Northeast Ohio student wins SkillsUSA national welding competition

Connor Roberts, a high school student from Willoughby-Eastlake Tech Center in Willoughby, Ohio, took home the gold medal from the SkillsUSA Championships held June 22-23, 2016, at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Ky.

Roberts will receive a Lincoln Electric POWER MIG® 210 MP multiprocess wire feeder/welding machine, as well as $500 from the James F. Lincoln Foundation. His welding instructor, Ryan Eubank, also will receive a POWER MIG 210 MP.

More than 6,000 career and technical education students—all state contest winners—competed in 100 different hands-on trade, technical, and leadership fields during the 52nd SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference, which included the SkillsUSA Championships.

Participants in the welding competition are scored on a variety of assessments. The first is a 50-question multiple choice quiz. The second is a one-minute presentation to a panel of three judges on an assigned welding topic. Students are scored on their knowledge of the topic, manner of presentation, and how they conduct themselves during the presentation.

Finally, contestants are tested on various aspects of welding, including measuring weld replicas, using weld measuring gauges, laying out a plate and using oxyacetylene equipment to cut several holes that are checked for accuracy and quality, GMAW on steel, FCAW using shielding gas, and using a combination machine for SMAW and GTAW. Competitors complete the steel project and weld an aluminum project in various positions using a variety of filler metals.