Sprinkler Age A Publication of the American Fire Sprinkler Association
Leona Ball with Piper Fire Protection Wins Silver Medal
On Feb. 25-26, during the Associated Builders and Contractors’ (ABC) Convention 2025 in Las Vegas, Nev., four fire sprinkler apprentices competed on the national stage to take the title of National Craft Champion in the fire sprinkler division. The 36th Annual National Craft Championships (NCC) took place at the Convention Center at Mandalay Bay during ABC’s 75th anniversary. Set up for the competition onsite took three days, but planning took all year. The entire convention center floor was filled with 195 competitors competing for six hours across 16 different trade competitions on Feb. 26. The day before, those competitors took a written test to assess their knowledge of the NCCER-craft curricula.
As always, the fire sprinkler competitors came ready to go. The turnout was double from last year, thanks to active ABC chapters and its employers willing to participate and show the country what they are all made of.
The project consisted of building a 21/2-in. wet sprinkler riser with variable pressure trim. The trim comes unassembled, so each competitor must assemble that trim based on the diagrams provided. Then they must pipe into a wood/drywall platform that includes a bulkhead and ceiling a recessed pendent sprinkler, a recessed sidewall sprinkler, and upright sprinkler in the ceiling cavity. Once assembled, the system is put under house water pressure and judged for leaks. Finally, they must tag three parts of the trim based on functionality. The entire assembly must be completed under the watchful eyes of three judges, as well as the general public, who can observe throughout the competition.
Once again, the competition came down to the last seconds for two of the competitors. The judges score each competitor based on safety, proper tool usage, organization, and project completion. The judges’ scores are collated with the results of the test taken the day prior to produce a winner. At ABC’s Career in Construction Awards ceremony, the results of each craft competition were announced to a full house of supporters in the main convention ballroom.
Wayne Pointer, Jr., with Bayside Fire Protection located in Owings, Md., (ABC Metro Washington Chapter) took the gold medal as well as the safety award. Leona Ball with AFSA Contractor Member Piper Fire Protection, Inc., a Fortis brand, Clearwater, Fla., (ABC Florida Gulf Coast Chapter) took the silver medal.
“We could not be more proud to have our 10th competitor in the ABC NCC bring home a silver medal!” says Chris Johnson, president and co-founder of Piper Fire Protection, A Fortis Brand, Clearwater, Fla., and AFSA Region 7 Director. “Leona joins a long list of competitors from our company to compete in this competition, and one of the exceptional few who brought home a medal.”
Ball is the first woman to compete for Piper. “It was obvious to me from her first year on our team that Leona had a passion to be exceptional in her skills, knowledge, and work ethic,” comments Johnson. “She makes everyone at Fortis Fire proud, and I am very excited and hopeful to see her compete in the AFSA National Apprentice Competition in October.”
The NCC was attended by people from across the nation and showcased the best of the best in craft professionals. Next year’s NCC will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah, March 18-20.
ABC and AFSA both use the AFSA-NCCER Sprinkler Fitting curriculum. Both associations have the same goals of producing merit shop craftsmen and women with full journeyman credentials and work to provide both classroom and on-the-job training to help build the fire sprinkler workforce. I hope to see you all in Salt Lake City next year with even more competitors!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: David Victor is the operations manager for the Baltimore division of VSC Fire and Security, Inc., and is NICET IV certified in Water-Based System Layout. He has served as the ABC Greater Baltimore Chapter Craft Competition project manager since 2008 and ABC NCC project manager since 2016. Victor has served as AFSA’s Chesapeake Bay Chapter treasurer since 2008.