Londons Alexandra Palace was the venue for the final event of the Geberit Challenge 2012 earlier this month, with participants going head to head in a series of gruelling tasks in order to find the fastest fitters in the land.
The London event, held in front of a live audience on Friday, 23 November was the last of three regional Geberit Challenge heats, with previous events having taken place in Manchester and Glasgow. With an all-expenses-paid trip to Dubai waiting for the overall winners of this years Challenge, the atmosphere inside the venue was electric, with the audience all getting behind their favourite teams as they were really put through the paces.
Participants were faced with a number of tasks designed to not only put their plumbing skills to the test but also to demonstrate their competence and speed at their chosen trade. With the clock ticking, contestants worked in teams of two to construct a pipe man using Geberit Mepla, change tyres on an off-road vehicle, overcome tricky installation problems and pit their wits in a question of knowledge round.
As with all the regional heats in the competition points meant prizes, with the team with the highest score from all three of the Geberit Challenge events being declared the best of the best 2012. Team Solidworks Monkey, otherwise known as Neil Thompson and Jason Low from Nature Delivered not only outstripped the competition in the London heat, they also picked up the most points overall and were duly crowned winners of the Geberit Challenge 2012.
Neil Thompson, from the winning team, commented: "The competition was tough, but the crowd really got behind us and the atmosphere was great. Were used to working under pressure and to resolving issues as a team, and these skills were certainly challenged on the night the event definitely lived up to its name!
"We cant wait to head off to Dubai to enjoy a little bit of luxury with our families and well definitely be back next year to defend our title, its a great event to be involved with."
Simon Spridgeon, Geberits Product and Technical Manager (piping systems), commented: "The competition has once again demonstrated that its participants are masters of their craft. It also shows what it is possible to achieve with a combination of teamwork and high-quality products. Wed like to congratulate Neil and Jason and also thank all the participants in all three heats of the Challenge for making it the best yet."