Secondary students from Surrey and Delta converged on Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Trades and Technology Campus in Cloverdale earlier this month for the regional Skills Canada competition.
The annual contest – designed to promote in-demand trades and technology careers – is open to students in Grades 6 to 12.
The 2016 Lower Fraser Valley regionals saw 146 students compete in 15 categories, including carpentry, auto mechanics, welding and Computer Assisted Design, along with three junior competitions: gravity vehicles, mini sumo robots and spaghetti bridge.
Local schools were well represented, with Cloverdale students winning medals in a range of categories.
Clayton Heights Secondary's Nik Thunstrom's phone case design earned silver in Mechanical CADD.
The Clayton Heights team of Anthony Lau and Grace Lee won silver in 3-D computer animation.
In welding, Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary's Kyle Schreiber took silver, and Logan Smith, of Clayton Heights Secondary, took bronze.
[Jay Messmer (left) of Clayton Heights Secondary is ready for the welding competition. - Jennifer Lang photo]
Lord Tweedsmuir's Omar El-Kobtan claimed bronze in the junior sumo robot competition.
The March 4 event was one of 13 regional Skills Canada BC competitions held across the province, and while most events were held at KPU, some competitions, such as culinary arts, took place at other venues.
A total of 44 medals (12 gold, 16 silver and 16 bronze) were awarded to Surrey School District students.
The gold medalists advance to the upcoming provincial competition, April 13 at Tradex Centre in Abbotsford. From there, the top competitors go onto the nationals.
The event, hosted at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, along with various secondary schools, is organized by the school district, teachers, coaches, event tech chairs and educators, career centres, volunteers, school community stakeholders and Skills Canada.
The full list of medals awarded to Surrey School District students:
Junior Skills
Gravity Vehicle Race
GoldGreg Kirk and Jaden Tran (North Surrey Secondary)
SilverFarhan Mahmood and Baaz Nijjar (Princess Margaret Secondary)
BronzeRaifah Rhman and Manreet Sanghera (Princess Margaret Secondary)
Spaghetti Bridge
SilverIsabella Ortolano, Rea Chaterjee, Malka Syed and Viana Zhou (Semiahmoo Secondary)
BronzeJennifer Ouyang, Ellen Wei, David Liao and Evan Zhang (Semiahmoo Secondary)
Sumo Robot
GoldMandeep Mann (Princess Margaret Secondary)
SilverYahyaa Bhamji (Princess Margaret Secondary)
BronzeOmar El-Kobtan (Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary)
Secondary Level Skills
3-D Computer Animation
GoldMicki Chan and Naomi Nordin (North Surrey Secondary)
SilverAnthony Lau and Grace Lee (Clayton Heights Secondary)
BronzeKC Austriaco and Callea Roque (North Surrey Secondary)
Architectural CADD
GoldNick Parsons (Guildford Park Secondary)
SilverEd Avalos (Tamanawis Secondary)
BronzeArsh Bains (Tamanawis Secondary)
Automotive Service
SilverXavier Snow (Frank Hurt Secondary)
Cabinetmaking
GoldRyan Volpe (Fraser Heights Secondary)
BronzeNicholas Cosco (Heights Secondary)
Carpentry
GoldMark Amigo (Guildford Park Secondary)
SilverAbdul Baksh (Frank Hurt Secondary)
BronzeRyan Gaucher (Fraser Heights Secondary)
Culinary Arts
SilverKatelyn Causey (Frank Hurt Secondary)
BronzeGilbert Lee (Semiahmoo Secondary)
Fashion Technology
GoldCharlene Aquino (Johnston Heights Secondary)
SilverAiesha Mae Trivino (Johnston Heights Secondary)
BronzeEmma Shepherd (Earl Marriott Secondary)
Graphic Design
GoldManveer Basra (Fraser Heights Secondary)
Mechanical CADD
GoldGurpreet Heir (Sullivan Heights Secondary)
SilverNik Thunstrom (Clayton Heights Secondary)
BronzeMuhammad Ali Tariq (Sullivan Heights Secondary)
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Welding
GoldJaeden Wildenboer (Fraser Heights Secondary)
SilverKyle Schreiber (Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary)
BronzeLogan Smith (Clayton Heights Secondary)
Full regional results will be posted on http://skillscanada.bc.ca.
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