CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Del Mar College will be holding a welding contest for all local welders but the contest has a ‘Día De Los Muertos’ theme.
The Competition will be held on Friday, Nov. 4, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the college's Windward Campus at 4101 Old Brownsville Road in the Welding Labs of the Metals Technology Building.
Welding categories include pipe, plate, SMAW, Combo GTAW/SMAW, and 'Best of the Best' Industry Welders Pipe/GTAW.
Belt buckles, equipment and DMC Welding ball caps will be the prizes of the day for the students while cash prizes like $1,000 and additional items for first place, $750 for second place and $250 for third place for industry professionals.
“The Welding Applied Technology Program is starting this competition because we want to promote the welding industry in a way that has never been done before, so we’re tying it to a ‘Día De Los Muertos’ theme,” said Samuel Garcia, DMC Assistant Professor and competition coordinator. “For a long time, faculty have wanted to hold a competition like this one that brings high school and college students and industry professionals together to not only compete but to showcase the talent we have here in the Coastal Bend at all levels.”
Garcia notes, “What’s different about this competition is that no one will know what size and thickness the material will be or what position it will be placed, meaning competition will be based on skill and confidence among the competitors.”
Registration is currently underway for competitors with entry fees as follows: $25 for both Dual Credit high school and college students and $250 for welding professionals. The deadline for competition registration is Friday, Oct. 28. Contact Samuel Garcia, Assistant Professor of Welding Applied Technology, at 361-698-1898 or sgarcia171@delmar.edu.
The event will be open to spectators who can learn about the career opportunities and speak directly with faculty that teach in the College’s Environmental/Petrochemical Lab Technology, Industrial Instrumentation, Industrial Machining, Millwright (Industrial Maintenance Mechanic), Nondestructive Testing Technology, Process Technology and Welding Applied Technology Programs.
Garcia adds, “There are a lot of welding jobs out there, and we need to fill those positions with qualified, well-trained welders, so I can’t think of a better way to showcase the welding field than to hold a competition that gives individuals the opportunity to see and hear about what the profession can do for them and their families.”
