BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Garage Matters - ECPv6.17.5.1//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://garagematters.uk
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Garage Matters
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:Europe/Isle_of_Man
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+0000
TZOFFSETTO:+0100
TZNAME:BST
DTSTART:20250330T010000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+0100
TZOFFSETTO:+0000
TZNAME:GMT
DTSTART:20251026T010000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+0000
TZOFFSETTO:+0100
TZNAME:BST
DTSTART:20260329T010000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+0100
TZOFFSETTO:+0000
TZNAME:GMT
DTSTART:20261025T010000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:+0000
TZOFFSETTO:+0100
TZNAME:BST
DTSTART:20270328T010000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+0100
TZOFFSETTO:+0000
TZNAME:GMT
DTSTART:20271031T010000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Isle_of_Man:20261003T090000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Isle_of_Man:20261003T170000
DTSTAMP:20260917T124254Z
CREATED:20260917T124254Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260917T124254Z
UID:4281-1791018000-1791046800@garagematters.uk
SUMMARY:Top Awards 2026: Top Technician Semi Finals
DESCRIPTION:The 2026 Top Technician competition shifts from screen to workshop bay on Saturday\, 3 October\, as the Delphi Academy in Warwick hosts this year’s high-pressure semi-final stage. \nNarrowed down from three rigorous online theory rounds\, the nation’s top ten diagnostic technicians will go head-to-head across live vehicle bays. \nAt stake are just five places in November’s Grand Finals\, with Head Judge Ian Gilgrass overseeing scoring to separate calculated diagnostic routines from guesswork. \nRather than textbook faults or artificial bench tests\, the tasks are devised by judges. Each station replicates the real-world headaches landing on workshop ramps daily\, from conventional petrol and common-rail diesel systems through to high-voltage battery electrics and alternative powertrains. \nThe scenarios deliberately mirror vehicles that have already “been everywhere\,” complete with layered faults such as shorted grounds\, low-pressure leaks\, blown fuses\, and misrouted wiring designed to mask primary faults. \nThe panel has form for testing mental discipline as much as technical knowledge; past rounds famously saw competitors face a hydrogen fuel-cell Toyota Mirai\, where the actual culprit was a severe 16-amp parasitic drain from a stuck heated rear window rather than the complex powertrain. \nWith a strict 20-minute countdown clock on each station\, reaching a complete fix inside the time limit is rarely feasible. Instead\, scoring centres entirely on diagnostic methodology: \n\n\nSymptom verification: Interrogating the job card\, confirming the customer fault\, and noting secondary symptoms. \n\n\nStructured test plans: Establishing a logical path to prove or disprove hypotheses before picking up a spanner. \n\n\nSystematic testing: Verifying wiring schematics using multimeters\, oscilloscopes\, and thermal imaging equipment. \n\n\nPenalising guesswork: The judging framework hits hard against “scattergun” part-swapping\, unverified assumptions\, or chasing consequential fault codes. \n\n\nThe five highest-scoring technicians from the day will progress directly to the Top Awards live finals in November.
URL:https://garagematters.uk/event/top-awards-2026-top-technician-semi-finals/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://garagematters.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Top-Technician.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261010
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261011
DTSTAMP:20251023T095623Z
CREATED:20251023T095533Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251023T095623Z
UID:1356-1791590400-1791676799@garagematters.uk
SUMMARY:The Blend 2026
DESCRIPTION:The Blend is a major annual conference and networking event for owners and managers of independent garages across the UK and Ireland. \nOpen to all garages\, the one-day event combines practical business insight with high-quality networking\, attracting around 500 delegates from across the automotive aftermarket. \nHeld every October at The Eastside Rooms in Birmingham\, the conference features multiple speaker sessions\, panel discussions and supplier stands during the day\, followed by an evening dinner\, awards and entertainment. Topics typically cover areas such as workshop profitability\, leadership\, customer service\, marketing\, mental health and emerging technologies. \nThe Blend has become one of the must-attend dates in the independent garage calendar\, offering actionable advice\, peer-to-peer learning and a friendly\, relaxed atmosphere that encourages like-minded garage professionals to connect and share best practice.
URL:https://garagematters.uk/event/the-blend-2026/
LOCATION:Eastside Rooms\, Birmingham
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://garagematters.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/This-years-conference-marked-the-largest-gathering-in-The-Blends-six-year-history.jpg
ORGANIZER;CN="The Blend Events":MAILTO:info@theblend.events
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR