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2024 SkillsUSA Telecommunications Cabling Contest

(Greencastle, Indiana) July 22, 2024: The 2024 SkillsUSA Championships were held in June this year as part of SkillsUSA’s Annual National Leadership and Skills Conference (NLSC), www.nlsc.skillsusa.org. Hundreds of local, regional, and state career competitions are hosted yearly, showcasing the best career and technical education students across the nation.

This was ETA^® International’s 18th year sponsoring the competition, and ETA’s 22nd year in a row assisting with the competition. The Telecommunications Cabling Competition can only happen with the help from our partners: Corning Optical Communications and Stanley Community College. In addition to the NLSC management and the Courtesy Corps, the telecom contestants received prizes, supplies, and assistance from ETA^® International as well as Corning Optical Communications, Southwire^®, Light Brigade^®, and eITPrep. This year, SkillsUSA NLSC was held from June 24-27, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia at the Georgia World Congress Center. The team set up for the competition on Sunday and Monday. Tuesday was officially the first day of SkillsUSA NLSC. The competitors arrived to complete their orientation, their written exams for the Customer Service Specialist (CSS) and the Termination and Testing Technician (TTT), their toolbox check, and to make sure they completed all of their prerequisites. Wednesday was fiber day. This consisted of the morning Fiber Optics Connectorization – Termination and presentation practice which was managed by Corning Optical Communications. Later that day, there was the Fiber Cable Construction Competition, the Fiber Cable Installation Competition, and the virtual interview with Jeffrey Swaringen, Stanley Community College. Thursday was all about copper. The competition consisted of 90 minutes of Copper Construction and 90 minutes of Copper Installation and Termination – 4 Pair, which was primarily managed by Stanley Community College. Then, 40 minutes of copper troubleshooting, which was managed by ETA^® International.

Friday was the awards night for all of the competitions at SkillsUSA which was hosted at State Farm Arena. The Telecommunications Cabling Contest had six medalists. The high school gold medalist was Jake Tonaszuck from Nashoba Valley Tech High School in Westford, MA. The high school silver medalist was Aaron Cockrell from Dennis Technical Education Center in Boise, Idaho. The high school bronze medalist was Odyn Goldberg from Pierce County Skills Center in Puyallup, Washington. The college/post-secondary gold medalist was Robert McIntosh from Francis Tuttle Technology Center-Portland Campus in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The college/post-secondary silver medalist was Parker Hamby from Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. The college/post-secondary bronze medalist was Tony Ha from College of Western Idaho in Nampa, Idaho. Congratulations to everyone who won and competed in the contest!

SkillsUSA 2025 will be hosted in Atlanta, Georgia at the Georgia World Congress Center from June 23-27, 2025.

About ETA: Founded in 1978 by electronics technicians, ETA^® International is a not-for-profit 501(c)(6) association whose mission is to represent and support the technical professional. ETA offers over 80 accredited, vendor-neutral certification programs in a variety of technology fields such as fiber optics, communications, electronics, biomedical, smart home, and renewable energy.

ETA aligns with the ISO 17024 standard, vocational and education curriculums, and businesses’ resource initiatives through certification programs, conferences, and publications. Download ETA's Certification Booklet to see how ETA can help your career, business, or school. etaico.org

Download this press release at – 2024_SkillsUSA_Telecommunications_Cabling_Contest.pdf