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Madrid man wins IDEAL Tools National Championship

Posted 1/2/19

Ashley Livingston | Submitted Madrid resident Benjamin Budd, who works for T.E.L. Inc. in Heuvelton, is the 2018 Student/Apprentice IDEAL National Champion. The IDEAL Tools National Championship for …

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Madrid man wins IDEAL Tools National Championship

Posted

Ashley Livingston | Submitted

Madrid resident Benjamin Budd, who works for T.E.L. Inc. in Heuvelton, is the 2018 Student/Apprentice IDEAL National Champion.

The IDEAL Tools National Championship for Electrical Tradesmen took place in Orlando, Fla., Dec. 2-3.

During the Student/Apprentice Competition, 64 student/apprentices participated in round one, 28 advanced to round two, 8 advanced to round three and three advanced to the final round.

Budd ended up winning first place.

Over 1,000 qualifying rounds took place across North America. To qualify, eligible contestants participated in a timed skilled electrical contest by following the instructions provided at contest locations; schools, union halls, training centers, etc. The top Professional and Student/Apprentice Electricians from each state/territory, the top five Professional and Student/Apprentice teams from the U.S., and the top Professional and Student/Apprentice teams from Canada advanced to the Championship Competition.

Competitors consisted of four divisions – professional, student/apprentice, professional team, and student/apprentice Team and the contest consists of four different competition levels.

The goal is to successfully complete the interrelated tasks using select IDEAL® tools, which are provided at the competition location, in the least amount of time. Each of the rounds consisted of doing various electrical-related tasks such as bending conduit, running non-metallic sheathed cable, wiring a panel, installing switches and lights as well as doing “rough in” of electrical outlets.

Eligibility to go to the finals was based on best cumulative score from the previous rounds. The final round was scored sorely on that round.

Budd is a 4th year apprentice electrician of Local 910 in Watertown.