In 2014, SkillsUSA President Dr. Lee Ross selected ATI to chair the HVAC competition for all Virginia state events. April 16, 2016 marked ATI’s first year hosting the HVAC competition.
Seventeen competitors from technical schools across Virginia came to the Fredericksburg Expo Center, pitting their skills against each other for a place in the SkillsUSA National Event. HVAC Program Coordinator Dave Philpott was Chairman of the competition with HVAC instructors Mike Bartz, Ben Lloyd and Will Jones judging the event stations. Kirk Clayton, Director of Student Services at ATI served as a judge, as well as author and technical writer Dick Wirz. The event consisted of a written exam
followed by four event stations and a mock job interview. The competition was designed by ATI’s HVAC department, testing the students’ knowledge and skills in the areas of troubleshooting, fabrication, component identification, and wiring/schematics interpretation. All equipment used in the event had to be transported to the competition arena and assembled; after the event the equipment was disassembled and brought back to the HVAC campus.
The 2017 SkillsUSA State event will be held in Fredericksburg, also. In 2018 and 2019 the competition will be brought to the HVAC campus at 1429 Miller Store Road. ATI has hosted the local district competitions for over 10 years; hosting the state competition is an honor.