This year’s event is being held in Lucerne, Switzerland from 14th to 16th November with the UK looking to defend its Gold and Silver medals won at the previous competition in Belfast 2010. Competing in teams of two made up from previous SkillBuild winners, the UK will compete in both the Pitched (Slating and Tiling) and the Waterproofing (Flat Roofing) disciplines.
The competition will see the Pitched roofers faced with a complex ‘Swiss’ Valley in Clay Biber tiles and an unusual cladding system (with a single-ply under-roof) incorporating solar panels; whilst the Waterproofing team will need to tackle a very tricky Single Ply and a Reinforced Bitumen Torch-On specification.
For the first time ever the teams and mentors have been able to train in the host country and this has enabled them to use all of the correct materials and to learn how to apply them to the Swiss specification. We have strong teams who are well supported by their employers, excellent mentors, and the training has gone well so we are better prepared for IFD this year, than ever before for an overseas competition.
The task to win a medal outside your own country is not an easy one, but we go to the competition with great teams; Sam Hall and Tom Peck in the Waterproofing, and Matt Timby and Stephen Harkin in the Pitched; joining them will be experienced mentors Gary Walpole and Bob Coutts, who will leave no stone unturned with regards to preparation. We would like to thank everyone involved with IFD 2012, especially the competitors’ employers: Russell Trew Ltd, Capital Roofing Co. Ltd, D Harkin & Co and Timby Traditional Roofing for their fantastic support.
For more information about the event please contact Tanya Coutts at tanyacoutts@nfrc.co.uk.
