Spectators walk into the MASONRY MADNESS® area of the Gold Lot to watch the 2016 competitions.
MASONRY MADNESS®
The MCAA’s Masonry Skills Challenge, the MCAA’s Fastest Trowel on the Block and the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500® will once again take place on Wednesday during MASONRY MADNESS™.
Ranked as a top attraction during the World of Concrete/World of Masonry tradeshow, this “trowel and mortar party” takes place at the Las Vegas Convention Center’s Gold Lot. Spectators and webcast viewers will witness an amazing display of human skill and endurance as more than 75 masonry warriors fight for the champion title in their respective competitions.
The Masonry Skills Challenge is an annual competition of masonry apprentices in their first, second and third years in which their building skills are tested after seeing drawings just moments beforehand. In 2016, contestants had only three hours to complete the project with the given materials. To find out more about the competition and the prizes, visit
www.masonryskillschallenge.com.
The annual MCAA Fastest Trowel on the Block competition pits journeyman masons, accompanied by their favorite tender, against one another in a show of speed. They have 20 minutes to complete as much of a 30-foot-long wall as possible with the most accuracy. More information is available at
www.fastesttrowel.com.
Prior to the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500® competition, each team’s tender proves who is the fastest in the Toughest Tender contest. The world’s top mason tenders compete for the fastest time setting up their SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500® workstation. They haul tons of brick, block, equipment and materials to beat their peers and take home $2,500 in cash and prizes.
Finally, the nation’s best bricklayer is crowned each year during the SPEC MIX BRICKLAYER 500® competition at the World of Concrete/World of Masonry in Las Vegas. Each team consists of a mason and mason tender building a 26-foot, 8-inch, double-wythe brick wall. The most bricks laid in one hour and counted under the quality rules wins the event.
The 22 regional winners from this past summer and fall will compete against the returning 2016 World Champion, Scott Tuttle of Utah, and SPEC MIX TOP CRAFTSMAN®, Darian Douthit of Oklahoma.
More than $100,000 in cash and prizes will be given away, but the champion will be awarded the title “World’s Best Bricklayer” and handed the keys to drive home in the grand prize, a new Ford F-250 4x4 SuperDuty Truck.
For more information on the competition, the prizes and the sponsors, visit
www.specmixbricklayer500.com.
At World of Concrete 2017, new faces will join these 2016 Masonry Hall of Fame inductees (left to right): Robert V. “Buddie” Barnes Jr., J. Gregg Borchelt, Richard Matthews, Harry E. McGraw, Ryan M. O’Brien and John J. Smith Sr.
Closing Dinner
The MCAA Convention will close with a dinner on Thursday, Jan. 19 at Fogo de Chão, Las Vegas, where the newest members of the Masonry Hall of Fame will be inducted. The Masonry Hall of Fame was created by the MCAA to recognize and award those individuals who have dedicated their lives to the masonry industry. This night of fellowship with fellow mason contractors is truly memorable.
Registration
Registration for WOC/World of Masonry and the MCAA Annual Convention is available online at
www.masoncontractors.org/convention. Register today!
Combine all of the above with four days of business-boosting benefits and opportunities to connect with the industry’s top pros and visionaries, and you’ll see why World of Concrete is the masonry industry’s flagship event. See you there!