Fitter of the Year - Carpet - 2024 – The Finalists
We would like to introduce to you this year's five finalists who will be taking part in the 2024 final at The Flooring Show in Harrogate on Sunday 15th and Monday 16th September 2024. We wish all taking part good luck!
Featured also on this page are our remaining semi-finalists who took part in the trials at the FITA Training Centre in Loughborough during June 2024. Please refer to the Competition Format page for an initial overview of the process.
Our 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 haven't made the final, but who took part and playing a valued role in the 2024 competition.
