Kentlake, Kentridge to vie for chance to compete in National Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Challenge
Published 9:52 am Friday, April 26, 2013
For the Reporter
Teams from Kentlake and Kentridge high schools will compete against eight other Washington state teams for the chance to represent the state in the national 2013 Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Challenge this summer.
The teams, one from each school, completed an initial online exam earlier this year that qualified them to advance to the hands-on state competition, scheduled for Tuesday, May 7, at Renton Technical College.
The top team from that challenge will go on to the national competition in June in Dearborn, Mich., where it will showcase its automotive problem-solving capabilities by resolving “real-world” repair challenges in a timed, head-to-head match-up of top teams representing all 50 states.
The vehicle used in this year’s challenge is the 2013 Ford Focus SE. Each team will be provided a deliberately bugged model to repair during competition.
The Kentridge team is comprised of Steven Johnson and Tanner Zeiler. Scarff Ford in Auburn is helping the team preparing for competition by providing vehicles and equipment.
The Kentlake is comprised of William Miller and Ryan Sorge. Bowen Scarff Ford in Kent is providing the team with a 2013 Focus SE to prepare.
“Our team is very excited to participate in the competition,” said George Sichting, instructor for the Kentridge team. “This is a great experience and it inspires them to further their skills to prepare for a possible career in the automotive repair industry.”
“Today’s vehicles are very advanced, so automotive students need to learn to repair both computer and mechanical components,” said David Lewis, instructor for the Kentlake team. “We are very excited to have our team compete in the state competition.”
The Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Challenge is a nationwide automotive technology competition that offers nearly $12 million in scholarships and prizes to high school juniors and seniors interested in pursuing careers as automotive service technicians. More than 13,000 students from across the U.S. compete for the chance to represent their school and state in the National Finals. The competition tests students’ automotive knowledge, workmanship and problem-solving abilities.
The challenge enables many of its participants to embark on promising careers in the automotive repair industry to help fuel the rising demand for well-trained technicians who can repair both computer and mechanical components in today’s advanced vehicles.
This is the 64th year of the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Competition.
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