The 40th World Skills Competition has now reached the half way point. Both of our competitors are tired from the grueling schedule and the pressure of international competition but both are doing well.

Scott Raymond has cut off the left rear quarter panel and has also removed the right front rail. Prior to that he pulled the frame and got it nearly perfect the first time. Today he spent about 1.5 hours grinding off Ecoat, leaving him frustrated and bored. He knows how much work there is still to be done but, as he says, "you can't speed up the grinder wheel."
Scott's family is here in Calgary watching him compete and providing moral support throughout the contest. Scott wanted to make sure we passed along his thanks to all those who contributed to help send his family to Calgary.

Ben Janke hit the spray booth today. He color matched and sprayed out test cards, then painted a hood and two fenders. Ben feels he's running a bit behind schedule but intends to work hard on day 3 to try and catch up.

The USA's technical expert, who also serves as the deputy chief of the contest, is Rodney Bolton, an I-CAR instructor who works at the Center for Applied Technology North in Maryland. At the end of the day Rodney was able to sit down with Ben and go over how he's doing.

Ben's instructor, Tim Hoege, from Madison Area Technical College (MATC), is here along with two other MATC instructors. They've made a couple runs to local stores to pick up some special tools that will be required on day 3. It's been great to have such a strong USA support presence here. It's been a long time since WorldSkills has been held in North America so having friendly faces to look at is a real plus.
For more information on SkillsUSA's World Team, click HERE.
The 40th WorldSkills Competition features 41 competitions, and over 900 competitors from 51 countries. Over the next two days, Mark Claypool will be sending updates to you so you can see how Janke and Raymond are doing. Stay tuned...
Thank you for your interest in SkillsUSA's World Team. It is my pleasure to once again serve in the volunteer role of overall team leader. More exciting news to come as the WorldSkills event unfolds over the next couple days.

Post from E newsletter completed by:
Mark Claypool
SkillsUSA's World Team Leader
Select Tech Professional Services
Optima Worldwide Limited