Linkedin-in Vimeo-v Flickr Instagram
Join Us

South + Southwest Georgia Skills Challenge

South + Southwest 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, November 5, 2026

  • Schedule

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

  • Sunbelt AG Expo

    290-G Harper Boulevard
    Moultrie, GA

Quick Links

Teacher Resources

  • Link to Student Competitor and Student Observer Waiver Form

Contacts for South + Southwest Georgia Skills Challenge

  • Ashby Autry

    JCI Contractors

  • Tim Hobbs

    AGC Georgia

South + Southwest Georgia Skills Challenge Information

Please consider sponsoring the 2026 South + Southwest Georgia Skills Challenge at one of the below levels. The deadline for confirming your support will be detemined 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

Recognition for designated competition to include the following benefits: 1) Prominent placement of company logo on competitor t-shirts; 2) Prominent logo placement on sponsor banners; 3) Company-provided banner displayed at event; 4) Preferred choice for exhibit booth location 

Host Sponsor

$2,500

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

Patron Sponsor

$1,000

1) Company-provided banner displayed at event; 2) Company name on participant t-shirts; 3) Company name sponsor banners; 4) Exhibitor booth at event

Supporter Sponsor

$500

1) Company-provided banner displayed at event; 2) Company name on printed on sponsor banners

2025 Sponsor Brochure for Information Only

Attention Teachers
In mid-August 2026, South + Southwest 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 categories that will be part of the South + Southwest Georgia Skills Challenge.

  • Blueprint Reading

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

  • * Carpentry

  • * Electrical

  • Heavy Equipment Operations

  • * Masonry

  • * 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

  • Tulsa Welding's Abbreviated Competition

  • ** 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 South + Southwest 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 South + Southwest 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 South + Southwest 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

  • Atkinson

  • Baker

  • Ben Hill

  • Berrien

  • Brooks

  • Calhoun

  • Charlton

  • Clay

  • Clinch

  • Coffee

  • Colquitt

  • Cook

  • Decatur

  • Doughtery

  • Early

  • Echols

  • Grady

  • Irwin

  • Lanier

  • Lee

  • Lowndes

  • Miller

  • Mitchell

  • Quitman

  • Randolph

  • Seminole

  • Sumter

  • Terrell

  • Thomas

  • Tift

  • Turner

  • Ware

  • Worth

The following schools had competitors in the 2025 South + Southwest Georgia Skills Challenge.

  • Baldwin College & Career Academy

  • Crisp County High School

  • East Laurens High School

  • Hutchings College & Career Academy

  • Houston College and Career Academy

  • Houston County High School

  • Jackson High School

  • Jones County High School

  • Lee County High School

  • Mary Persons High School

  • Newton College and Career Academy

  • Rockdale Career Academy

  • Statesboro High School

  • West Laurens High School

  • Wheeler County 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 South + Southwest Georgia Skills Challenge

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

  • Heavy Equipment Operations

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

Local-Only Contests

Congratulations to the 2025 South + Southwest Georgia Skills Challenge winners!

Alliance Cup Winner - Lee County High School

Blueprint Reading

1st – Harris County High School – Kassidy Lisle 

2nd – Thomas High School – Alexander Thaxton

3rd – Chattooga High School – Corbin Wiggins

Cabinetmaking

* 1st – Bainbridge High School – Nathan Jackson
* 2nd – Lee County High School – Owen Woods

Carpentry

1st – Chattooga High School – Kasen Elsberry

2nd – Thomson High School – Spencer Butler 

3rd – Clinch County High School – Aaron Walker 

* Lee County High School – Caleb DuPree

* Lee County High School – Kayden Peterson

* Bainbridge High School – George Smith 

Electrical

1st – Chattooga High School – Matthew Busby 

2nd – Chattooga High School – Pedro Lopez 

3rd – Harris County High School – Hayden Lovett

* Bainbridge High School – Rylan Godwin 

* Colquitt County High School – Landon Kinard 

* Lee County High School – Ryland Butts

Heavy Equipment Operations

1st – Thomas High School – Carter Wyatt
2nd – Lee County High School – Bailey Koehler

Masonry

1st – Harris County High School – Kortney Brown

* 2nd – Lee County High School – Dezi Harper 

3rd – Chattooga High School – Jonas Hardy 

* Lee County High School – Layne Hickman  

Plumbing

1st – Chattooga High School – Riley Willis 

* 2nd – Lee County High School – Hagan Rudolf 

3rd – Harris County High School – Colby Morneault 

* Lee County High School – Hieu Lam

* Bainbridge High School – Judson Dollar 

TeamWorks

* 1st – Lee County High School
Aubrey Waller, Staffanie Powell, Myra Watzlowick, Brylie Ragin

 

2nd – Colquitt County High School 
Cole Lane, Chade Enfinger, Briar Littleton, Uriel Arias

Welding

1st – Chattooga High School – Parker Powell

* 2nd – Worth County High School – Casen Roberts

* 3rd – Lee County High School – Zac Eubanks

* Lee County High School – Jacob Dollar 

Welding Fabrication

* Lee County High School 
Liam Wessels, Blake Edwards, Jacob Allen

 

2nd – Worth County High School – Noah Johnson, David Ricketson, Jackson McDonald

*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.