Forty-One high school and middle school students competed in the live woodworking contests
The 2023 SkillsUSA CA Cabinetmaking medalists with the Cabinetmaking (Saul Martin, left) and Intro Woodworking (Kenneth Thomas, center) Contest Coordinators.
ANAHEIM, CA – April 21, 2023 — SkillsUSA California hosted the State Cabinetmaking and Introductory Woodworking competitions on Saturday, April 15 at Chaffey High School in Ontario, California. Staff and industry volunteers from the Association of Woodworking & Furnishings Suppliers® (AWFS®), Inland Woodworkers Association, and the Society of Wood Manufacturing (SWM) served as contest coordinators, judges, and with overall contest support.
Over $10,000 in contest materials, supplies, tools, and giveaways for students were donated by: Blum, Inc, Colonial Saw/Lamello, Decore-ative Specialties, Drawer Box Specialties, Edgebanding Services Inc (ESI), Grex Tools, Leitz Tooling, Rockler Woodworking, Royal Plywood, and Society of Wood Manufacturing (SWM), a chapter of AWFS®. For the second year in a row, female students won the Gold Medal in the Cabinetmaking and Introductory Woodworking contests, and for the first time, middle school students competed in the Introductory Woodworking Contest.
Introductory Woodworking Contest Supports First-Year Students
Nineteen students from eleven high schools and one middle school throughout California competed in the Introductory Woodworking contest. This contest is intended to introduce students to the SkillsUSA competitive environment and encourage them to return to compete in the Cabinetmaking contest the following year. Contestants are given a set of plans to construct a hanging wall shelf with a drawer and towel holder. For the first time, students in this contest were introduced to edgebanding (using irons) and pocket hole fastening to complete their project. Drawer Box Specialties donated dovetailed drawer boxes for students to assemble and incorporate into their project. Decore-ative Specialties donated solid oak doors and drawer fronts for both contests.
Lee Schuette from Blum helped students install TANDEM slides.
Cabinetmaking Contest Prepares Students for Industry
The 2023 SkillsUSA California State Cabinetmaking competition hosted twenty-two students from nine high schools across the state. Students competed for medals and the opportunity to represent California at the upcoming SkillsUSA National Championships, which will take place in Atlanta, Georgia in June. The students built a nightstand that tested their skills using various woodworking machinery. Students had access to table saws, pocket machine, edgebanding machine, miter saws, and hand tools. Karl Frey from Colonial Saw helped students use the Lamello P-System with a contest loan of Zeta biscuit machines and a donation of Tenso and Clamex connectors for all the Cabinetmaking students. Local Blum representative Lee Schuette assisted the contestants with drilling and installing Blum TANDEM drawer slide clips.
The contestants had about three hours to review the plans during orientation the day prior, and just six and a half hours to finish the project. Contest judges used criteria such as accuracy of measurements, safety, and use of tools and machinery to determine the scores. Not all students completed the project, but all contestants took home their project after the event so that they could complete it.
Contests Made Possible Through Volunteers and Industry Donations
Materials for both contests were generously donated by Royal Plywood of Cerritos, CA. In addition to TANDEM slides, Blum provided tape measures and Pozi screwdrivers for the Cabinetmaking contestants. Colonial Saw/Lamello generously provided Zeta tools, Tenso and Clamex connectors. Drawer Box Specialties (DBS) contributed the pre-made dovetail drawer boxes that the students assembled during the contest, and Decore-ative Specialties donated solid oak drawer fronts. ESI donated the edge-banding and hot melt glue, Leitz provided three saw blades, and GREX loaned pin guns and pins. Rockler Woodworking provided a drill bit, glue, and screw caps. Tool prize packages for the top medalists were provided through donations from members of the Society of Wood Manufacturing.
