Five Campbell River students have won the right to advance to the provincial Skills Canada competition after taking top prize in the Skills Canada BC Vancouver Island North regional competition.
The regional competition was held March 6 at Timberline Secondary and brought together students from schools throughout the greater North Island region.
Emma Lightfoot of Carihi won the gold medal in culinary arts and Carihi students Janine Annett and Amy McCabe teamed up to win gold in TV/video production.
Also winning gold and qualifying for the provincial competition were Timberline’s Raven Baughman and Cole Byrack, in 3D computer animation.
The provincial competition will be held at the Abbotsford Tradex Centre on April 15.
The winners were among a larger group of local medal-winners.
Collecting silver were Timberline students Brenden Finnerty and Bradshaw Laking (3D animation) and Carihi’s Matt Skalik (culinary arts).
Earning bronze medals were Carihi’s Joey Pigeon (cabinet making) and Timberline students Glenn Magbanua (culinary arts), Jared Everett and (3D animation), Evyn Parnell (website development), and the team of Griffin Grant and Patrick Manderson (TV/video production).
The goal of Skills Canada is to encourage students to explore areas of interest in the trades and technology fields. The Canadian Skills Competitions are an Olympic-style competition which showcases students’ technical and leadership skills.
Other categories include 2D computer animation, automotive service, electronics, graphic design, welding, digital art and carpentry.
For more information on Skills Canada BC, visit www.skillscanada.bc.ca.