See the best masons in the world compete in the “World Series of Bricklaying” on Wednesday, 12:15 PM PST, February 6, 2013, in Las Vegas, Nevada, as the main event of “Masonry Madness Day,” at the 2013 World of Concrete/World of Masonry trade show. The final selection of the 2013 SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 National bricklaying championship competitors is complete.
There is a total of 20 bricklayers competing this year. The competition is comprised mainly of the 16 winners from Regional bricklayer events that were held during 2012 throughout the US & Canada. Competition bricklayers come from states such as Ohio, Washington, Illinois, Utah, Tennessee, Colorado, Wisconsin, Iowa, Arizona, Missouri, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Florida, Northern California, and Alabama. In addition, masons from the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Ontario, and the countries of England and Australia will also be laying brick. The 2012 SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 National Champion, Leif Reints, will be returning to defend his title as well as the 2012 SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMAN National award winner, Scott Tuttle.
Established to showcase the skill
and craftsmanship of masonry, spectators witness a true test of human drama as
20 highly skilled teams consisting of a mason and a mason tender put their talent
and physical endurance to the ultimate test.
Each mason is required to meet the quality standards of the event as they build
a 26 foot, 8 inch, double wythe brick wall. The competition has four awards: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place are based on the highest net brick count
after subtracting for any quality violations. The 4th award, the highly coveted
SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMAN, is judged based on the most sellable wall, or the wall
demonstrating the best craftsmanship, with over 500 total qualifying brick. Judging the 2013 event
is a combination of 30 journeymen level bricklayers and masonry instructors
from across North America. The judges combine for an average of nearly 25 years
of experience in the trade.
The SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 has the largest winner’s purse of any masonry competition with
approximately $100,000 in gifts, cash and prizes including a 2013 FORD F-250 4x4 XLT
truck fully loaded with special features. Many of the competitors attest that there is a great
deal of strategy in play to win the event with some teams making their main
goal to win the SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMAN award offering the event’s second
highest valued award.
Before the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER
500 begins, the day’s events are kicked off with the preliminary undercard
events, the 2013 SPEC MIX TOUGHEST TENDER® competition starting at 10:45 AM PST
(local time), this is a contest that challenges the 20 mason tenders to set up
the bricklaying station as quickly and accurately as possible, to meet the
specifications outlined. With $2,500 cold cash on the line, this contest is
truly an incredible test of physical endurance as each tender moves tons of
material by hand.
This is followed by the MCAA’s
Fastest Trowel on the Block, a 20 minute blocklaying competition, starting at 11:30
AM PST (local time), in which 12 mason blocklayers compete for $15,000 in cash
and prizes. The first competition event is
the MCAA Masonry Skills Challenge which will start at 9:00 AM PST (local time).
Mason apprentices will be proving they have “The
Right Stuff,” in this 3 hour bricklaying competition.
For more details visit www.specmixbricklayer500.comU This is the
web site that will offer a FREE, LIVE
webcast connection of the 2013 SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 National while it is being held in Las Vegas. Webcast
coverage will start with the 2013 SPEC MIX TOUGHEST TENDER on Wednesday, February,
6, 2013, at 10:30 AM PST (local time). The main event— the 2013 SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500 National broadcast will start at 12:15
PM PST (local time). Converted to major city local time zones for competitors that
would be Denver 1:15 PM MST, Chicago 2:15 PM CST, New York 3:15 PM EST, London,
England 6:15 PM GMT, and Sydney, Australia 5:15 AM EDT (February, 7).
