for 2024 were:
- Darren Ash – Alfrick, Worcestershire
- Richard Long – Dundee, Angus
- Joni (Jonathan) Reeves – Skipton, North Yorkshire
- Steve Whitburn – Torquay, Devon
- Gareth Williams – Launceston, Cornwall
The competition was won by Richard Long who was supported throughout the final by his wife Ashley. Richard walked away with a cash prize of £2000 plus a host of vouchers, a selection of tools and equipment kindly donated by our sponsors. The task for the finalists this year was to fit a patterned, woven carpet to a hallway area with a join, as well as a main staircase up to a landing, which all had to be close covered. They also had to produce a runner on the back section of staircase. The carpet had to be pattern matched throughout. There was also a double-stick task where the finalists had to insert a border the size of their choice using two colours of carpet.
Richard said of the experience: "Well at the third time of asking I have won the coveted Fitter of the Year competition for Carpet. My journey started some eight years ago with the NICF and also FITA, where I started with courses to improve my fitting, which in turn helped me to achieve getting my NICF Master Fitter in carpet. All of that was a sign I was going in the right direction, but the competition is a different animal altogether from day-to-day work and thankfully this year I felt relaxed and really enjoyed it compared to the previous two finals. It has been overwhelming since winning and the prizes from the sponsors are just incredible, I would like to thank them very much for their generosity and their support in making the competition so lucrative. I would also like to acknowledge Ian, Brian, Richard, Dan and the NICF Admin Team who put in a huge amount of effort to make the competition happen. I would strongly urge anyone who thinks they can do it to give the competition a go, you won't regret the decision... thanks everyone, I can now relax and admire my trophy".
View the 2024 Final photo gallery
This years "Judge's Challenge" was to make a waistcoat out of carpet and the finished items were incredible. The challenge was won by Steve Whitburn who took away a trophy and a £100 Amazon voucher. Steve commented "Taking part in the Fitter of the Year competition has really pushed my carrier in a new direction, the whole process from initial question stage to the final itself has increased my theory and practical knowledge, as well being a great social event within our trade, definitely worth a go!"
Joni Reeves who had reached the finals for the first time comments: "I would like to personally thank Ian, Richard, Brian and Dan, and the NICF as a whole for hosting such an epic event. The whole experience was fantastic and I could not advocate taking part enough. The effort and welcome made by and received from the team was second to none and made the experience one to remember, and one I'm keen to experience again! Thank you all for your hard work, you're a credit to the trade, and jolly good folk in general! Thank you!"
The whole two days were live streamed on the UK Flooring TV channel which received over 116000 views.
Ian James had this to say about the 2024 event "I feel this year's competition was one of the most challenging we have done from a planning aspect and very mentally challenging. For myself as head judge it was a pleasure to be a part of it and I know the other judges feel the same way. All of the five finalists should be very proud of what they achieved."
The NICF would like to express their sincere thanks to all of this year's sponsors, without whom this competition would not be possible, the competitors, the judges and all who help make the event happen.
The Finalists
Hi I am Darren Ash and I live in Malvern Worcestershire where I run my own flooring business. I currently have master fitter status for Naturals, Carpet, LVT, Laminate and Domestic vinyl. I enjoy carpet the most and this makes up most of my work nowadays. I started in the flooring industry straight from school and have been privileged to work alongside some great fitters many of whom have become lifelong friends. I learned of fitter of the year as a young apprentice and have always been drawn to the challenge of showing my skill set, I've learned along the way.
Away from flooring as a family we do many activities together usually involving horses or dogs and our daughter Millie. I'd like to thank the organisers for all their hard work and wish everyone taking part good luck.
I am absolutely delighted to have reached the final of FOTY – Carpet, for the third time. I love this competition and everything it does for the trade bringing fitters together from all over the UK. I'm hoping the experience I gained in 2019 & 2022 will make everything more familiar this time around. I'm used to the day-to-day work which is totally different to competition work. It's very rewarding from a personal point of view. In my spare time I like climbing mountains in the Scottish Highlands and if I'm not on the hills you'll find me on a golf course. Good Luck to all the other finalists and may the best hands win.
I am delighted to be included within the final of this year carpet fitter of the year completion. As a regular visitor to the Harrogate floor show, watching the FOTY finals, it will be great to be on the other side of the fence. I am particularly looking forward to the judges challenge as completing a task only using the material at hand is the sort of thing I love to do. Good luck to my fellow finalists, let's see if we can make this year's competition the best yet.
Hi, I'm Steve Whitburn. Ever since I started as an apprentice at Allied Carpets in Broad St, Birmingham, the fitter of the year competition caught my imagination. I now live and run my flooring business in Torquay, Devon. The move there six years ago started the journey in my career that has led to this point. I realised that relocating would mean promoting myself and my work, so I joined the NICF. After some initial training I gained master fitter status for carpet and caught the bug and have been pushing myself and my standard constantly higher. I feel really honoured to be part of this year's final as I'm competing with an exceptionally talented group of fitters, so I wish everyone the best of luck in this year's final task.
I'm Gareth, and I've been in the flooring trade for over 20 years starting my career in a carpet and furniture shop. After working for myself for the majority of my career, I am now the Domestic Manager at Corfloors in Cornwall. The most enjoyable part of my job is the satisfaction of seeing the end result and making customers happy; it's unmatched. I've been a member of the NICF since 2007, and this year, I entered the Carpet Fitter of the Year competition for the first time to challenge myself and compete with the best in the industry. It's an honour that the quality of my work has been recognised by the NICF, and I'm thrilled to have made it to the final. I look forward to the opportunity to further showcase my skills in the competition. Thank you to the NICF, and good luck to the other finalists.
We would like to take the opprotunity here to thank our remaining semi-finalists who didn't make the final, but who took part and playing a valued role in the 2024 competition.
