Speed on the wall is getting its moment in the spotlight in the U.K., and it comes with a clear takeaway for the trade: training time matters.
The Sun reports that Dale Wherton, 35, was crowned champion at the Super Trowel 2026 event after laying 859 bricks in 1 hour. The contest was held at the Hertfordshire Showground in St Albans on Aug. 1, and Wherton topped a field of 15 other competitors to take the title.
Wherton, a dad-to-be from Derby, said the win was a “dream come true.” He got interested in competitive bricklaying as a teenager in college in Stoke at age 15, then went on to spend 20 years working in the industry. More recently, he became a lecturer at West Nottinghamshire College six months ago, and he has kept sharpening his speed through repeatable practice.
One detail stands out for mason contractors and foremen looking to build capacity inside their own crews. Wherton said he uses test walls with training mortar that doesn’t set, so the same wall can go up and come down again and again. That kind of setup turns skill development into a routine, not a one-time lesson, and it gives apprentices and journeymen a clean way to build repetition without sacrificing finished work.
Next up, Wherton plans to compete in the SPEC MIX Bricklayer 500 competition in January in the U.S. The report also says he will take on other champion bricklayers in Las Vegas next year.
Read the full, original article from The Sun (subscription required at source) here.