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Northwest Georgia Skills Challenge

Northwest Georgia Skills Challenge

  • Thursday, October 30, 2025

  • Schedule

    8:30 am - Registration Opens
    10:00 am to Noon - Competition
    1:30 pm - Award Ceremony

  • Sutherland Arena at the Georgia National Fairgrounds & Agricenter

    401 Larry Walker Parkway
    Perry, GA

Central Georgia Skills Challenge Information

Teacher resources

(to come September 2025)
  • Link to Student Competitor and Student Observer Waiver Form

  • Link to Central Georgia Skills Challenge Registration

  • Link to register student members of SkillsUSA Georgia for opportunity to advance with Skills Challenge participation to SLSC offered each February in Atlanta

  • Thursday, October 22, 2026

  • Schedule

    8:30 am - Registration Opens
    10:00 am to 12:15 pm - Competition
    1:00 pm - Award Ceremony

  • Rome River Center

    301 Tribune Street
    Rome, GA

Quick Links

Teacher Resources

  • Link to Student Competitor and Student Observer Waiver Form

Contacts for Northwest Georgia Skills Challenge

  • Sarah McGuffin

    Duffey Southeast, Inc.

  • Laura Potts

    AGC Georgia

Northwest Georgia Skills Challenge Information

Please consider sponsoring the 2026 Northwest Georgia Skills Challenge at one of the below levels. The deadline for confirming your support will be determined in late summer 2026. If you have questions in the interim, please reach out to one of the above regional contacts. 

Title Sponsor

$5,000

1) Display your own signage at chosen competition’s location; 2) Company-provided banner displayed in award ceremony area of event; 3) Premium company logo placement on competitor t-shirt and main sponsor banner; 4) Prominent placement for exhibitor booth at event

Pillar Sponsor

$2,500

1) Company logo on competitor t-shirts; 2) Company logo on sponsor banner; 3) Company-provided banner displayed at event; 4) Exhibitor booth at event

Supporter Sponsor

$1,000

1) Company name on competitor t-shirts; 2) Company name on sponsor banner; 3) Exhibitor booth at event

Friend Sponsor

$500

1) Company name on sponsor banner; 2) Exhibitor booth at event

2025 Sponsor Brochure for Information Only

Attention Teachers
In mid-August 2026, Northwest Georgia Skills Challenge leadership will share deadlines for meeting the following requirements.  More information on registration guidelines is provided below in the “Registration Portals” section below. 

  • Student registration for Skills Challenge competition through the Construction Ready Platform

  • Student registration for SkillsUSA Qualifying Competitions inside the SkillsUSA Georgia Portal

  • Teacher deadline for emailing student completion photos for in-classroom competitions

  • Skills Challenge waiver completion for all students attending the event - competitors and observers

In 2026, competitors have the option to participate in the following competitions that will be part of the Northwest Georgia Skills Challenge.

  • Blueprint Reading

  • ** Cabinetmaking - in-classroom project brought to Skills Challenge for judging

  • * Carpentry

  • * Electrical

  • * Masonry

  • Metal Studs/Drywall

  • * Plumbing

  • ** TeamWorks - a 4-person team completes framing pre-fab work in their classroom and then brings units to contest to build rest of TeamWorks project on day of the Skills Challenge.

  • * Welding

  • ** Welding Fabrication - a 3-person team performs in-class project that will be brought to Skills Challenge for judging

* Students who are associated with a school from within this event’s “home” region AND have confirmed SkillsUSA membership by October 8, 2026 AND place 1st, 2nd or 3rd in the denoted competitions at the Central Georgia Skills Challenge will advance to the SkillsUSA Georgia State Leadership and Skills Conference.

** Only “home” region students who are confirmed members of SkillsUSA are invited to participate in Cabinetmaking, TeamWorks and Welding Fabrication contests at the Northwest Georgia Skills Challenge. These competitions are qualifiers for “home” region students seeking to advance to the SkillsUSA Georgia State Leadership and Skills Conference. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finishers from “home” region schools in Cabinetmaking advance to the state competition. The first place TeamWorks team and the first place Welding Fabrication team from a “home” region school will advance.

High school construction programs in the counties listed below are invited to participate in the Northwest Georgia Skills Challenge and receive priority registration. Once all schools within this designated “home” region have had the opportunity to register, any remaining competition spots will be offered to schools outside the region on a first-come, first-served basis. View Regional Map

  • Bartow

  • Carroll

  • Catoosa

  • Chattooga

  • Dade

  • Floyd

  • Gilmer

  • Gordan

  • Haralson

  • Murray

  • Pickens

  • Polk

  • Walker

  • Whitfield

The following schools had competitors in the 2025 Northwest Georgia Skills Challenge.

