It can be said that Australia’s Tilers have a true love of their trade, are talented and skilled craftsman, and supporting their local community is an important part of their lives. These are the qualities Davco, the expert in tiling systems, confirmed at its recent inaugural, nationwide search to uncover ‘Australia’s Best Tiler’.
The regional events, held between June 2019 and August 2019 in Brisbane, Newcastle, Sydney, Western Sydney, Canberra, Perth and Melbourne, were well attended with over 100 registrations to compete. Participants came from as far as Gladstone Queensland to Bunbury in Western Australia and were required to complete a practical and theory test.
Each regional winner was awarded $500 and will be flown to Sydney for the National Final in September 2019 to battle it out over two days of challenges on all aspects of the trade. The overall winner will receive the prestigious title of ‘Australia’s Best Tiler’, a cash prize of $5,000 and an all-expenses paid, business class trip to China to represent their country at the International Final in China later in 2019.
The judges saw unique ability in each of the winners, whether that was speed, creativity, perspective or a great attitude – all of which make a show stopping tiler.
The winners of the regional events include:
- Chris Timms – Newcastle regional event winner
- Newcastle local Chris scored highly in his theory and did a great job in his practical.
- David Snodgrass – Brisbane regional event winner
- After driving four hours to the competition, David was over the moon to beat such a high level of competitors.
- MarjanTrajkoski – Canberra regional event winner
- Marjan decided to re-do some of his tiles, which slowed him down initially but he came home like a freight train to see off the competition.
- Ben McGivern – Macquarie Fields regional event winner
- Ben was strong across the board and comes into the final as the highest seeded competitor.
- Sam Petrolo – Randwick regional event winner
- Although one of the more mature tilers, Sam was quick out the gate and set a cracking pace from the starters whistle.
- Seb Gradisen – Western Australia regional event winner
- Despite signing up for a bit of a laugh, Seb excelled at his regional event, wowing the judges with his handy work and securing a place in the national final.
- Ian Freemantle – Victoria regional event winner
- Confident of his ability and reputation in Bendigo, Ian was determined to show he was the best tiler in Victoria and tiled his way to victory.
- Jake Hall – Wildcard winner
- A WorldSkills finalist, Jake was determined to challenge himself and see how far he could go when he entered Davco’s Australia’s Best Tiler and despite not winning his regional final the judges were so impressed, they decided to bring Jake back as the Wild Card finalist for 2019.
“The commitment shown by all competitors has been amazing,” explained Andrew Nunn, Managing Director, Davco Australia. “They’ve each sacrificed a days wages to potentially earn a spot in the final. Davco has always been committed to the tiling industry and development of skills. We are proud to be giving one of these finalists the opportunity to represent Australia in the inaugural world championship event in China.”
The National Final will take place in September 2019, where one of the eight finalists will be named Australia’s Best Tiler.
Source: Davco