AWFS® and SWM are grateful to the team of volunteers who contributed their time to plan, organize, and execute the contests:
— Jorge Garcia, Ontario High School– Overall Contest Support (and event host)
— Saúl Martín, Architectural Woodworking Company– Cabinetmaking Contest Coordinator
— Diana Ramirez, Reborn Cabinets – Cabinetmaking Judge
— Rick Reimer, Inland Woodworkers – Cabinetmaking Judge
— Jordan Clarke, Palomar College – Cabinetmaking Judge
— Karl Frey, Colonial Saw– Cabinetmaking Support
— Lee Schuette, Blum Inc.– Cabinetmaking Support
— Juan Falcon, Falcon Arte Calado – Cabinetmaking support/safety
— R.J. Monsma, Inland Woodworkers – Cabinetmaking contest support/safety
— Imelda Martín – Overall Contest Support and Photography
— Alicia Mendez, Falcon Arte Calado – Overall Contest Support
Judges scoring the SkillsUSA CA Introductory Woodworking projects
— Kenneth Thomas, Inland Woodworkers – Introductory Woodworking Contest Coordinator
— Mike Trejo, Inland Woodworkers – Introductory Woodworking Contest Coordinator
— John Hogancamp, Inland Woodworkers – Introductory Woodworking Judge
— Mike Miller, Inland Woodworkers – Introductory Woodworking Judge
— Charlie Rizzo, Montclair High School – Introductory Woodworking Judge
— Ron Chappell, Inland Woodworkers – Introductory Woodworking support/safety
— Matthew Martel, Inland Woodworkers – Introductory Woodworking support/safety
The project plans were developed by SWM volunteers and drafted by Erik Suzuki & Saúl Martín of Architectural Woodworking Company in Monterey Park.
Zoe Dewberry, Fortuna High School, works on her project, which earned a Gold Medal in Cabinetmaking.
Congratulations to the SkillsUSA California State Student Medalists!
Zoe Dewberry of Fortuna High School (Humboldt County) received the highest score and the Gold medal in the state high school Cabinetmaking competition and has been invited to represent California at the SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Championships Atlanta, Georgia, June 19-23, 2023, where she will compete against other top scoring high school competitors from other states. Rounding out the Cabinetmaking medalist are two students from Monache High School (Porterville, CA): Marriner Christenson earned Silver and Esteban Heredia earned Bronze. In the Introductory Woodworking contest, Avian Thai of Mark Keppel High School won Gold, Christopher Bu of Alhambra High School received Silver, and Carlie Ball from Serrano High School received Bronze. Adam Martinez Maravilla received Middle School Introductory Woodworking Gold, and Noah Johnson won Silver, both students at Academies of The Antelope Valley.
See images of the SkillsUSA CA 2023 State contests/event here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/gQiQM5q3K986ciNf9
See the SkillsUSA CA 2023 State project plans here: https://www.awfs.org/education/skillsusa/skillsusa-ca-2023-state-woodworking-contests/
SkillsUSA California Virtual Regional Contests Held Earlier This Year
In January and February, SWM volunteer members supported the SkillsUSA California Regional woodworking contests. Dozens of high school and middle school students competed in the regional Cabinetmaking and the Introductory Woodworking contests combined. The regional contests serve as a qualifier to determine which contestants advance to the State Conference. Students had to build a project in their school shop and submit a video about the process. After the judges reviewed the contestants’ videos, the judges also interviewed each contestant via Zoom.
If you would like to learn more about SkillsUSA California woodworking or participate in future SkillsUSA California woodworking events, please contact Adria Salvatore at adria@awfs.org or (323) 215-0311 for more information.
See the SkillsUSA CA 2023 Regional project plans here: https://www.awfs.org/education/skillsusa/skillsusa-ca-2023-regional-woodworking-contests/
About SkillsUSA: SkillsUSA is one of the largest national career & technical student organizations in the nation. It promotes job readiness with skills and leadership training and supports students entering skilled trades. SkillsUSA California is the California state organization for SkillsUSA. Learn more at SkillsUSA.org and SkillsUSACA.org
About SWM: The Society of Wood manufacturing (SWM) is a Southern California chapter of AWFS that supports local schools, educators, and students through SkillsUSA contests, donations, networking events, and much more. Learn more at awfs.org/education/swm
About Inland Woodworkers Association: The Inland Woodworkers Association is group of woodworkers dedicated to promoting the art and craftsmanship of woodworking. Through workshops, classes, and community projects, the members demonstrate various woodworking techniques in an open environment where experienced and novice woodworkers can get together. Each year, the members of the Inland Woodworkers Association produce and donate hundreds of handmade wooden toys to charities for children in need. Whether you’re looking to learn a new skill, connect with other woodworkers, or give back to your community, we invite you to join us at the Inland Woodworkers.
ABOUT AWFS®
The Association of Woodworking & Furnishings Suppliers® (AWFS®), founded in 1911, is a non-profit organization that wholly owns and produces the biennial AWFS®Fair. The largest trade association serving the entire home and commercial furnishings industry, AWFS has more than 400 members, including manufacturers and distributors of machinery, hardware, software, tooling, lumber, components, plastics, wood products and supplies for the woodworking industry including cabinet, furniture, millwork and custom woodworking products. To learn more, visit awfs.org