  • Adairsville High School

  • Calhoun College & Career Academy

  • Carrollton High School

  • Cass High School

  • Catoosa Co. College & Career Academy

  • Cedartown High School

  • Chattooga High School

  • Gilmer County High School

  • Gordan Central High School

  • Gordon Co. College & Career Academy

  • Haralson High School

  • LaFayette High School

  • Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School

  • Murray County High School

  • Pickens County High School

  • Ridgeland High School

  • Ringgold High School

  • Rome High School

  • Sonoraville High School

  • Trion High School

Here is a quick sampling of ways you and your team can get involved in our upcoming Skills Challenge series!
  • Volunteer company representatives to serve as judges for each of the skills competitions

  • Offer hands-on activities for students to participate in to get more familiar with specific trades

  • Host an exhibit table for students to learn more from you and your team and what career paths your firm offers

  • Serve as a sponsor to one or more of the Skills Challenge

Tentative Schedule for 2026 Northwest Georgia Skills Challenge

8:30 - 9:15 am Competitor Check-In
 9:15 am Welcome
 9:30 am Judge Orientation
 10:00 am - 12:15 pm Skills Challenge - (competing students complete projects for judging)
 11:30 am - 1:00 pm Lunch Served
 2:15 pm - 2:30 pm Students return to competition area to clean up
 1:00 - 1:30 pm Presentation of Awards
 2:30 pm Adjourn

Registration Portals

All student competitors, student observers and teachers must register with their unique Construction Ready (CR) Digital Portal login to attend this regional Skills Challenge. Use the below link. NOTE: For new teachers or new employer users who have NEVER accessed the CR Digital Portal, please click here for help.

Regional Registration Opens in August 2026

All student competitors who wish to be eligible for qualifying for the SkillsUSA Georgia SLSC in February 2027 MUST ALSO register for their specific competition in the below link.

SkillsUSA Qualifier Registration Opens August 2026

Info for SkillsUSA Qualifying Events

A bank of sample contest plans for these Core 5 competitions will be available for teachers in mid-August 2026.

  • Carpentry

  • Electrical

  • Masonry

  • Plumbing

  • Welding

Bank of Core 5 Contest Plans to come in August 2026

Students competing in

  • Cabinetmaking

  • TeamWorks

  • Welding Fabrication

must complete in-classroom projects and are eligible for SkillsUSA qualifying. Details will be published in mid-August. 

In-Class Project Details

Info for Local-Only Contests

Contest information for

  • Blueprint Reading

  • Metal Studs/Drywall

will be shared by Northwest Georgia Skills Challenge leaders through the below link in mid-August 2026.

Local-Only Contests

Congratulations to the 2025 Northwest Georgia Skills Challenge winners!

Alliance Cup Winner - Chattooga High School

Blueprint Reading

1st – Carrollton High School – Miriam Vincent Ramirez
2nd – Adairsville High School – Matthew Monroe
3rd – Carrollton High School – Jordan Poole

Cabinetmaking

* 1st – Chattooga High School – Corbin Wiggins
* 2nd – Gilmer County High School – Taylor Woody
* 3rd – LaFayette High School – Easton Stephens

Carpentry

* 1st – Sonoraville High School – Chapel Parr
* 2nd – Rome High School – Wyatt Cook
* 3rd – Chattooga High School – Kasen Elsbury 

Electrical

* 1st – Sonoraville High School – Ava Buice
* 2nd – Chattooga High School – Pedro Lopez
* 3rd – Chattooga High School – Matthew Busby

Masonry

* 1st – Chattooga High School – Cody Corbin
* 2nd – Sonoraville High School – Hudson Kinman
* 3rd – Chattooga High School – Jonas Hardy

Metal Studs/Drywall

1st – Sonoraville High School
Zaylen Clark & Rafael Vazquez
2nd – Adairsville High School
Landon Cassidy & Kaiden Coker
3rd – Chattooga High School
Oaklyn Young & Kylor Kellett

Plumbing

* 1st – Chattooga High School – Riley Wilis
* 2nd – Adairsville High School – Natalie Wade
* 3rd – Adairsville High School – Grayson Frazier

TeamWorks

* 1st – Crisp County High School
Jackson Lynch, Roland Smith, Sam Dixon, Billy Stokes
2nd – Chattooga High School
Xander Pauly, David Mangan, Colton McCrary, Samuel Reynoso Perez
3rd – Gordon Central High School
Kendry Garcia, Wildon Garcia, Bentley Blackwell, Wayner Garcia

Welding

* 1st – Chattooga High School – Parker Powell
* 2nd – Cedartown High School – Hayden Vann
* 3rd – Chattooga High School – Gunnar Henderson

Welding Fabrication

* 1st – Chattooga High School
Skylar Ward,  Landon Dawson, Cooper Hampton

*indicates a student qualifying to advance to the SkillsUSA Georgia State Leadership and Skills Conference (SLSC) at the Georgia World Congress Center that was held in  February 2026. Only students who are within this event’s region are allowed to qualify for state. In some instances, students from schools outside of this region’s “home” schools won top honors at this event, thus students placing lower than 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place who represented “home” schools at this day’s event were eligible to earn one of three SkillsUSA qualifying positions.