Special to Iredell Free News
Pit Weld U held its second annual welding competition in partnership with the American Welding Society Charlotte Section 140.
Iredell-Statesville Schools sent the district’s top welding students to compete, joined by one group of home school students. The competition featured South Iredell, Lake Norman, North Iredell, Statesville, and The Career Academy and Technical School students. It included one team of all-women welders.
Students referenced a blueprint to correctly assemble their project using three welding processes: MIG, TIG, and SMAW.
Each team had three students, each required to participate and select their “process” of choice to complete the project in the allotted two-hour timeframe. Judges from PIT Weld U, the American Welding Society, and Fronius graded the anonymously numbered projects based on AWS D1.1 and D1.3 acceptance criteria.
The Winners
The homeschool team, with their exceptional skills and teamwork, took top honors. Team members included James Holbrook, Andrew Kazee, and Jacob Rase.
Second-place honors went to South Iredell High School’s all-woman team, a testament to their determination and talent. Team members includedJaida Brown, Lillyahna Nevarez, and Mallie George.
Local businesses, recognizing the talent and potential of these young welders, including Fronius, Pit Instruction & Training, DOG Fabrication, and Edge Welding Cups, stepped up to donate more than $7,000 in awards for students.
The American Welding Society Charlotte Section 140 awarded scholarships for students to continue their welding education. Southern States Machinery provided trophies for winning students and recognized their achievements during Steel Tech Days, where the welding students toured machinery demos and interacted with potential employers.
The group of homeschool students are actually students in the iAcademy which is part of the Career Academy and Technical School, so they are CATS students!