Four of the UBC Southern District’s best interior systems specialists put their skills on the line in the 2018 Southern District Drywall Olympics.
Held as part of the Grand Opening festivities for the Houston Carpenters & Millwrights Training, drywallers from Tennessee, Georgia, Florida and Texas went head-to-head to hang wall board to metal stud framing.
Their workspace included a door frame, window, column, perpendicular wall, and numerous electrical boxes and pipes, which required accurate measuring and cutting to close tolerances. The contestants were judged on speed, accuracy, safety and proper application procedures. Points were awarded for all joints fitting correctly, proper hang technique and use of the screw gun and router, the screw pattern, sequence of work, housekeeping, production speed, overall safety and overall quality of work.
Kameron Butler, of the Mid-South Carpenters Local 50 in Knoxville, Tennessee finished the fastest at a little over 96 minutes. A tie was declared for second place between Fernando Garcia of Southeastern Carpenters Local 225 in Atlanta and Justin Germond of the Florida Carpenters Local 1905 in Orlando. Finishing just a few seconds behind them was Eric Oquendo of the Central South Carpenters Local 1266 out of Austin, Texas.
Local 50’s Kameron Butler
Kameron next will travel to Las Vegas to compete in the UBC’s International Drywall Olympic challenge. The UBC Drywall Olympics is a tradition that is carried out throughout North America. In the months leading up to the UBC’s International Interior Systems Leadership Conference, drywallers from each of the five UBC district (Southern, Eastern, Western, Midwestern, and Canadian) compete locally to determine who will represent their district in at the Conference in the Drywall Olympics finals.
The winner of the the international competition will win $5,000. Good luck, Kameron!
Check out a full photo album of the event! >>
Winner, Kameron Butler
Judges McFarlin, Chavez, Weidman, and Moore
Many thanks to the Texas Carpenters Training Center in Houston for hosting the competition, and to Tommy Moore, Texas Training Coordinator for Austin and San Antonio, for coordinating the Southern District’s Drywall Olympics. Thanks also to judges Lester Weidman (Arkansas/Oklahoma Training), Victor Chavez (Louisiana Training), and Will McFarlin, (Texas Training).
