Competition Updates

Keep Your Skills Sharp

General Updates

The SkillsUSA Championships Technical Standards for specific competitions are revised and distributed each fall. There are times when competition updates need to be shared prior to national conference. Those updates are listed here, so it’s important to check this site often to ensure that competitors are prepared for the national competition.

Important: The competition updates listed below provide members with the latest information about themes, clarifications, professional development test study guide, national competitor online submission/testing requirements and more. A competition update covers anything that is not listed in the official SkillsUSA Championships Technical Standards and that a competitor and/or advisor needs to be aware of and bring and/or complete for the national competition. State-specific competition updates are not published on the national website.

SkillsUSA Competitor Keys to Success: visit our webpage to review the National Competitor Checklist that outlines important competitor resources and requirements.

Note: No live animals or biohazardous materials are allowed as part of any competition.

Note for competitors who have devices that connect to Internet: The Wi-Fi Internet access in the Georgia World Congress Center (where the SkillsUSA Championships are held) is predominately available only on the 5GHz band. Please ensure the device you are bringing for your competition can connect to a 5GHz band. It is recommended that competitors test their device prior to arriving for NLSC, and, if applicable, bring an appropriate 5GHz adaptor.

Online Submissions

SkillsUSA Championships national competitors must complete their online submission(s) by June 6, 2024, at 5 p.m. ET. Check the current SkillsUSA Technical Standards and updates listed below to learn more about any required national pre-conference online submissions. The upload(s) will be completed via SkillsUSA’s secure platform, and the link to the online submission website will be published here on May 22, 2024. State-specific competition pre-conference requirements are not published on the national website.

SkillsUSA Professional Development Test

The SkillsUSA Professional Development Test for national competitors will be conducted pre-conference via the SkillsUSA Online Testing Platform. All national high school and college/postsecondary competitors are required to complete the SkillsUSA Professional Development Test, except for those entered in Action Skills, Building Maintenance, Community Action Project, and Employment Application Process. As a reminder, all middle school competitors are exempt from the national online resume and SkillsUSA Professional Development Test.

SkillsUSA Annual Theme

This topic is to be addressed by competitors in the SkillsUSA Chapter Display, Prepared Speech and Promotional Bulletin Board competitions. The SkillsUSA competition theme for the 2023-24 school year is: SkillsUSA: No Limits.

Competition-Specific Updates

The following update has been released for the Automotive Refinishing Technology competition:

The barbering competition 2024 theme for the creative freestyle design is Ocean/Marine.


10-13-23
The technical committee provided the following clarification: Creativity is evaluated in the creative cut and beard design, while haircutting is evaluated in the recreation of men’s haircuts from a photograph. Competitors will be expected to duplicate a minimum of two (2) haircuts from a photograph. Each haircut and style must be completed within a 45 minute time limit.

Click the link to download the 2024 Commercial sUAS Drone competition guide.

The 2024 Esthetics competition fantasy theme is Doll Face.

The technical committee has provided the following update to the resource for standard:

BOWL 1.0 — Answer questions from the academic foundations outlined by the National Consortium for Health Science Education (NCHSE) Standards.

The national technical committee has provided the following update to provide study resources for the Mobile Electronics Installation competition at NLSC 2024.

For the Mobile Electronics Installation competition at NLSC 2024: The user will complete this form requesting access to study resources, and a link to the course and a coupon code will be emailed to them.

The game manuals for the 2024 Mobile Robotics Technology competition are available below:

The national technical committee has provided the following update which shifts all required submissions to a digital format only and eliminates onsite printing.
Contestants will be responsible for creating an assembly drawing complete with appropriate views, balloons, and Bill of Materials. Multiple Detail Drawings will be required to accompany the assembly drawing. Detail Drawings will require appropriate orthographic views, annotations, notes, and tolerances in accordance with ANSI and ASME standards. Knowledge of GD&T will be helpful.
A maximum of 4 textbooks may be used for reference during the competition. A flash drive (USB) file storage will be required for turning in drawing sheets as PDF’s. No printing. Flash drives will not be returned for judging purposes.
A written exam of approximately 100-multiple choice questions will accompany the drawing portion of the contest.
Students will need to bring their own computer with CAD software, scientific calculator, and mechanical pencil with lead. Students should test print a .pdf from their CAD system on set-up day when setting up their computers. There will be no hardcopy prints but there will be standards for the contest to be submitted as a PDF in the correct sheet size.