Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110
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UK's The Cleaning Show announces the first ever 'Window Cleaning World Cup'
Terry 'Turbo' Burrows (pictured), still officially the world's fastest window cleaner after over 20 years, is officially challenging window cleaners from across the globe to try and take his crown at the UK's Cleaning Show expo in London in March.
Being hosted at the Excel exhibition centre (March 19th - 21st 2019), the official Guinness World Record Challenge will also be part of a new international window cleaning competition, The Window Cleaning World Cup.
The Window Cleaning World Cup, sponsored by Unger, will see window cleaners from across the globe taking part as official representatives of their countries as well as representing themselves and their respective companies.
Participants will be tasked with cleaning three 114.3 cm x 114.3 cm (45 x 45 inch) office windows set in a frame with a 300 mm (11.75 inch) long squeegee and 9 litres (2 gallon; US 2.37 gallon) of water in the fastest time.
They must also remember to wipe the window sill, and any smears will incur time penalties which are then added to their final time.
In addition to getting the chance to try and break Terry's world record of just 9.14 seconds set in 2009 (breaking his own previous best times recorded first in 1995 and then again in 2005), the fastest window cleaner over the three days will win a cash prize of £1,000.
They will also be officially declared the winner of the Window Cleaning World Cup on behalf of their home nation.
Female window cleaners are also being encouraged to take part and will be able to battle it out for a separate World Cup title and another £1,000 in cash.
They will also get the chance to try and break the woman's Guinness Window Cleaning World Record which stands at 16.28 seconds, set by Britain's Deborah Morris at the 2011 UK Cleaning Show.
Both the Guinness World Record Challenges, and the Window Cleaning World Cup competition, will be adjudicated by competition organiser the Federation of Window Cleaners, the UK's official window cleaning trade body.
"Both Terry and Deborah's records have stood for a very long time and we felt it was time we highlighted to our fellow window cleaners around the world that in March in London there's a great opportunity for someone to break the Guinness World Record," says Andrew Lee, FWC Chairman.
"But we also wanted to add an extra incentive to encourage the world's very best window cleaners to come over to London and get involved, and so we have created the first ever Window Cleaning World Cup.
"We hope the combination of a potential Guinness World Record win, a £1,000 in cash, and the right to call yourself the world's quickest window cleaner on behalf of your country, will tempt more international participants to make the trip."
Matt Hodgkins from Unger says: "For more than 50 years Unger has focussed on high quality innovative cleaning tools which help increase cleaning efficiency and raise standards across the whole of the commercial cleaning sector.
"Supporting an international event like this, which focusses on cleaning speed and incredible accuracy, is therefore a natural fit.
"We are greatly looking forward to welcoming window cleaners to London in March to see how they fare against other each other, plus we hope some of them will attempt to beat the official world record for both men's and women's window cleaning."
London-born Terry 'Turbo' Burrows says of the event:
"As a former martial arts instructor and boxer I managed to perfect a rapid 16-move sequence which is very hard to copy if you don't have the core strength, flexibility, fast hands and reflexes.
"However, unlike the early days when I first started competing, now you can study my technique via clips on YouTube, and each year a new generation of cleaners come along to try and beat me.
"Maybe with an influx of international contenders in March we might see someone get closer to my best time. But let's not forget I have held The Guinness World Record since 1995, and it would take someone very special at the very top of their game to take that away from me."
Anyone who is interested in taking part should visit https://cleaningshow.co.uk/
You can watch a video of Terry in action here https://youtu.be/M0wCGifSAQc
7th January 2019