2008 Windshield Repair Olympics

[starstruck]

And then some! We know that if it wasn't for the dedicated glass warriors such a SGT, who fight for the technological advancement of the industry we all know and love, it would simply fail to live up to the expectations of the citizens of this great nation. I sing your praises for all you do. Thank you!

[SGT]

Thanks again for recognizing some of the characteristics that make a true professional stand out. I do not do it for the praise but thanks for observing my efforts. I am glad I can be a role model for you to strive to imitate.

This thread is not about me so perhaps we could get back on topic per the forum guidelines that we all agreed to #16. Please stay within the topic area of the forum you are posting a message in, and within any topic that another poster may have started.

So anyway.....Getting back on topic!

[starstruck]

Ok, staying on topic now! Sorry for not following #16. My bad. Please accept my sincere apology.

I think you can be the 2008 WSR Olympic Champion, SGT! You have all the knowledge and are driven from within, plus I bet you do A#1 repairs too!
What will you be doing to prepare yourself for the event? Any special training or anything?

[SGT]

I guess you will have to compete to find out what I did to prepare. It would be a real pleasure to compete against you Splitpit!

[Brent Deines]

SGT,

I'm sorry for not stepping in sooner. While I think many of the comments made by harrellbenjamin and starstruck are right on, they were obviously making a mockery of the forum rules. I have received many complaints about these two and a number of forum members have quit posting because I have not done anything about it.

For that reason both will be taking a break for awhile, which is unfortunate as I think they have provided some valuable information to this forum in the past, but I need to listen to the majority if this forum is to continue to be successful.

Hopefully some of those who have left the forum will give it another shot.

Obviously some members will not like the fact that I took action, but it is very rare that I feel the need to do so, and again, I have to listen to the majority of the membership.

Thank you for your patience and your professionalism. I hope this thread can now get back on track and this will serve as a reminder to other forum members that they need to be respectful of others, even when they don't agree with them. As long as I am the moderator the windshield repair forum will not become like many other forums that allow vulgar language, name calling, and childish behavior.

Again, I hope you can accept my humble apology.

[jayjacque]

I don't envy your job Brent. Thanks for doing what you feel is right.

[Brent Deines]

Saw this announcement on GlassBytes the other day. http://www.glassbytes.com/newsFenner20081016.htm

Good luck SGT! Wade, Korey and I will be there to cheer you on in Vegas on November 6th. I will be very interested to talk to you after the competition to get feedback on the overall experience of this event. As you know, several other Delta Kits customers participated in the Master Fitters competition recently and did quite well. The Windshield Repair Olympics is growing in popularity so hopefully the prize money will go up and someday there will be an opportunity to travel abroad for an international competition like the winners of the Master Fitters competition do. They are currently in Germany preparing for their international competition.

[SGT]

Hey Brent,

Thank you. This post was a nice thing to do. It looks like this years Olympics will have the tuffest and biggest field yet with some of the industry's best competeting. I am not sure what to expect as a 1st timer but what I expect from myself is to compete as well as I have prepared, learn from others, enjoy the whole experience and hopefully make a few friends.

Where ever the chips fall(pun intended), after the competition I would be happy to speak candidly with you about my experience.

Square and Level,

[Brent Deines]

Congratulations to Matt Anderson of Novus and Brian Fenner of Safe Glass Technologies for their 1st and 2nd place finishes in the 2008 Windshield Repair Olympics. Matt took the gold for the 2nd year in a row, and Brian brought home the silver in his first year at the competition. I'll list the rest of the competitors, photos of the competition, and more about the competition later, but for now will say only that this year I felt all the competitors were extremely professional and all did great repairs. I should also note that both Brian and Matt got a perfect score in the preliminary competition.

Great job guys!

[SGT]

I just thought I would share some of my thoughts on the WRO competition....

For me, my training started long before the WRO existed when I started my business in 2002 but never thought I would end up putting my skills up against the industries best in a competition setting such as this. I have always felt my professionalism and repair quality could hold there own but Initially I had mixed feelings on the competition. Discussions with Brent at Delta Kits eased my concerns so I made the decision to compete some months back which is when I really started shaping my daily real world routine into the competition version I presented. They are for the most part one in the same, just not in the same sequence or as in depth. I must give special thanks to my wife for her role in my success as she endured endless trial runs as the customer. My mother and father and Delta Kits for there support.

So we (my Dad and I) leave for Vegas on Nov 4 and check in to the Excalibur only to find some tooling was damaged in shipping.The Delta crew (Brent, Wade & Korey) came to the rescue with backups for me. We headed over to the event registration desk at the Mandalay Bay to check in and the girls behind the counter could put a smile on anyones face. Thanks for your help girls.

Nov. 5 was the pre contest meeting with the NWRA event director Shannon Fletcher, AGGR- Penny Stacey - Judges Lucien Boulanger (A-1 Windshield Doctor), Paul Gross (Harmon Soulutions Group) and Jay Bickford (Novus) as well as the contestants John Ciotti (Cindy Rowe Glass), Angela Poston (Windshield Repair Specialists), Rich Di Massa (Dents Out Plus), Paul Torgy (Novus) Matt Anderson (Novus) and myself for a question and answer session. This was our opportunity to ask questions and for the judges to size us up. It was also when we drew heats and cars we would have. I did not know what to expect from the other competitors as I have been in many powerlifting competitions where competitors would not speak a word to each other but this was not the case here. I was pleasantly surprised everyone was very friendly and we all wished each other good luck. That night I barely slept a wink with the competition on my mind.

Nov. 6 competition day, we all met at around 0915 in the convention center and had the opening ceremonies. They gave the first heat contestants Angela Poston, Rich DiMassa and Myself entry to our vehicles. We all wished each other good luck. They checked if we were ready and said go. I was nervous for sure as it is nerve racking to say the least. Not sure why as I had practiced extensively and it was something I do normally in the real world. Anglea finished first, with me second and Rich DiMassa third time wise.

Next up was the second heat Matt Anderson, Paul Torgy and John Ciotti. We wished them good luck as well. During the second heat they released the scores from the first heat which I recieved a perfect score 150, Angela and then Rich.(Sorry I do not remember there scores). When I was told I had a perfect score I was shocked as I did not know how I did. I did not allow myself to relax as there were still the finals to come. As heat number two ended and the scores were released, last years champion Matt Anderson had also scored a 150 and John Ciotti and Paul Torgy finished second and third score wise in there heat.

When I saw Matt had also scored a 150 my little bit of breathing room was gone. The finals were set Matt Anderson, John Ciotti and myself were to compete for the title. We had lunch together, shared some laughs and got ready for the finals. We then learned it was only to be two finalists in the finals. John was obviously very disappointed. It was to be the two perfect scores going head to head, last years champion Matt Anderson and myself. Talk about pressure. I think we both knew it would not be easy and we both pushed each other to the best of our abilities. Matt finshed first with me a couple of minutes behind. In the end he edged me out.

Obviously, I went to win but also wanted to meet other industry professionals to learn from and share with as well as have fun. In addition, I wanted to represent all of us independant part and full time repair only technicians and show professionalism, ethics and quality is alive and well in our industry. I did not leave anything on the table and feel very good about my performance. I believe, as a small part time independant I impressed many people. It was a great learning experience and at this time I have my eyes set on next years event barring any unforeseen circumstances.

I got to meet alot of teriffic people from the NWRA, AGGR, contestants, judges and industry professionals who I will keep in contact with. I would like to thank all that were involved with making this event possible.

In closing, I encourage anyone who feels they have what it takes to compete get involved in next years WRO. It was a great experience.