Competition Format
You do NOT need to be an NICF member to enter this competition. Applicants must be aged 18 years or over on the 30th April 2024. NICF council members and past winners of the Fitter of the Year LVT competition are excluded from entering. Deadline for entry is midnight of 30th April 2024.
Stage 1 – Initial entry
Launch date: 1st February 2024 with a closing date of 30th April 2024.
The initial entry will be in the format of a questionnaire (as previous years). The top 10 fitters will progress through to the semi-final practical trials.
Stage 2 – Semi-final - Practical trials
The practical trials will take place on Tuesday 25th and Wednesday 26th June 2024 at the FITA Training Centre, Loughborough.
10 fitters to take part (5 each day).
Sponsors will be invited to attend the semi-finals to watch the trials, take photographs for their own promotional purposes and have access to contestants once they have completed their tests to obtain quotes from them about taking part in the competition.
From the 10 semi-finalists the top 5 will progress to the final.
Stage 3 – Finalist's Briefing day
Scheduled for July - the exact date will be confirmed in due course. This will be a virtual event scheduled to suit all involved. The briefing day will provide the finalists with a summary of what will be required in the final and also the details for the pre-set ‘Judges Challenge’ task to make an item to be judged at the finals.
Stage 4 – Finals
The Final is at The Flooring Show, Harrogate on Sunday 15th and Monday 16th September 2024.
The Winner's presentation ceremony scheduled for 4.30pm on the Monday of the show weekend.
The cash prize for the 2024 winner will be £2000. Plus, any extra prizes donated by sponsors.
Ian James
As an NICF Council Member and NICF Master Fitter I am delighted that the Institute continues to host the competition for Fitter of the Year (FOTY). The event now alternates between Carpet and LVT and 2024 sees us return to Carpet installation. I am now in my 8th year as Head Judge and Compere of the Fitter of the Year final at The Flooring Show at Harrogate. FOTY is something I am still incredibly honoured to be a part of and am proud that this event is now a well-established and important part of the domestic flooring calendar.
Richard Renouf
From my earliest days as Department Manager for an independent Cambridge Department Store I have been involved with flooring. I established the Qualitas National Conciliation Service (now The Furniture Ombudsman) in 1992, helping consumers, retailers and manufacturers to resolve difficult complaints and went on to manage the customer service function at Carpetright plc for more than 15 years. In 2002 I set up the Carpetright Fitters' Academy to assess and train more than 2,000 carpet, vinyl and laminate flooring installers, working in partnership with the Flooring Industry Training Association (FITA).
I am now working as an independent furniture and flooring consultant; I am a Consultant Member of the Contract Flooring Association (CFA) and write regularly for Interiors Monthly and SMG News.
Brian King
I have been fitting floors for 34 years and joined the NICF in 2006. In 2011 I was voted onto the NICF Council and am currently in my fourth year as President of the Institute. I am also a training consultant for FITA (the Flooring Industry Training Association). I was delighted to be asked to join the panel of judges for last year's Fitter of the Year competition and am very much looking forward to returning for a second year in this role. The competition is a well-established event in the domestic sector calendar and it will be good to see it from a different perspective and to use my many years of experience for the task.