A Spectator’s Perspective
TAMPA, FL – During the past year of qualifying, 30,000 participants (12,000 Professionals & 18,000 Student/Apprentices) competed in over 500 qualifying round events. In the end, only 145 competitors made it to the championship week in Tampa, Florida. The competitors were competing for championship titles and a chance at their share of the $180,000 in prize money. Prize money is broken into 1st, 2nd and 3rd place for both Professionals and Student/Apprentices.
Chip Wade was back to host his 7th year of the Nationals. He is an Emmy winning television host and producer, HGTV designer, owner, and lead designer of Wade Works Creative. He was accompanied by Scott Caron who is a licensed Master Electrician. Scott is the President of Caron Electric and worked on This Old House, Seasons 9 through 16. He has continued to expand his presence with the IDEAL National Championship and played a vital part in developing this year’s pro final round challenge.
A welcome reception was held, with opening remarks and dinner on November 3rd for the competitors and their families.
Day One of the competition began on Friday November 4th at 8:15 am. The competitions were broken down into Pros round 1, heat 1 & 2 along with Apprentice round 1, heat 1 & 2. During these heats there were 70 participants in each division with only 30 advancing to the next round. Advancements were announced at 3:45 and the next round of competition was underway.
Chip Wade began announcing advancements to the semi-finals at 7:40 pm. The 30 student/apprentices and the 30 professionals were gathered on stage, anticipating which 10 in each division would be competing in the semi-finals. Nervousness and anticipation were apparent as they waited to hear the names to be called.
November 5th was the big day- the winners would be announced and we’d all find out who was going to take home money and titles. Would Anthony Kovalchick defend his 2021 title of the National Championship Professional winner? Or would Greg Anliker 3x champion, Roman Ryszewski 2017 winner, Seth Agnew 2x top 3 finisher take it this year? They all advanced to the semi-finals, so it was anyone’s guess.
Semi-finals started at 8:30 am for both the Professionals and the Student/Apprentices for each 45-minute round. Chip Wade again gathered the students/apprentices to announce those who would advance to the finals. He calls out Emma Becker (first female to advance to finals), Jordan Finfrock 2019 champion, Elliot Phillips 2021 2nd place winner, Luis Sanchez, and Hermen Vasquez. Then he gathers the professionals for their advancement to finals, Greg Anliker, Tom Kennedy, Anthony Kovalchick, Albert Nadeau, & Josh Tower.
After all the finalists were called, Chip Wade hit us with a surprise. The 5 professionals and the 5 student/apprentices who did not advance would be given a second chance at the cash prize. They would be randomly paired to compete together in a team challenge. The name plates of the apprentices were placed on the ground upside down and Chip called each professional one by one to pull a name. The teams chosen were Seth Agnew & Justin Frick, Oscar Perez & David Collier, Roman Ryszewski & Brady Wraalstad, Lance Giesbrecht & Wyatt Allen, Alec Perkins & Thomas Ladd.
After the Teams, Apprentices and Professionals completed their final rounds of the competition, it was time for the much-anticipated Award Announcements. Here are the results:
Team winners:
1st place ($10,000) Seth Agnew & Justin Frick
2nd place ($5,000) Alec Perkins & Thomas Ladd
Student/Apprentice winners:
1st place ($40k) Jordan Finfrock
2nd place ($20k) Elliott Phillips
3rd place ($10k) Luis Sanchez
Professional winners:
1st place ($60k) Tom Kennedy
2nd place ($25k ) Greg Anliker
3rd place ($10k) Josh Tower
The IDEAL National Championship will be broadcast on CBS Sports on December 9th at 8:00 p.m. EST. It will feature a live play by play from Scott Caron and special guest Joel Godett.
Go to Idealind.com to stay up to date on all the opportunities. Qualifying round registration opens in Spring 2023. We hope to see you back in Tampa, Florida in 2023.
